Criminal Squad

If you're into this genre, you know the characters (cops and robbers), you know the storyline (a big heist), and what to expect (money and giant public shootouts). But with this movie, you can't tell where the intention is to honour the clichés, or if the movie is just so ripe with an overabundance of them that it's making a parody of itself.

It feels like the storyline pretty much just relies on the character archetypes to fuel the plot. The misfit hard edged cop with a rough family life. A crew of robbers with a of couple loose cannons and looser lips to play both sides of the law, lead by the "serious" guy in the group. It's all there. And if you're into the genre, you won't hate it but there's just nothing special about it. Nor original. As a matter of fact you'll just start to recognize patterns from good heist films like The Town, HEAT, etc.

The actors do a fair job with the script. Nothing great but no complaints. The plot has some twists and turns that are simple enough to follow, but probably could've been more enthralling with some better editing and plot development. You just never care too much about the stakes, nor any particular character's motivation. There are a few moments that insert themes of family and trust that feel a bit forced, but that's only because they were so brief. Had we gotten a bit more out of the robbers personal side of the story, we may have been more invested in the inevitable outcome for all of these characters when it came down to business.

Entertaining enough to watch and well paced but too much of it was wrapped up in an ending that was somewhat unsatisfying. Again, possibly could've been a better dit of this movie made. It will be a long ways down the list of epic heist movies. But you might still find it somewhere near the middle.

This is a classic cops and robbers tale of the type you don't see anymore, plus being a huge fan of Butler loved it even more. Macho testosterone fueled action of the type Arnold, Stallone and Willis did back in the 80's and 90's. Butler is Far superior as a action star than Statham or The Rock. A true successor to those 80's icons.

Sure its not gonna win any Oscars but for a plain good time with tons of action and macho posturing, and for a welcome change from all the Netflix Sci-Fi fare, this is all you need!

Plus its has the best gunfights since DeNiro and Pacino went at it in Heat. Trust me you don't wanna miss the gunfights.

A bunch of professional thieves knock over a big city bank and butt heads with a not so professional bunch of police.

Now on paper there is a lot to not like about this. All the main characters look like human versions of He-man figures but with neck tattoos. Everything about them just screams ass-hole.

This is actually one of the films strong points. There are no good or bad guys in this film just seriously flawed people acting on some quite ambiguous motivations. I found this made the film more exciting because there is no chance of the "good guy" winning in the last moment.

There are lots of scenes that build on characters but ultimately feel like dead ends in retrospect but does get you invested.

The action is kept to the end and when things ignite it is very exhilarating and feels quite real.

Well shot, acted and produced. The actual heist when it pans out is not particularly clever.

If you are not a big fan of action movies then all the muscle bound guys fist-bumping each other and slapping butts might be a bit of a turn off for you.

Bank robbery, gun shot action sequences, trailer of this film n Gerard Butler, all these were suffice for me to view this n i was not at all disappointed. Saw this in a theatre. Comparisons with Heat n The Town will b inevitable but this movie is a solid crime thriller with enuff action/gun shot sequences n a dangerous n clever heist. The final shoot-out scene will satisfy fans of Miami Vice (the shoot-out scene). Another good aspect is that the pacing is good and it's never dull. Pablo Schreiber (Preservation) was convincing as an ex military leader turned into a robber. Gerard Butler has a solid screen presence. O'Shea Jackson Jr. gav a solid performance (spitting image of his father Ice Cube). Action fans will not b disappointed. Looking forward to its sequel.

I went into Den of Thieves with low expectations, and walked out pleasently surprised with this movie! Im a huge heist movie fan and Michael Mann's 'Heat' is one of my favorite movies of all time. And while its true that Den of Thieves takes almost TOO MUCH inspiration from HEAT, it certainly delivers some unexpected turns that make the movie unpredictible and not generic. Sure, there are a lot of heist films out there, but I found Den of Thieves to bring some new elements into the genre that i have never seen, which i thought was pretty great. I was actually surprised with Gerard Butler's performance in this movie, he was actually REALLY good and played the role with commitment. The same goes for the other cast members, Great Acting! What really sold this movie for me, was the incredible action sequences. They are directed fantastically, and the firearms in the movie sound robust and authoritative, which gives the film a hard edge that i found to love. There are a few scenes in the film that feel out of place and some of the character development isn't really there, but overall i had a blast watching this movie and plan to see it again. Definately Recommend to anyone a fan of the genre.