Power plays rule hockey, but they also dominate the outcome in the heist genre, which, in terms of film narratives, is the very definition of blood sport. Standing at the top of my all-time list is Michael Mann’s “Heat” – Does anyone capture seething macho intensity better than Mann? – but I have a great deal of love and respect for Ben Affleck’s criminally minded Beantown caper “The Town.” It would be difficult to attempt to update this genre without paying homage to these gems. For proof, look no further than “Den of Thieves,” the new film from screenwriter Christian Gudegast (“A Man Apart” & “London Has Fallen”), making his directing debut here. The match-up is presented as one for the ages with the impenetrable Federal Reserve Bank in LA serving as the elusive top prize. On one side, you’ve got the most successful bank robbery crew in Los Angeles, led by Merrimen (Pablo Schreiber), a former special forces soldier and criminal mastermind with a keen military mind who has spent time behind bars, but survived as much due to his unwavering sense of duty as the elite fighting skills he exhibited and developed in the field of combat. He’s also a former athlete, a stand-out there as well. His team features a rugged collection of guys from each aspect of his life (Evan Jones and 50 Cent play his two closest associates) and there’s the sense that a real brotherhood exists amongst them. The story drifts briefly from the mean focus on the heist to illustrate this point when 50 Cent’s Levi Enson must confront a cocky young man eager to take his daughter to the prom. It is a moment straight out of the “Bad Boys 2” playbook, where a concerned father gets support from his homies. In this case, Enson brings the kid into the garage for a little conference with his extended crew – a large multicultural muscle-bound and heavily tattooed gang. We all know and appreciate the joke, and revel in the moment, just like the guys in the crew. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
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April 2018
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