Den of Thieves

Den of Thieves is better at set-up than follow-through. The movie is clever enough, until it cheats. It tries to fill in its characters, until reducing them to plot devices.

This is poor-man's action cinema with zero characterization.

Gerard Butler is not just an alpha bore, he's a real boor.

Despite its technical gloss and effective performances, Den of Thieves never manage to feel other than hopelessly derivative.

A pretty forgettable example of the form.