'Den of Thieves'
Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano, and Chris Ryan really don't appreciate you poppin' off as they rewatch the 2018 action crime drama, 'Den of Thieves,' starring Gerard Butler, Pablo Schreiber, and O'Shea Jackson Jr.
Cast
Gerard Butler as Big Nick O'Brien
Pablo Schreiber as Ray Merriman
O'Shea Jackson Jr. as Donnie Wilson
Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson as Levi Enson Levoux
Maurice Compte as Borracho
Evan Jones as Bosco
Brian Van Holt as Murph
Ted Levine as Captain Wes Studi
Directed by: Christian Gudegast
Written by: Christian Gudegast
Notes
- 41% on Rotten Tomatoes, yet the three hosts do a 90-minute passionate defense of it being a perfect rewatchable movie – Shea calls it his most-watched movie of the last five years.
- Shot in Atlanta despite being set in LA, which occasionally shows – 'when he picks up his kid, it's very obviously the East Coast in the fall'.
- The script had been floating around Hollywood for 10-15 years with Sylvester Stallone, The Rock, and Sam Worthington all attached at various points.
- Gerard Butler gained 20-30 pounds for the role and based his performance on Gene Hackman in The French Connection. He appears to be genuinely drinking in many scenes.
- Big Nick is loosely based on real undercover agent Jay Dobyns, who worked as technical advisor on set and said real police work is 'nasty, dirty, grimy, bloody, vomit-covered'.
- Pablo Schreiber is Liev Schreiber's half-brother and used weapons training from Michael Bay's 13 Hours to prepare. He plays Nick Sobotka in The Wire season 2.
- The Donnie twist makes it one of the great rewatchable movies – on first viewing you miss all the traps he's setting, but on repeat viewings every scene plays differently.
- Shea Serrano got a surprise phone call from writer/director Christian Gudegast after writing about the film. 'Den of Thieves' 2 was already in production.
- The federal reserve heist research was real – they consulted experts on 'if it's impossible to rob the Fed, what's the one thing you could rob?'
Categories
The Benihana scene – both cops and robbers at the same hibachi table, Butler being completely insane, Pablo standing up ('Bro, we're with family here. Don't appreciate you popping off'). Also the men's suit store meeting, the shooting range standoff, the donut at the crime scene, the Donnie hotel room interrogation, and the 50 Cent prom date scene.
Pablo Schreiber's chin – the way they shoot him with his chin out, daring everyone. O'Shea Jackson Jr.'s performance – 'this guy's a movie star.' The crew dynamics on both sides. The entire Donnie subplot that rewards rewatching. The detail work on how the heists actually function.
Big Nick's personal life scenes on repeat viewings – you get it after the first time. The wife subplot could have been reduced to just getting served divorce papers. Also the fact it was filmed in Atlanta when set in LA becomes more obvious on rewatches.
Stallone was attached at one point. The Rock was attached – Pablo Schreiber told him about it on the set of Skyscraper. Sam Worthington was also attached. Shea wanted Dave Chappelle in the Mo McRae cop role (outvoted 3 to 1). They wanted the wife to be more famous – Catherine Keener or Jessica Alba.
Gerard Butler, start to finish – the Saul Rubinek Award winner. Peak moment: his first scene with the FBI agent. 'How does a County Sheriff pay for such a beautiful piece of men's fashion?' 'This piece of shit? This is garbage. Look at you.'
Bosco (Evan Jones) – the little guy with the weird face in the crew. Maurice Compte as Borracho is the number one cop crew draft pick. Brian Van Holt (Murph) from Cougar Town. Also the unnamed Korean security guard at the Fed who keeps eyeballing O'Shea's deliveries.
The big Hawaiian guy – low usage rate, not many lines, but intimidating in the garage scene when he starts speaking Samoan. Shea didn't notice there were two children in the garage scene until his 15th-20th viewing.
Gerard Butler – yes, this over 300. 300 was bigger culturally but 'den of Thieves is going to be around forever.' Pablo Schreiber – apex for sure, his career is ahead of him. Benihana movie scenes. Heist movies that rip off Heat (Dark Knight is the other contender).
Long Beach Poly High School (where Merriman's crew played football) produced DeSean Jackson, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marcedes Lewis, and six other future NFL players. Nobody famous went to South Torrance. Bill predicts big things for Long Beach as a neighborhood. Butler gained weight happily. Big Nick is based on real agent Jay Dobyns.
Delivery guys can just waltz into the Federal Reserve? The food hidden in the ceiling would have been stinking after days. Merriman's crew would have killed Donnie or cut ties after the Benihana blowup. The highway shootout – they should have just rammed out of the traffic. Butler has been at the gun range with Schreiber and somehow gets surprised by his shooting. Butler's terrible fitness vs. his sprinting scene at the end.
Yes – a 10-episode Netflix prequel showing Merriman and Levoux in the military, the early robberies, getting caught on a busted tail light, and the prison years. 'I need to see Pablo in prison all puffed up.' Could spend an entire episode at the Benihana.
Pablo Schreiber. Close call with Butler, but Schreiber is 'too cool for school.' Shea argues Butler is irreplaceable – 'nobody else is going to look at this role and do all the things he did with it.' O'Shea Jackson Jr. emerges as a dark horse winner for career trajectory.