Classic, big-budget heist movies, boasting star-studded casts and over-the-top gun actions, have become a thing of yesteryear, mostly limited to streaming service releases nowadays. And the majority of the handful that get theatrical releases are either super generic or lack any identity of their own. In that context, director Christian Gudegast’s heist flick, Den of Thieves, can be regarded as an exception, which, despite being a loose, somewhat lackluster remake of Michael Mann’s masterpiece, Heat, is able to stand on its own through its loud, crass flair, mostly embodied through Gerard Butler’s portrayal of a foulmouthed, toxic macho cop as one of the leads. Don’t let the long runtime discourage you from watching the movie if you haven’t already, as the narrative has enough style to keep you hooked to the screen throughout. The only major gripe I have with it is that, except for Gerard Butler’s cop character, the rest of the bunch remain kind of faceless without being explored as characters.
Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, a direct sequel to the first entry, is scheduled to hit the screen later this week. Let’s take a look at the events that transpired in the first movie to get an idea of what to expect from the sequel.
Spoilers Ahead
How Did Nick Learn About Merrimen’s Plans?
The movie opens in LA, the eponymous den of thieves, where bank robberies and heists are an extremely commonplace affair. The beginning showcases a crew of extremely skilled former MARSOC marines stealing an armored truck, but having been cornered by local cops, Bosco, one of the crew members, ends up shooting a couple of cops to death. Having a thorough knowledge of and access to surveillance and navigation, the crew manages to escape with the empty armored truck with ease, and later on, elite marine Ray Merrimen is revealed to be the leader of the crew.
Major Crimes Unit chief of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, ‘Big Nick’ O’Brien, leads his own specialized unit of cops who believe in extreme justice, and the team arrives at the crime scene to assess the situation. Nick is your average gutsy, tough-as-nails, uncouth, flamboyant cop engaged in every form of self-destructive behavior, and his tendency to engage in infidelity, along with a series of other problematic traits, has resulted in his separation from his wife, Debbie. The first time viewers are introduced to Nick, Debbie ends up leaving him, taking their two daughters along with her, and throughout the movie, Nick has a hard time accepting the truth about how much he has failed as a husband as he tries desperately to reunite with his daughters, throws tantrums when served with divorce papers from his wife, and whatnot. However, no matter how badly messed up his personal life is, Nick is really proficient in his job—which is clearly apparent when he quickly assesses that trained members of the armed forces are behind the heist when he recognizes the MO of not harming civilians, and the recently released ex-con, ex-marine, Ray Merrimen, becomes his prime suspect. On the other hand, Ray sends Bosco to scope out the Major Crimes Unit, as both the parties try to learn as much as possible about their soon-to-be adversaries. It is revealed that Merrimen and his right-hand man/close friend, Enson Levoux, share a good rapport, and Enson’s family life briefly comes into focus as he is presented as a loving husband and an overprotective father.
Donnie Wilson, the ex-marine local bartender who had only recently joined Merrimen’s crew as their getaway driver, finds himself in trouble when Nick abducts him, takes him to his unit, and pressures him to reveal details about the heist crew and their upcoming plans. Donnie confesses to being part of the crew after Nick roughs him up a bit, but given Merrimen shares intel with him on a need-to-know basis, he isn’t able to share anything about upcoming plans. Nick allows Donnie to leave while asking his unit to keep a close watch over him.
How Did Merrimen Plan to Trick Nick and His Unit?
Merrimen plans to hit the LA Federal Reserve by infiltrating as one of the bank’s security guards to get his hands on the 30 million dollars that get discarded on a regular basis. The armored truck was stolen by the crew in preparation for this one big score. As Donnie is sent by Merrimen into the Federal Reserve as a delivery guy (for quite a long while), Nick grows suspicious of him, believing Donnie is holding out information from him. Tailing Donnie to a hibachi restaurant where the heist crew—Merrimen, Enson, and their family members—are present, Nick practically outs him and threatens the heist crew in a passive-aggressive manner. Initially, Merrimen suspects Donnie to be a double agent or a mole but realizes that the cops are merely using him to extract information and that he doesn’t intend to betray the crew. Merrimen asks Donnie to reveal details about the Federal Reserve heist they are planning to Nick and sends his own girlfriend to seduce Nick in a nightclub and reveal the upcoming bank heist before taking down the big score.
Merrimen and Nick come face to face a number of times, and each time a well-built palpable tension builds up through multiple scenarios. Nick and his cop buddies aren’t the type to arrest culprits and give them a chance to have a fair trial—they have exploited the power they hold as per their will and believe in the policy of taking no prisoners in high-stakes situations, which will inevitably unfold when they eventually clash with Merrimen’s crew. On the other hand, Merrimen isn’t willing to return to the pen either; it’s either escape or death for him, and nothing in between—but that doesn’t stop him from taunting Nick whenever he gets the chance. Although no steely conversation in a diner takes place, the fact that both leaders have a certain mutual respect for each other becomes quite clear in the ensuing days before the day of the heist finally arrives.
What Happened To Donnie At The End?
Merrimen and his crew hit the small bank of Pico and Rivera at Montebello, and having intel about their planned heist, Nick and his crew wait expectantly to catch them red-handed. However, things take a complete 180° turn when Merrimen turns it into a hostage situation and coerces the bank manager to ask the authorities for a ransom and a chopper in exchange for the lives of the captive employees and customers. Nick is puzzled for a second, as this goes directly against the MO of the heist crew, and he starts suspecting that Merrimen is planning something much bigger using this petty heist as a distraction. His suspicion is confirmed as Merrimen and his crew blast their way through the basement of the bank premises and access the sewage tunnels, and taking the guise of bank security guards, Merrimen and Enson drive to the Federal Reserve in their stolen, modified armored truck. Nick realizes way too late as he decides to enter the bank and finds all the members of Merrimen’s crew have escaped through the tunnel.
Reaching the Federal Reserve, Merrimen and Enson sneak Donnie inside through the cash deposit and manage to steal a large sum by causing a temporary blackout and electrical distortion using an EMP device. As they are about to go scot-free, Donnie parts ways with the crew, and Nick and his unit end up capturing him once again. Donnie is beaten bloody by Nick and his team members and reveals their escape route. In the climactic sequence of the movie, Merrimen, Enson, and Bosco engage in a prolonged gunfight with Nick and co., resulting in the death of Boraccho, a detective from Nick’s unit, and Enson and Bosco perish as well. Nick chases an injured Merrimen, who ends up faking an empty gun to be a loaded one and points it at Nick to ensure he isn’t taken alive by the authorities. Nick was willing to spare Merrimen’s life, but after he ignored his warning, he had no option but to shoot him to death. Once again, there are no hand-holding, emotionally devastating scenes between the two, if you get what I am trying to hint, but a sense of remorse is felt coursing through Nick and a dying Merrimen.
During Den of Thieves’s ending, Nick is surprised to find out that the crew had no stolen money with them, and Donnie has managed to escape as well. It is only after he pays a visit to the bar where Donnie used to work as a bartender that he realizes Merrimen and his MARSOC buddies were used by Donnie, who was the true mastermind of the heist all along. Donnie had his own crew operating as Merrimen’s lackeys, and he himself had given detailed intel about the reserve to Merrimen to orchestrate the heist. When the right opportunity came, Donnie and his own crew bailed on Merrimen, took the money, and went scot-free. Letting Nick engage Merrimen in a violent gunfight was just the distraction Donnie needed to escape with the money, and in the final moments of the movie, it is revealed that Donnie has set up his new base in London, where he is planning his next big score—a diamond heist.
The upcoming sequel, Den of Thieves: Pantera will focus on Nick’s attempt to capture Donnie, who is planning a diamond heist in Europe. According to the director, the sequel takes inspiration from real life Antwerp diamond robbery of 2003.Â
