Criminal Squad

Den of Thieves is basically Heat on steroids. Half the IQ, but twice the testosterone.

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.

Criminal Squad isn't just a movie-it's a workout for your eyeballs: two hours of big muscles, big guns, and killer glares. Christian Gudegast throws the script at you like a hot potato. It doesn't aim high, but it's wound tighter than a string bikini, and let's face it-we're not here for poetry. We're here for bullets and heists, and damn, it delivers.

Gerard Butler is the embodiment of a corrupt cop fresh out of a mechanic's garage: rough, angry, and constantly on the verge of knocking someone out. He spends half the film chugging beers and the other half throwing punches. His investigation method? "Punch first, ask questions when I don't care." And it works because he carries the movie on his shoulders like Atlas lugging the world.

On the other side, Pablo Schreiber plays the charismatic heist mastermind with the haircut of an MMA coach and the brain of a chess player. His crew is stacked: 50 Cent (or 50 kilos of pure muscle) and a team that could rob a casino blind. Their heists are laser-precise, like Ocean's Eleven, but with bad-boy flair. The tension climbs in every shot, reminiscent of Heat, except this isn't De Niro and Pacino-it's Butler and Schreiber growling, "I'll take you down before you take me down."

Looking for subtlety? Switch channels. Here, it's all AK-47s and magazines emptying like a Vegas slot machine. The final shootout is straight out of Call of Duty: deafening gunfire, bullet-riddled walls, screams, and explosions. The movie grabs you by the throat and force-feeds you gunpowder. It's not a masterpiece, but you'll cheer because it's just so damn satisfying.

And then-bam!-the final twist. Sure, it's no Usual Suspects, but it's clean, clever, and feels like finding a decent toy inside a Kinder Surprise. The moral of the story? There isn't one. Just testosterone-fueled guys fighting to see who's got the biggest... machine gun, of course.

Criminal Squad is like a juicy, greasy steak: bloody, brutal, and no-frills. You know it's not a Michelin-star meal, but it fills you up and leaves you grinning. Butler is a growling grizzly bear, the action scenes slap, and the twist does its job. It's not fine dining, but it's the perfect meal for a night out with the boys.

This film was a good romp and a solid 7 in my opinion. It crtainly doesn't deserve some of the ludicrous scores some people have rated it on here! Well acted and plenty of action. Then again I always thought Heat was overrated (probably would give that a 7 as well). I didn't feel it was overlong and din't get bored once. Yes, there were a few plot holes, but overrall this was good entertainment and so much better than much of the absolute dross that's doing the rounds at present. Don't listen to the naysayers on here, this one is well worth your time.

You can't enter a movie like this expecting some cinematic masterpiece. If you do so, you'll be obviously disappointed. Otherwise, it's a completely entertaining and fun ride through some surprisingly complex characters and an unexpectedly intricate game of cat and mouse.

There have been some comparisons of this movie to the movie Heat, and I think they may be somewhat warranted. OBVIOUSLY, this does not hold the gravitas of a mid-90's DeNiro/Pacino face-off, but plot structure, pacing, character development and the Los Angeles backdrop were all very familiar.

At the core, you have Pablo Schreiber, who is 1 or 2 decent movies away from being given a real shot at a career defining role. He led this film effortlessly and truly gives you a very raw sense of character. Gerard Butler plays Gerard Butler and convincingly so. The two square off for 140 minutes and it's surely fun to watch.

The 140 minute runtime seems to have garnered some attention from reviewers. Yeah, it's long, but it really doesn't feel that way. The pace of the film is stellar, and you never really feel any "look down at your phone" moments. The heist movie is often times full of overdone clichés and unconvincing "suspense" but for some reason this film was able to put a fresh twist on everything you see.

If you've seen a trailer for the film, you'll be very happy with it. I think this is a case of extremely good marketing and a trailer can make or break your audience's expectations for a film. From the trailer, you see a crew of goons led by some wannabe badass and a crew of cops trying to intimidate them and take them down. The trailer doesn't give you much of a glimpse at anything more than elementary storyline, which is why if you see this film, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Had more fun in a theater than I can remember in recent years.

8/10