DEN OF THIEVES 2: PANTERA

After the events of part 1, the story shifts to Nice, France where Donnie (O'Shea Jackson Jr.) is looking to score again, this time in the diamond district. Former LASD Detective Nicholas O'Brien (Gerard Butler), still raw after not being able to prove Donnie's involvement with the Federal Reserve heist, follows Donnie to France in an attempt to partake in the robbery this time around. Has Nick completely turned his back on law enforcement after they've turned their back on him or is he playing Donnie all along? I was a little surprised this got a sequel as the first one was pretty enjoyable but didn't crush it at the box office. I thought it would have been a modest hit and moved on but remembering that Lionsgate is the studio, I'm now not surprised as sequels are their blueprint. The long and short of it is, this was another enjoyable film, a bit slow in parts, with a good ending. Did it need to be made? In my opinion, no it did not. Is it better than the original? Again, in my opinion, no. I much prefer the gritty streets of LA as opposed to the polished, high society of Europe. The original's script was smarter and the action scenes were also much more in your face in the original. This time around you have the thieves, law enforcement, and the writers threw in the mob for good measure, which doesn't serve much of a purpose until the end even though they're peppered throughout the film. The real bright spot of this film is Butler as the burnt out LA cop Big Nick, who's American bravado doesn't play well with the more "sophisticated" Europeans. He's a blunt, brash, and in your face character and I haven't remotely gotten tired of his antics just yet. In saying that, I'd take a flyer on a third installment should they decide to make one (plus I'm curious where the story would go from here after the events of this film). 6/10