Article: Heist, Heist, Baby: Den of Thieves

They shouldn't be calling this Temu Heat. It’s understandable as to why Den of Thieves gets mocked. Gerard Butler-led movies can be a mixed bag. Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson doesn’t scream must-see movie. The story feels derivative, and the director's lack of credits could easily be off-putting. The Blu-ray cover is ugly and uninviting. But no. They shouldn’t be calling this Temu heat. They shouldn’t be slandering the good name of this movie. 

With Den of Thieves 2 released earlier this year, I rewatched the original 2018. The first film is the reason for this mini-marathon of heist films.  Unlike the other movies I’ve written about this month, Den of Thieves barely sniffs at anything socioeconomic. However, like Face (1997) and Set it Off (1995), Den of Thieves is unironic in delivery and assured in its execution.

The assuredness starts from the first frames, giving the audience a statistic that is a delectable piece of glorious nonsense: 2400 times a year. 44 Times a Week. 9 Times a Day. Every 48 Minutes. A Bank is Robbed here. 

It’s an absurd, pretend factoid that gets you pumped for what you’re about to watch yet crumbles once you place any second of logical thought upon it. But there’s no time for rationality now. Den of Thieves follows through with an audacious camera shot, starting from the L.A. skyline before quietly swooping down to ground level. Filmmaking has become easier. It's saddening that such impressive camerawork doesn’t get the love it deserves. Listening to the Blu-Ray commentary, because I am old, I'm informed the shot is a helicopter shot that transitions to a drone shot that then shifts to a camera shot on a Russian arm. It’s seamless. If used in something a little more "high art,” there’d be no doubt that the shot would be fawned over by film students for years. It turns up however in a 2018 Gerard Butler heist flick. Occurring after a hilarious bunch of fake statistics. This opening is summed up in three words: Slick and dumb.

What Den of Thieves director Christian Gudegast has accomplished is no small feat. I mean slick and dumb as a compliment. There’s a lunkheaded elegance in what he’s created. This is hard to do. Constructing a large-scale crime movie which implies Machiavellian scheming and grand tragedy yet is silly enough to be boiled down to a bunch of toxic scumbags jousting with their appendages. The film taps into something primal. And manages to be disgracefully entertaining while doing so. There are no clear good or bad guys, just an unhinged clashing of brutes who wish to drag everyone into the dirt with them. It’s difficult to watch such despicable characters and yet have them remain engaging. To have you wonder how much damage they are willing to inflict on those around them.

Here's a smattering of plot. A group of ex-marines, led by Ray Merrimen, perform a hijacking of an armoured truck which leaves a substantial number of casualties. Detective Nick “Big Nick” O’Brian and his crack squad of deputies set out to investigate the case. At first, things don’t seem to add up. Why would this crew steal an empty truck? However, the plan soon materialises. It turns out that Merrimen is looking to rob the Federal Reserve Bank situated in downtown Los Angeles. It’s down to Big Nick and his team to stop Merrimen from performing a heist deemed “impossible”.

Den of Thieves is two and a half hours long. A running time anyone busy may baulk at. It’s not like we’re dealing with any heavy narrative here. Yet Christian Gudegast knows how to spin a yarn of noxious machismo. In between the crisply executed set pieces and solid performances, is a heist narrative that could be called Meathead’s Oceans 11.  Gudegast has a deft hand at not only building the characters but also framing them around the absurdity that the illogical elements of the narrative don’t matter. No one is likeable here, yet their stories are so engaging, there’s a perverse desire to watch them manoeuvre around each other. 

Comparisons to Heat (1995) are understandable, especially when considering the location, characters and aspects of the plot. However, thematically Den of Thieves would make a fascinating double bill with Gerard Johnson’s Hyena (2014). A British crime thriller which situates its characters in an equally grim, testosterone-fuelled world, where no one is “good”, and rooting for any character feels fruitless.  The only real sliver of politics seems to lie here. Merrimen’s crew, once a team of Marines, are now using the skills learned in warfare to steal money from their own country. This is done under the guise that “no one will see the bills” that they seize due to the intricate way the bills are removed from circulation. In the real world, this is nonsense. However, in this film's universe, it's a bit of poetic licence the audience should ignore to allow them to discover the unsubtle subtext of the American ex-military have yet again come home to an unjust and uninterested homeland and have to steal from the government to live.

 The film takes time to establish members of Merrimen’s team as pretty on-the-level family men despite their career in thievery. In comparison, Big Nick's complete wreck of a homelife is not unlike James Wood’s Lloyd Hopkins' in Cop (1988).  It would be easy to argue that the moral compass of either character has been tempered by principal magnets. Big Nick’s obsessive desire to catch Merrimen is less about it being the right thing to do, and more about being the only thing left in his life. He feels more interested in getting into his foe's head over being on the right side of the law. The concerning thing is that Merrimen is more than willing to match Nick’s rashness. 

This is my favourite Gerard Butler performance. As a performer, I find similarities to Jason Statham. They’re never cast for their range, although watching Butler in Dear Frankie (2004) is a good showcase of his ability to show sensitivity. The two actors both have a tactile ruggedness that often suits the roles they inhabit far better than they are given credit for. Big Nick is the perfect blend of rough, wide-eyed and reckless for Butler. A man seemingly designed to get under the skin of everyone he meets, but to disregard him seems equally as hazardous, and Nick wants to make sure you don’t ignore him. In turn, Pablo Schreiber is a superb foil as Nick’s adversary Merrimen. Bringing with him a quiet intensity. It’s more than a little pleasing to watch these two scummy peacocks’ posture at each other. Sometimes without a word being said. 

Despite its indulgent running time and ludicrous plotting, Den of Thieves is a solidly executed piece of gruff, gritty male thuggery. The film isn’t the balls-to-the-wall actioner that it was marketed to be, but this isn’t to say Gudegast doesn’t know his way around a violent shootout. The film’s finale is brutally effective. Some reviews have lambasted a supposedly needless earlier scene involving 50 Cent going full Bad Boys 2 on his daughter’s prom date. Yet Gudegast gives Jackson’s character a payoff that while it could have easily left on the cutting room floor, delivers a small moment of emotional significance that could have easily been lost. It’s no Val Kilmer and Ashley Judd, but then again, what is?  

Den of Thieves may have you question the freshness of Chinese food, security details and the reasonings behind hiring sex workers. Yet as the hare-brained scenarios get more fervent, the film is never dull. The centrepiece heist is an absurd plan, but I can’t say I didn’t have fun figuring it all out again on this latest watch. For all the film's frayed edges, the film builds to a satisfyingly silly finale. One which quenches the thirst for B-movie action, while delivering a finish which alters previous scenes upon watching a second time. Den of Thieves more than leans on its homages. But it never feels tacky while doing so. Nor does it have the self-seriousness which has derailed other crime movies released around a similar time. I’m looking at you Triple 9 (2016). I’m still upset that the star-studded crime thriller has seemingly landed John Hillcoat in director’s jail.

Den of Thieves has obtained a sequel, and there are talks that the now franchise will have two more entries in the pipeline. At the time of writing, I have yet to see Den of Thieves: Pantera. However, if Pantera is anything like its predecessor, I’m sure that the film is in more than capable hands. It just needs to maintain the tone—slick and dumb. 

Den of Thieves is available on Amazon Prime and Blu-Ray

Dig what I write? Buy Me a Ko-fi!

Article: Heist, Heist, Baby - Set it Off

Heist films are a subgenre dominated by men. Often suited and booted a la Ocean’s 11 (2001) and Reservoir Dogs. Frequently involving professional guys “doing the work”. Films such as those of Micheal Mann for instance. So often, women feel like they’re on the genre’s periphery. It’s not like they’re not involved. Quentin Tarantino’s most mature movie is Jackie Brown (1997). Harmony Korine happily dabbled with female-led heists in the hyper-saturated Spring Breakers (2013). Meanwhile, Steve McQueen’s muscular Widows (2018) is a film that feels somewhat overlooked. However, when you think of heist movies the genre is prominently male. 

One of the most notable female-driven heist movies is perhaps one of the best examples of the genre in the 90s.  F Gary Grey’s Set It Off was rejected by New Line Cinema 3 times before it was greenlit. Executives believed black males would baulk at the idea of a film which had a group of Black, gun-toting females in the forefront. Soon after people came to their senses, Set it Off was made on a budget of $9 million and grossed $41 Million at the box office. This was back in the days when movie budgets were far more reasonable. The film became New Line’s biggest hit of 1996. Opening the doors for much of the movie’s cast and director. To quote the late, great William Goldman: “Nobody knows anything”.  

With America fully masking off it is safe to reuse the old cliché: You couldn’t make anything like this now. Set it Off scores off the Republican bingo card in terms of its representation and politics. Ben Shapiro would quite simply lose his mind. While a possibly amusing sight to consider it would also be a shame. The dynamics that would make the gish galloping broadcaster plotz, are the same things which make Set it Off worth watching.

 After losing her job as a Bank Teller after a violent robbery, Frankie (Vivica A Fox) lands a menial job at a janitorial service with her three longstanding friends: Single mother Tisean (Kimberley Elise), rowdy and belligerent lesbian Cleo (Queen Latifah); and Stony (Jada Pinkett Smith), who is grieving from the recent loss of her younger brother. The foursome’s financial situations are in a crisis, with desperation leading Frankie to persuade the group that performing armed robberies is the perfect way for them to get enough money to push on with their lives and possibly escape the grim realities of their southern L.A. neighbourhood. 

One of the greatest strengths of Tarantino’s early work also became an albatross for much of film in general. Reservoir Dogs (1992) revels in its post-modernism. So much so that other genre movies of the nineties seemed to only trade in their sense of irony. When Tarantino's Jackie Brown hit theatres, a sense of frustration could be felt that Quentin had moved on from his familiar bag of tricks. Jackie Brown was *about* something. And it never seemed to be winking. The same goes for Set it Off, a mainstream heist movie, laced with sociopolitical themes built organically within the narrative. The film drops messages throughout the film. But nothing said feels like shouting. It's a subtle unsubtly that has four struggling black women, a minority group that Hollywood rarely has time for. Dealing with living on the breadline, single parenting, homosexuality and female companionship, while wrapped in golden Sunkissed visuals, and blockbuster action sequences. Set it Off is constructed as well as any piece of 90s genre work. Often better than many. But the unironic, and plausible realities that the women face within the narrative, give it an edge.

F Gary Grey has had a solid mainstream career as a director. With a filmography ranging from still amusing, black slacker comedy Friday (1995), to the brawny musical biopic Straight Outta Compton (2015). His filmmaking allows characters to have actual character. Grey knows how to breathe life into the people and world on screen.  The opening bank heist sequence scores high in its energy and violence. But Grey peppers memorable notes from minor aspects. With elements such as extras who say little but have their story etched on their faces. The focus of the scene is on Fox’s Frankie whose actions propel the narrative, yet Grey ensures that the ill-fated victims of the robbery have their place. At one point a customer catches the eye early on with the slightly haughty way they hold themselves. Making their departure more shocking. The small inhalation of breath from a security guard, not only highlights his anxiety but also foreshadows his fate. These tiny moments build a scene in a way lesser film could easily dismiss. To rag on how modern movies operate is low-hanging fruit. However, a fair few movies now tend to ignore the surrounding world the protagonists inhabit. Set it Off negates this by having a plausible world where people have their moments.

Grey is drawn to strong ensemble casts. Set it Off is no exception. The main cast is one of the things that brings the film together. Screenwriter Takashi Bufford told Blackfilm in 2011 that he had written the screenplay for Jada Pinkett Smith and Queen Latifah. Smith was known for her role as Lena James in the sitcom A Different World. Latifah, a known quantity from her rap career, leapt into acting with small roles in sitcoms and movies such as House Party 2 (1991). Interestingly, Jada Pinkett Smith had sights on Queen Latifah’s boisterous role of Celo before Grey turned her on to the role of Stony, the heart and soul of the film. Vivica A Fox performed in a range of primetime fare and had just come off a supporting role as Will Smith’s stripper girlfriend in Independence Day (1994). Though an element of luck, Fox got the role after Rosie Perez dropped out. Kimberly Elise made her screen debut in the film as the impressionable T.T. Even mixed reviews of Set it Off didn’t deny the chemistry and camaraderie of the four women on screen. These four girls feel like they’ve been a lifelong group of friends, it brings a different energy and dynamic to the typical heist movie. There are less troublesome concerns about misplaced loyalties. The interaction among the four is one of the film’s biggest strengths, particularly when it gets caught in some of the trappings of the genre.

The performances from the main cast have me questioning the ridiculous notion placed forth by the studio executives. Did they honestly believe that Black Men wouldn’t dig this? While the cast broke through and moved on to various projects after Set it Off. Arguably larger projects. They rarely produce turns as enjoyable as they do here.  Vivica A. Fox shows a ruthlessness that she never brings again until her turn Kill Bill (2003). Kimberly Elise does well with the “naïve” role that appears in many heist films of its type. For an on-screen debut, she shows very little inexperience. Larger plaudits go out to Queen Latifah and Jada Pinkett Smith who play the id and superego of the group respectively. Latifah’s performance as a black lesbian is incredibly eye-catching due to being so well-rounded. Jada Pinkett Smith, who highlighted her flexibility in many roles in the 90s and early 00s comes through with a performance that perhaps shows her versatility best in Stony. At first, Smith comes across like the girl next door before growing into something different entirely. Films like Set it Off have me asking why Jada wasn’t showcased in more projects. It had me wanting to dive into more movies of hers I haven't seen, instead of just rewatching Woo (1998) and Bamboozled (2000).  

The vibrant cast bonds well with Grey’s assured filmmaking. The director, only 26 at the time, throws everything he can into the film. Often for the better. One can argue that the film is overstuffed. Grey packs everything he can into the film to give it relevance and weight. The bittersweet backstories of Stony and TT alone could make full plots for other features. There’s a feeling that the cast and crew are getting away with something here. Something that won’t be attempted too soon after. Therefore, Set it Off is filled with scenes illustrating gender, class, and racial struggle. Credit should be given to Grey’s use of form to establish this. The scene of the four women, smoking weed and bringing the world to rights is often highlighted, with the girls lamenting the now defunct factory that would have supplied all of them a living wage. However, the film never rests on its laurels with these themes. When Stony visits the home of Keith, her new boyfriend who just so happens to work high up in a bank the group have been casing, a chill of isolation can be felt. Grey forms this with simple wide framing to contrast Stony’s estrangement with Keith’s material world. “It’s not much” he claims dismissively but it’s more than Stony has ever had. 

Grey balances this with well-staged, punchy action sequences that are rich in their use of form. There’s a notable difference between the women’s haphazard first heist. The scene is full of jerky, frantic handheld camerawork. In comparison, once the girls know what they’re doing the heists become smoother, more orchestrated affairs. It’s easy to romanticise the filmmaking of yesteryear, but there’s something to be said about Set it Off’s love of push-ins and slow motion to punctuate moments of expression. Or how the film’s angles get more canted as the story intensifies later. It’s a movie in which the filmmaking feels motivated, making it hard not to feed off the energy. 

There’s something to be said about the levity of Set it Off compared to more male-orientated crime features. Set it Off still manages to deal with weighty “hood” subjects. Yet by shifting the dynamics to four black women who love each other, the film struts with a different energy. Its story isn’t out of the ordinary, yet Set it Off has these women share the screen in a way that sets it apart from other crime films. No longer is there a scene in a dark strip club with men gazing vacuously at female eye candy. Set it Off is more than happy to highlight female desires and sexuality. It is worth noting the film’s lesbian representation and how easily it’s normalised. Again, Ben Shapiro would lose his mind. In addition, many crime films have men with loyalties as the pinnacle of fragility. Set it Off views the women’s relationship with each other as a core strength. Granted this is a movie with a particular finish. Yet it is worth seeing that the strong bonds of the women don't bring them down. The film positions itself as opposed to the frantic paranoia loaded in other films of this nature. 

Recently a sequel to Set it Off has been considered. One of my favourite L.A. crushes, Issa Rae, has been attached to the production. However, this idea looks based that feels based on fuzzy-headed nostalgia and needless mining of intellectual properties. Such laziness once again neglects how many view movies. Set it off doesn’t reside in a vacuum. Nor does it hold the connective tissue to create a second story worth engaging in. Much like the girls in the movie, Set it Off had one shot to move fast and make it big and it took it with aplomb.  Leaving Hollywood to learn the wrong lessons that such a movie brings. But isn’t that often the way?

Set it Off can be found on Amazon Video

Dug what you read? Buy me a Ko-fi.