Den of Thieves, written and directed by Christian Gudegast, 2h 20min
Ever since I read Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep in college, I’ve been a sucker for LA noir detective stories. There is something about the sprawling, rootless city that breeds quirky criminals and their flawed, hard-boiled pursuers. This film reinforces that image by announcing at the start that there are more bank robberies in LA than in any other city in the world.
In the traditions of a classic western or a Mickey Spillane novel, we have a driven, skilled criminal pitted against an unscrupulous, volatile pursuer, this one made somewhat legitimate as a detective in the LA Police Department. Merriman’s trained gang of bank robbers, recruited from his military platoon, squares off against “Big Nick (Gerard Butler),” the toughest, most debauched detective on the force.
Merriman (Pablo Schreiber) has upped the stakes when the gang kills several policeman after their latest bank heist. Nick takes this as a personal affront and vows to get him – and he isn’t too particular about whether that means jail or death.
His first step is to track down a bartender named Donnie who he spots on a surveillance video. He brings Donnie into a hotel suite where the cops are partying with some hookers. Donnie claims he is only the gang’s driver, even after Nick nearly kills him with a chokehold. His credentials as a wheelman are bona fide. He received California’s highest recorded speeding ticket – 178 miles per hour!
When the good guys and the bad guys meet up at a sushi restaurant, Nick happily pretends he knows Donnie from the gym. Despite suspecting him as a snitch, Merriman decides not to kill Donnie. But why?
Then comes an unnecessary side story. Bad-ass Nick has sent a text to his wife that was meant for one of the party girls. A rookie mistake for a guy who is anything but a rookie. When he gets home in the early morning, she has already packed up their two daughters and wrenchingly departs. Later he cries after talking to his daughter through a playground fence. It’s all a distraction – why do we need to see Nick’s humanity? It only prolongs an already long movie.
There is also some banter between Nick and an FBI agent that is perfunctory. This stereotype of rivalry between local police and the Feds has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the story.
Things gets back on track when Merriman tells the gang they are going to rob the LA Fed, the most highly guarded bank in the city. To plan the operation he’s obtained incredibly detailed engineering, architecture and security plans. How? One of the unanswered questions that keeps you guessing.
Oddly Merriman gets Donnie a job as a delivery guy at a Mexican restaurant, but that is quickly explained when you see him delivering lunch to two ladies that work at the Fed and order from there everyday. After delivering the food Donnie cases the joint and hides something above the ceiling tiles in a bathroom, but you’re not sure what.
This is where my credulity snapped. Is it common practice to order in at this heavily guarded facility? Can a guy get into the Fed’s cafeteria ostensibly to deliver food, and then just wander around? It’s tougher to get a pizza delivery past a doorman at a New York apartment building!
But there is enough intrigue to set up an exciting and surprising ending. For Merriman and Nick it has become very personal, a Gunfight at the OK Corral. When their paths cross before the denouement, Merriman tells Nick that he won’t be “cuffed” again. It will be a fight to one of their deaths.
No question that there are weaknesses like the strained plot devices and the silly distractions. But this is a movie where you get caught up in the action and the hate/love relationship between the cop and the thief. You’re conflicted about who should prevail, and you may even end up rooting for the guys to get away with robbing the Fed.
Butler gives a particularly convincing performance as a dissolute, ruthless LA cop who is always on the edge of being a criminal himself. Just try to forget the playground scene! Schreiber’s unblinking obsession makes for a scary villain. The movie really hinges on the relationship between the two of them, and they make it work. The only other significant role is Donnie, played by O’Shea Jackson Jr. who was Ice-Cube, his real father, in Straight Outta Compton.
Bottom line: if you like the LA noir detective genre, you won’t be disappointed.
Grade: B
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