All of her series MC’s are well drawn, wholly realized and completely different. Den of Thieves is a 2018 American action heist film written, directed, and produced by Christian Gudegast. No cookie cutter heroines for this author. C. 366 ES I must say, I have been disappointed thus far by what I have seen in Karosgrad. Find out what Common Sense says about safety, violence, scariness, sexy stuff, language and positive messages. The film stars popular faces of the industry including Gerard Butler, 50 Cent, O'Shea Jackson Jr, Pablo Schreiber and Evan Jones. "We made it as real as we possibly could.". “Den of Thieves:” the perfect example of a movie that should by all rights be much better than it actually is, if the trailers were to be believed. Read a quick 1-Page Summary, a Full Summary, or watch video summaries curated by our expert team. Instead, what we see are expressive machines going about as the plot demands them to. Mark my words, while he has yet to pull a truly spectacular performance, given time and a few more movies to hone his skills, I could see him becoming an actor of serious note. It’s an OK mid-tier cast, outside of Gerard Butler, an always interesting setting, interesting characters and a spectacular premise that should intrigue even the most skeptical audiences. Eventually, Merrimen and his crew escape with the empty armored truck. Butler co-stars with Pablo Schreiber, O'Shea Jackson Jr., and 50 Cent, in this movie about two groups of tough guys. In an earlier interview with Slash Film, Gudegast revealed that his team behind the film interviewed sources from the LAPD, the military, and even a former leader of Hell's Angels. You might think that everything about this film sounds over-the-top and heavily fictionalized. or something to that effect. Being the first film Gudegast has directed, it makes perfect sense that he as both director and writer would focus story more towards his strengths. It’s a movie with famous people in it, but it’s unclear why it exists at all. Pulitzer Prize–winner James B. Stewart shows for the first time how four of the eighties’ biggest names on Wall Street—Michael Milken, Ivan Boesky, Martin Sie I don't even know anything!" Download "Den Of Thieves Book Summary, by James B. Stewart" as PDF. It may be a far cry from How to Train Your Dragon, but it's sure to be a thrilling movie. Den of Thieves is a very particular type of heist movie. Den of Thieves may seem unbelievable at times, but Gudegast did indeed try to make it feel authentic. While most examples of the genre are content to merely show you a theft, this one wants to actually perpetrate one. It sounds like it might be too wild to be even close to reality, but based on everything that Den of Thieves' writer and director has said in every interview, it's not. Den of Thieves' intricate plot will maintain your interest, ... it makes perfect sense that he as both director and writer would focus story more towards his strengths. The film centers around the criminals' plot to rob the Federal Reserve Bank, which the movie's director and writer Christian Gudegast suggests isn't as fictional of a plot as you might think. I went into Den of Thieves with low expectations, and walked out pleasently surprised with this movie! The directing stands out not for the techniques it uses but because of how plain it is. Den of Thieves is the latter. Butler’s O’Brien is the only characters whose personal life is put under the microscope, but these moments are hardly a reward and do more to distance the audience from him rather than make him more likable. While the law enforcement crew, led by Butler's character, may technically be considered the "good guys," it's not quite so simple in the movie. Read the world’s #1 book summary of Den Of Thieves by James B. Stewart here. Police officers arrive on the scene and engage in a shootout with the robbers. One is a squad of bank robbers pulling off major heists, and the other is an elite team that's part of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Final Say - Den of Thieves looks good, has a moody score from the ever reliable Cliff Martinez and bares moments of well attuned action and thrills but as a whole this wannabe gritty thriller finds itself lacking in the departments that matter most; investment and engagement and with another cringe-worthy Gerard Butler performance at its forefront, Den of Thieves never really stood a chance up against the kingpins … They even made the bank mapping as realistic as possible by using the real set up of the film's location. Review: Den of Thieves (2018) When people call a movie “derivative,” they usually mean it in a pejorative sense. In case you're wondering if this means the plot of Den of Thieves actually could take place after the movie's release, rest assured that the Federal Reserve has tighter security in real life. Screening at: Cinemark Movie and Bistro XD, Ty Davis Can be reached at entertainment@collegian.com or on Twitter @tydavisACW. The characters do have distinct personalities and are certainly expressive, but they lack dimensionality. With a satisfying plot-twist and a few good action sequences to lean on, “Den of Thieves” emerges from its own disorienting design as a modest success. While Gerard Butler’s Nick O’Brien is the freewheeling head of the LA county’s major crimes division tasked with investigating Merriman’s gang after they steal an armored truck. Sadly, the end result is a just OK movie that neither fails or succeeds. It’s a film concocted by filmmakers who seem to view the entirety of American storytelling … O’Shea Jackson Jr. pulls off a notable performance, proving “Straight Outta Compton,” in which O’Shea plays Ice Cube, was not a mere fluke. All in all, there really is no reason to go out and see the movie, but if you happen to see out on TV – TNT and Spike seem the most likely to pick it up- then it makes for a good watch. Even just from the trailer, you can get a sense that Butler's character isn't quite your average law abiding cop. An over attention to technicalities is the film’s Achilles heel. Shannon Mayer is an amazing author. Movies. The performances are all over the map, the central plot and action make no sense and there are huge chunks of screen time spent completely unnecessarily. I knew that this wasn’t going to be a perfect…nay, a great…scratch that, a good movie. In Den of Thieves it is very easy to identify the “crews” the sheriffs being one of them in a sense. Watch Common Sense Media's video review to help you make informed decisions. According to Gudegast, though, it relies heavily on real-life accounts, which to him, is much better than anything he could imagine. I knew that this movie was going to be mediocre at best. The power dynamic between Merrimen and O’Brien makes for an interesting watch. Those pleasures, by the way, include its brazen theft of famous movies.Den of Thieves makes no attempt to disguise its invocations of Heat, and in fact it invites the audience to having fun checking off the many individual nods to Mann's well-known film — sort of a movie bro equivalent to … A #1 bestseller from coast to coast, Den of Thieves tells the full story of the insider-trading scandal that nearly destroyed Wall Street, the men who pulled it off, and the chase that finally brought them to justice. This scene confuses me because during the movie, it makes sense. So much attention is to how the characters conduct their business the film forgets to focus on the characters all together. A #1 bestseller from coast to coast, Den of Thieves tells the full story of the insider-trading scandal that nearly destroyed Wall Street, the men who pulled it off, and the chase that finally brought them to justice. Despite these flaws, "Den of Thieves" is a helluva lot of fun, Butler's most engaging performance in many a moon and a potential breakout for Schreiber. 2021 Bustle Digital Group. What follows is a series of power plays between Merrimen and O’Brien, as each one seeks to prove their superiority to the other, while Wilson is caught between the two after being illegally forced to cooperate by O’brien. Den of Thieves isn’t looking to win some awards. Go to rockymountainstudentmedia.com for more information. In another scene, Butler's character reveals that he didn't even bring handcuffs on the job, suggesting that a shooting might be the only option. There are no real issues with the direction, but there is not anything to really write home about. Aside from greed, what makes financial skulduggery possible is that few people really understand money. The shooting is simple, clean, straight forward, simply put, it gets the job done so in that sense I really cannot complain about anything. In that way Den of Thieves couldn't be a more January movie: a film that seems completely devoid of any point or true effort. The director undoubtedly has an eye for detail, culminating in an interesting set up and explanations that, instead of boring you with minute details, actually intrigue you and makes you want to see the plan will actually work. The Rocky Mountain Collegian is the student run source for news and information on the Colorado State University campus. Nonstop action, deeply moving and totally absorbing is this episode of the Desert Cursed Series. Is Den of Thieves okay for teens? The LA set crime drama tells a fictional story about a bank robbery, but it turns out that a surprising amount of the movie is based on reality. All in all the two hour and 20 minute run time will seem like it flies by, you will not be able to notice how much time has passed because you become so enraptured in what is happening on screen you honestly forget. Let’s be honest - the real heist perpetrated here is the $15.3 million that “Den of Thieves” stole from America at … The audience never gets to peak into the characters’ lives to understand their motivations, their outlooks, beliefs, or anything that would add real depth. All rights reserved. In Den of Thieves (2018), there was an exchange between Ray and Donnie during the middle of the main heist planning. A DEN OF THIEVES The Haeseni Royal Army barracks burn as angels flee from the scene. Den Of Thieves has been a trending show that has managed to attract viewers from all over the globe. Enter the cinema and it will soak you of two hours and 20 minutes of your time, delivered in small, unremarkable scenes. "We worked with people at the Federal Reserve and said, ‘How do you make the impossible kind of possible?’" Gudegast told Slash Film. Here is the link to ‘Den of Thieves’ on the ‘I Think Speech podcast’ On Holy Monday Christ uses the grove of fig trees to reveal to the disciples how the ‘Hosannas’ of the previous day were mere illusion, the last fruits of the old visionary clairvoyance, given by nature, & bound to the body. Want to get the main points of Den Of Thieves in 20 minutes or less? We just shoot you," one of them says in the trailer. Editor-in-chief: In DEN OF THIEVES, career thief Merrimen (Pablo Schreiber) leads his crew in a heist to steal an armored car.But something goes wrong, and they wind up in a shoot-out with the cops. "Could you really do it? Den of Thieves, which hits theaters on Jan. 19, is no different, though it is probably more realistic than a lot of the actor's films. Simon & Schuster. If the film has point to make, even inadvertently, it is definitely “hey, you think you can balance being a loose, free-wheeling, party hard, manly man with being a wholesome family man? editor@collegian.com, Newsroom: DEN OF THIEVES is a gritty Los Angeles crime saga which follows the intersecting and often personally connected lives of an elite unit of the LA County Sheriff's Dept. The film focuses mainly on the procedure of how exactly Merrimen and his group plan to pull off the big heist while managing to skirt and out think O’Brien, and this is where Gudegast really shines. Maybe it isn’t even a “bad” movie, but just kind of has no point. We're … Den of Thieves should not be missed. For a technical advisor, he reportedly hired L.A. robbery expert Bill Rehder — the author of Where The Money Is — and also used sources from the LAPD, the military, and a former leader of Hell's Angels [via Bustle ]. For example, most of Gudegast’s previous screenplays feature independent, manly men on a mission. It makes no point … This publication is not an official publication of Colorado State University, but is published by an independent corporation using the name “The Rocky Mountain Collegian” pursuant to a license granted by CSU. Den of Thieves By James B. Stewart Illustrated. 493 pages. Ray was violent toward Donnie, asking him what he told the cops and Donnie said, "I didn't tell them anything! $25. So is Den of Thieves a true story then? “Den of Thieves” follows a group of ex-marines turned professional criminals through their plan to rob the Federal Reserve Bank of Los Angeles, with the main players consisting of Pablo Schreiber as group leader Ray Merrimen, O’Shea Jackson Jr. as new guy Donnie Wilson, 50 Cent as Enson Levoux, and Evan Jones as Bosco. Luckily, Gudegast is smart enough to not reveal the exact plan until it happens, keeping us the audience in complete suspense the whole time. “Den of Thieves” marks the directorial debut of Christian Gudegast, whose previous best-known work includes “London Has Fallen,” of which he penned the screenplay for. The film tries desperately hard to make O’Brien the old-fashioned, devil-may-care, plays-by-his-own-rules emotional center of the move, but never comes off as more than down right insufferable and annoying. and the state's most successful bank robbery crew as the outlaws plan a seemingly impossible heist on the Federal Reserve Bank of downtown Los Angeles. Christian Gudegast’s 2018 action film Den of Thieves is derivative in the best sense of the word. But sometimes it’s simply the best way to describe a movie, even if it’s not meant as a bad thing. So is Den of Thieves a true story then? It sounds like he would know, too. Im a huge heist movie fan and Michael Mann's 'Heat' is one of my favorite movies of all time. Den of Thieves was distributed by … "We had several technical advisors like Bill Rehder who wrote a book called Where The Money Is about bank robbery in L.A.”, The consulting went further than just one source, though. O’Brien is a machismo fueled, arrogant, narcissist the film wants us to sympathize with, when he is the exact reason that causes the major turmoil’s in his personal life through his own vices and makes no effort to change his ways. There are times where the story goes in directions that rely heavily on coincidences and contrivances, such as a few scenes involving O’Shea Jackson Jr. As a whole, this isn’t too much of an issue by the end credits. It’s a famous one – the geography of Jurassic Park makes absolutely no sense. It stars Gerard Butler, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Pablo Schreiber, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Evan Jones, Dawn Olivieri, Mo McRae, and Max Holloway. In Den of Thieves, the break from good vs. bad to a more ambiguous morality also makes it a little bit more realistic of a film. Den of Thieves, which hits theaters on Jan. 19, is no different, though it is probably more realistic than a lot of the actor's films. In Los Angeles, a team of robbers led by Ray Merrimen make a violent armed attack and hijack an armored truck. Menu. I had heard it said that Haense is a Kingdom of God, filled with honorable people and fair justice. January 31, 2018 By Ty Davis Filed Under: Arts and Culture, Entertainment. In an interview with The Wrap, Gudegast said, "L.A. is the bank robbery capital of the world, hands down, it always has been." This attracts the unwanted attention of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, led by "Big Nick" Flanagan (Gerard Butler).Nick's men manage to pick up Merrimen's regular driver, Donnie (O'Shea Jackson Jr.), … Unfortunately, where the film demonstrates his natural abilities, it also reveals glaring weaknesses. The performances are all over the map, the central plot and action make no sense and there are huge chunks of screen time spent completely unnecessarily. "Truth is not only stranger than fiction, it’s much more fascinating than fiction," the director told Slash Film. In the film, a police gang look to stop a gang of thieves planning to rob the Federal Reserve in Los Angeles. 'Big' Nick is hung over when we meet him, his natural state as it turns out. Lauryn Bolz (970) 491-7513, Letters to the editor: Film Review: ‘Den of Thieves’ Gerard Butler is better than usual in a heist thriller about L.A. cops and robbers that works hard — and long — to ape the spirit of Michael Mann. This movie just isn't good. When Gerard Butler isn't voicing Stoick in a How to Train Your Dragon movie, you can usually find him in some high-speed car chase or dodging explosions while shooting at his opponent. He continued, explaining how his team made the film as realistic as possible. news@collegian.com So a group of bank robbers on a hot streak goes against an elite team from the LA County Sheriff's Department, and neither of them exactly care about standard protocol or even the law for that matter. Guess what buddy, you are dead wrong!”. 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