Den of Thieves 2: Pantera - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

The global pandemic certainly upended a lot (our lives notwithstanding). The slow trickle of projects that were sidelined by COVID and the back-to-back Writers/Actors union strikes continues with Christian Gudegast’s Den of Thieves 2: Pantera. Where the first film from seven years ago was a nice slice of gritty pulp-novel action thrills, this sequel aims for more of a classy high-stakes thriller but frustratingly void of exciting action, suspenseful plot twists, and an unforgivable incredible lack of any cowboys from hell. 

For this sequel we find Gerard Butler’s Deputy Sheriff Nick O’Brien losing his mouth for war as he’s faced with divorce and a stagnated career. Meanwhile, O’Shea Jackson Jr.’s Donnie Wilson and the Panther Crew just pulled off a massive diamond heist in Antwerp. With the crew setup for another heist in Nice, Nick muscles his way onto the crew. In order for the plan to be executed with complete domination, Nick, Donnie, and the rest of the Panthers will have to navigate deadly mobsters and crooked cops. 

I don’t necessarily aim to drag the waters by stating how hollow this sequel is, but I can’t hide the fact that Den of Thieves 2: Pantera just isn’t very good. It’s got all the weight of a fourth-act epilogue to the first film only dragged out to a new level of excessive padding. As a mild fan of the first film, I thought it was entertaining but far from high art. I was looking forward to this sequel for some more action-packed cheap dimestore crime novel-inspired thrills. Instead, this sequel seems to aim for an air of sophistication, its premise and script can’t support. 

Worse than anything, this script and plot telegram every twist and turn that comes down the road. Everything happens as expected without any surprises. From Nick’s infiltration of the Panthers to the heist to the mobsters involved to the film’s silly resolution, this film floods us with every cliche imaginable. And not even good cliches, we’re getting hit with the cheap seen that done that variety. 

That isn’t to say there wasn’t room for a sequel to Den of Thieves, but I have to question the value of this attempt seven years after the first film and especially when it’s obviously setting up a third chapter. The exploration of Butler’s Nick and Jackson Jr.’s Donnie and their character relationships could have been worthwhile, but this is a weirdly placid sequel. We’ve seen the “Good Cop and Bad Robber Become Friends” film so many times now. Somehow this sequel hits all of those familiar plot beats so hard it blunts any character and story impact as if hit by a primal concrete sledge. 

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray 
Den of Thieves 2: Pantera takes a run at 2160p with a two-disc + Digital 4K UHD release from Lionsgate. The 4K is pressed on a BD100 disc with a BD50 serving the 1080p and bonus features. The discs are housed in an eco-friendly two-disc case with identical slipcover art. The discs load to animated main menus with basic navigation functions.

While the film itself might be questionable, it’s not heresy to say that Den of Thieves 2: Pantera makes for a damned stunning 4K Dolby Vision transfer! Going big and international was good for this franchise extension, allowing for a more robust visual palette. Since it went international, locations are more vivid and interesting to look at. Details are robust, letting facial features and greasy beards get their due along with the various lux costumes and cars. The Dolby Vision HDR grade is excellent, letting the color dynamics of various locations shine. The film has an overall golden sundrenched color scheme, but it doesn’t grossly affect other aspects of the presentation. Skin tones are healthy and human. Primaries get their time in the sun. Black levels are especially effective given all of the intense dark locations. Whites are brilliantly crisp without any issues there. Front to back this is an all around great 4K transfer.

Matching the video score is the solid Atmos track. The film does enjoy a very clever sound design. Right from the jump with the heist sequence, we have a rich immersive sound design. You get the echoes of police sirens bouncing around the shipping containers giving all of the surround and height channels plenty of pin-point object-specific activity. Gunfire gets plenty of priority! The big climactic car chase is excellent stuff with gunfire, smashing bullets, and car engines zipping through tunnels and scenic roads. Dialog is clear throughout without issue, which is good since some of the accents can get a tad thick. The score and various music cues fill the soundscape nicely. It certainly looks like a bigger film than the first and the audio mix matches that sentiment.

Lionsgate continues to pack their 4K and Blu-ray discs with the same content, which is nice since you don’t have to flip between discs to get everything. The audio commentary with the director, producer, editor, and cinematographer is a solid listen - easily the best piece of the pack. The featurette is informative but doesn't amount to a whole lot. The curiosity is the nearly 20 minutes of deleted scenes, and I can’t help wonder if the film might have worked better with them left in? Maybe not every excised scene is essential, but it might have helped ease the pace and let some of the more cliched reveals feel less abrupt and obvious?

4K UHD / Blu-ray

• Audio Commentary featuring Christian Gudegast, Tucker Tooley, Terry Stacey, and Robert Nordh
• Flipping the Script: Plotting Den of Thieves 2 (HD 21:09)
• Deleted Scenes (HD 18:02)
• Theatrical Trailer 

I knew what I was getting into with Den of Thieves 2: Pantera. I wasn’t expecting high art, I just wanted pulpy action thrills. But after five minutes alone, I couldn’t help but feel my disappointment. Strength against strength, I had hope the film would come together in the end for a somewhat satisfying finale, but it just kept hitting those tried and true plot cliches. I always felt ahead of every reveal as if each twist was signaled miles away via semaphore. So it goes. Hey, at least the disc is technically excellent. Lionsgate delivers an impressive 4K Dolby Vision/Atmos experience for fans to devour. So if you genuinely enjoyed the film, this is a great disc for the collection. If you didn’t like the first film, there’s not much here to turn that view around. Ultimately it’s Worth A Look but not much else.