The Film Buffa: Why ‘Den of Thieves’ is a red meat ‘Heat’

From the opening scene to a pivotal midway meet/greet and climatic shootout, this 2018 actioner saluted Mann’s film.

At the onset of Christian Gudegast’s ‘Den of Thieves,” the screen informs us that over 2,000 bank robberies occur in Los Angeles every year. For every minute that ticks away, some place is being held up.

While a moviegoer couldn’t count as many cops and robbers movies as LA heists, the list still runs long for directors conceiving entertaining and elaborate plots surrounding a group of sophisticated criminals and intelligent cops squaring off on the streets. Michael Mann’s “Heat” set the high bar mark in 1995 with its top notch cast and supremely crafted story and action.

Few can forget Al Pacino’s detectives and Robert De Niro’s thieves going head to head on Sunset Boulevard, creating gunfire and chaotic sound like no other film that came before it. Gudegast’s throttling crime thriller pits Gerald Butler “Big Nick” O’ Brien against Pablo Schreiber’s Ray Merriman; a decorated special crimes unit against a highly skilled crew of ex-military criminals.

“Den of Thieves” didn’t make a splash in theaters, garnering average reviews and box office. Since it wasn’t a sequel or featured comic book characters whirling around the sky of Santa Monica wielding their powers, moviegoers passed on it. Not until Netflix was the movie was well received.

Consider it the red meat version of Mann’s film, a well-crafted actioner that ups the macho male blood count with lesser known (yet still capable) actors, while retaining the erotic action feel of the plot’s stakes. The lines are more clearly drawn between good and bad here, but the colorful aspects of the characters rings true.

The similarities between the two films aren’t hard to find. The movie opens with an armored truck heist, one that unfortunately includes officer casualties. The unplanned dead body count gets the attention of Butler’s Special Crimes crew, which sets them on a collision course with Schreiber’s den of thieves.

What transpires is a buffet of action lovers delight, including a thrilling gun battle between the two parties that’s extended over the final 35 minutes of the movie. A strip of Atlanta highway turns into World War III, with Merriman’s crew scrambling to get away with a bundle of cash while Big Nick and company chase after. Similar to “Heat,” the gunfire and action choreography are top rate and push the film into the upper echelon of movie entertainment. You can tell the actors took loads of training, and know how to operate their weapons at a certain level.

For instance, Mann noted that his actors became so efficient with their weapons that they could outshoot the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department by the end of their training. I would imagine “Den of Thieves” didn’t skimp on training, because it shows in the pivotal scene.

Big Nick is easily one of Butler’s best roles to date, enhancing many of his relative and well received action hero roles while adding a real world danger to his LA cop role. You don’t doubt for a second he fills that larger than life persona. Butler noted that for years leading up to shooting, Gudegast told him all about Nick over dinners. The movie became an obsession to the writer-director, something that allowed Butler to really get to know the detective like he was a different shade of him.

Schreiber got one of his biggest roles to date, giving Merriman that must/have layer of conviction along with the ex-con protective paranoia that people who break the law have. Liev may be the more well known brother, but Pablo has his own set of tricks. It’s the actors and aesthetics that elevate the entire movie. Finding talented players like Schreiber was a big part of laying out the pieces of an indie type “Heat.”

Coming in at well over two hours, “Den of Theives” gives you good bang for your cinematic buck, making good use of its long run time to give the characters a well rounded base of believability. Curtis Jackson, aka “50 Cent,” plays a member of Merriman’s crew, what one would call his second in command.

Halfway through the movie, we are shown his family, most notably a daughter welcoming her prom date into the house. Jackson’s (who is very good here) thug pulls the young man into the garage for an impromptu meet and greet with his rule-breaking crew. The moment elicits laughs for pretty much any dad, especially ones with a teenage daughter.

In another earlier scene, Nick’s home life explodes with his wife leaving him after one too many extra marital affairs. A moment that brings to the forefront the relentless divorce rate for cops due to the consuming and horrific aspects of the job. After a while, it’s too hard for the cops to not swim along the same troublesome currents as their prey.

Instead of being ALL business, Gudegast’s script lays some groundwork for a home life with both the cops and criminals. All in all, it’s a film that gives you exactly what you’re coming for, if not more.

“Den of Thieves” only gets better with each viewing too, making good use of its Netflix residency. You’ll come back for the rollicking final shootout, but also make pit stops along the way as O’Brien taunts Merriman’s crew and the emergence of O’Shea Jackson’s driver becomes a pivotal piece in the third act.

Here’s the thing. “Heat” is my all time favorite, so any movie that attempts to step on that ground and play around deserves respect. The one that manages to get in and stand out as a worthy brother/cousin to Mann’s still cool-as-the-other-side-of-the-pillow crime opus is something to remember.

“Den of Thieves” got it right and then some.