Den of Thieves
Cert: 15A; Now showing Where we will put Gerard Butler in the story of 21st-Century cinema is anyone’s guess but for now we must but shake our heads. The Scot, now drifting towards William Shatner levels of self-parody, is almost becoming a draw in himself just for the twinkle of odd he carries behind those gurning grins.
In a funny way he is arguably the most interesting thing about this steroid-popping heist thriller that dispenses with silly distractions like female characters and concentrates on modelling itself somewhere between Michael Mann’s Heat and one of the lowlier Fast & Furious instalments.
Butler is the preposterous “Big Nick”, an LA detective who, naturally, doesn’t play by the rules. Pablo Schreiber is Merriman, an ex-marine who leads a sophisticated bankjob outfit made up of fellow tough guys. Merriman wants to relieve the Federal Reserve of a large chunk of cash and Big Nick wants to stop him. Somewhere between the two is Donnie (O’Shea Jackson Jr), the getaway driver who Big Nick and his devil-may-care team of corrupt cops lean on for information.
Your toes will curl at the slabs of crumby dialogue and expect some fatigue from the parade of veiny macho men (50 Cent is at the centre of one admittedly chucklesome scene).
While writer-director Christian Gudegast’s debut could be excused as a generic throwback (fun set pieces wedged between lots of daft, formulaic man-flexing), De Niro vs Pacino this ain’t. HILARY A WHITE