Why So Blu?

Den of Thieves 2: Pantera (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)

I did not have it on my bingo card to see a sequel to Den of Thieves. Regardless of how that first film ended, it just felt like a one-off film for me.  It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t my favorite either admittedly.  When Den of Thieves 2: Pantera was first announced and my research told me it was finished in 2023, I wondered if it had been held back for any specific reasons and felt relief when it turned out to be a distributer issue.  Now, all I had to do was turn my brain off and watch… So, what’s going on with “Big” Nick and Donnie these days? Find out where they’re at and what the next score is below! You may want to get in on it yourself!

Film

Set some time after the events of the first Den Of Thieves we find Donnie (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) joining the Panther Crew to steal a red diamond from an airport hangar.  Fleeing the scene in disguise, The Panthers make the news without anyone knowing their identity. Nick (Gerard Butler) is going through a divorce and is put on leave from his Deputy Sheriff post at the same time.

After heisting the diamond, The Panthers begin to plot their next job. The crew target the World Diamond Center in Nice, France. The vault is infiltrated by Donnie, pretending to be “Jean-George” an executive. Nick is alerted about the suspicious activity and goes to France to investigate.  When he is shown footage of Donnie at the WDC, he denies it is Donnie, seemingly doing so to investigate on his own.

Aside the Panthers plotting and Nick on Donnie’s trail, there is also the matter of the red diamond.  The Panthers stole the diamond but unknowingly have stolen it from Sicilian mobsters, namely The Octopus, who plots revenge for the return of his diamond. Just as he wanted, Nick finds Donnie without the help of local police and waits for him at his apartment. There, Nick demands to be a part of the WDC job and Donnie introduces him to the Panther Crew.

Now a part of the team, Nick begins to be a “team player”, even getting cozy with Jovanna (Evin Ahmad) who does most of the mapping and navigation during the heists. This causes a rift between Nick and another member of the crew, but not for long.  The group grows closer over some lighter moments.  They party at a club, and as they plan and work to get things squared away for the WDC job too.  These are moments of bonding for Nick and the Panthers.

This is also a time for Donnie and Nick to mend whatever friendship they formed working together before. Despite being on opposite ends of the line of cop and criminal, the two are undeniably linked.  After a brief nightclub fight, Nick and Donnie share a drunken Schwarma and talk about their reasons for doing what they do.  This draws them closer and seals their fate as friends and allies.

As time draws near for the heist, the team finalizes their plans to hit the WDC on the night of a huge soccer match.  They know that Nice will be engrossed in the game and they’ll have plenty of time to get into the vault and find the red diamond, plus more valuables to capitalize on the score.  They outfit a snazzy electric Porsche with a disguise wrap and some hidden weapons and gear up for the job…. And the rest of the plot is for you to see on your own! Ha! I bet you thought I’d give it all away didn’t you!

Den of Thieves 2: Pantera did something that was pleasantly surprising for me.  The original film was in my opinion just OK. Characters were fine.  Plot was ok.  The film felt generic overall.  With this new installment, things have certainly changed.  While the opening 20 minutes do bring a bit of clunkiness to the start of the film, after that we get a treat of a film!

The treat of Den of Thieves 2: Pantera is the plotting.  It’s simple and paced deliberately.  There is a lightness to this installment that was missing from the first.  The main duo is fully fleshed out here giving us the backstory we missed initially. Their supporting team are fun and interesting without us getting too close.  I can’t even begin to mention all of this without going over how incredibly gorgeous the locations are in the film either.

The cinematography in Den of Thieves 2: Pantera is another highlight reminding me of international thrillers of the past or even Ronin from the great John Frankenheimer, making Europe look so gorgeous and idyllic, set against crime and chase scenery and making the locale look so exotic and pretty.  I was impressed with that.

So, the surprise for me with Den of Thieves 2: Pantera was the depth.  Thankfully, the movie wanted to go a little deeper this time and took steps to open to the audience and show you a little more. The action isn’t as apparent this time around, but the crime caper element is strong.  There’s also a lot of good humor, moments for Butler and Jackson to shine in more dramatic ways and a few elements of buddy comedy for them too.  It’s a charming, unexpected blend of styles.

This isn’t to say that the movie is perfect mind you.  There are some small tweaks that could’ve been made for the movie to be over the top good.  One would be some editing.  At 144 minutes, there is a stretch of the film that slows way down, especially in the beginning.  The film opens with a heist that is so sleepy and so darkly filmed that it registers with a whisper and not a bang.

There is also not a huge development for the Panther Crew, which is fine on a surface level, but you do get curious about them even just for a few more details.  It we lost about 20 minutes, amped up the opening a bit and gave a tiny bit of backstory for the crew, it would’ve been a home run! Besides my tiny gripes though, Den Of Thieves 2: Pantera is a hell of a lot of fun!

Video

Encoding: HEVC / H.265

Resolution: 2160p

Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1

HDR: Dolby Vision

Layers: BD-100

Clarity/Detail: Den of Thieves 2: Pantera arrives on 4K UHD Blu-ray from Lionsgate with an excellent 4K transfer.  Details are wonderfully rendered with the color scale leaning towards the darker side of the HDR spectrum.  Light highlights aren’t as bright, but the overall image is nice and crisp giving the beautiful cinematography plenty of time to shine for those 2 hours and 24 minutes.

Depth: Leaving no crumbs, the depth department handles things beautifully throughout.  Camera movements are fluid and shots never look soft or out of sorts.  The natural beauty of Nice and the interiors of the buildings in the area are shown equal attention with textures from both looking equally excellent.

Black Levels: Blacks push the envelope almost to the brink.  They are deep, inky and nearing abyss darkness.  It’s best to watch this one in a darker room, so as not to miss something in a brighter one.

Color Reproduction: Colors appear natural and sunny during daytime scenes.  When the film moves to France, the colors are simply gorgeous, with ocean blues and beautiful sand contrasting with white boats and colorful rainbow lights at nightclubs.  Banks and vaults have less colorful looks, but they are faithfully rendered too.

Flesh Tones: Skin tones look great throughout, with nothing looking odd or overcooked.

Noise/Artifacts: Clean.

Audio

Audio Format(s): English Dolby Atmos, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Audio, English Audio Description

Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish

Dynamics: Dynamically speaking, the Dolby Atmos mix gets the job done for Den of Thieves 2: Pantera. Sonically the sound is great, with pulsating bass for the score, the moments of action and the music in the club scene.  The surrounds do good work with car chases, France ambience and some helicopters late in the film.

Height: Height channels here function almost like a fixed 7.1 surround setup, carrying sounds like the lower surrounds, complimenting them and giving more heft to those sounds up and over the top.

Low Frequency Extension: Bass digs deep for the score which pulses throughout, as well as car chases, heavy gunfire and some helicopter flyover.  There is a massive vault door that makes for a decent thud as well.  A club scene brings you right up the trendiest Eurodance moments too!

Surround Sound Presentation: Surrounds bring the ambience of France by the sea around you.  The ocean waves, restaurant, church and bar ambience as well as moments of echo come calling in these channels.

Dialogue: Dialogue sounds perfect throughout the mix.

Extras

Extras for Den of Thieves 2: Pantera are standard overall.  The film is available in a standard slipcover edition wherever 4K Blu-rays are sold. This edition comes with a Blu-ray and Digital Code.  There is also a 4K UHD Blu-ray steelbook and a Den of Thieves 4K Bundle that are both available at lionsgatelimited.com

Bonus Features:

• Audio Commentary with Writer-Director Christian Gudegast, Producer Tucker Tooley, Cinematographer Terry Stacey, and Editor Roberth Nordh
• Flipping the Script: Plotting Den of Thieves 2: Pantera
• Deleted Scenes
• Theatrical Trailer

Summary

Den of Thieves 2: Pantera was a surprise for me.  There’s always a charm to a sequel that does a better job than its original and this is no exception.  The fact that this Den of Thieves chose instead to have more fun makes it easier to digest and a lot more interesting to watch.  The locations are stunning, and the plot is easy to follow too.  The action is fun once you get past the sleepy opening and the lead up to the heist is a good time too.

The technical elements of this 4K UHD Blu-ray are excellent even if the bonus features aren’t the best, and this is still undoubtedly worth a look for fans of heist actioners! Collectors rejoice; we have a new sequel to like over the original! Judging from the lukewarm reception this film received, I don’t think we will get another one, so let’s just savor this one now and revel in the beauty of Nice and a successful diamond heist!

Get your copy of Den of Thieves 2: Pantera HERE