It’s time, my friends, to dive back into the GBCU.
We have dedicated a lot of column space to the work of our fellow Scot and star of the GBCU (Gerard Butler Cinematic Universe), only in part for a laugh. At the end of the day, I really do rate Butler as an actor (if you need convincing of his genuine chops, check out The Vanishing), but, more than that, I love his dedication to the cheerful B-list blockbusters and an old-fashioned kind of leading man charm that has been filed away to absolute texturelessness by so many of the franchises that dominate the mainstream. I love him and his work without a hint of irony – when it comes to big, silly, sweeping action-thriller movies, his presence is a stamp of approval for me, and I doubt that will ever change.
And where did this passion start, you might ask? Well, it was with Den of Thieves, one of the first movies we reviewed here on No But Listen and still one of the most holleringly-entertaining performances of Butler’s career. While the movie itself had its issues, his turn as Big Nick – the divorce-flute playing, perma-greasy, never showered alcoholic corrupt cop on the trail of a group of criminals led by Donnie (O’Shea Jackson Jnr) – is reason enough to watch it. Which, of course, means that the long-awaited (by me and only me) sequel Den of Thieves 2: Pantera was high on my list of to-watch this year, and, at last, I can finally speak about Big Nick and his shenanigans once more.
And, look, as a Gerard Butler film – this is exactly the hoot I expected it to be. If there’s one thing you can say for Butler, it’s that he never half-arses these performances, and there’s a gleeful sense of energy and fun to Nick that’s almost impossible not to enjoy. His commitment to the bit as the swaggering, bullying Nick is borderline method, hair dripping in enough grease to power a Coatbridge chippy for a calendar month, shirts unbuttoned to the navel, taking a slash with his failed child custody papers clenched in his mouth. The asshole antihero lead might be a tried and tested trope, but this is one version of it that proves it still has enormous appeal when inhabited by the right actor.
But what of the rest of Pantera? Well, the first movie revolved around Pablo Schreiber’s character, who’s absent from this one, but this one sensibly shifts the focus to O’Shea Jackson Jnr’s Donnie. Jackson Jnr and Butler have tremendously fun chemistry – the criminal who outwitted the police and the cop who can’t let it go – as they join forces to pull off a ridiculously convoluted diamond heist, but Jackson Jnr in general is just a better lead as a whole. It’s a charismatic, smooth, and not entirely self-serious turn for Jackson Jnr, and back-and-forth between him and Butler has franchise potential.
As a whole, Pantera feels like a grander and better sequel in almost every way – aside from a slightly flabby first act, it’s got a good sense of pace, and the setpieces (especially the central heist) are well-constructed and slick. Director Christian Gudegast knows his way around some decent action, even if the movie could benefit from a little more of it, and Salvatore Esposito and Evin Ahmad make great expansions to the cast.
If the first movie was a daft Heat rip-off, this is a daft The Sting rip-off, and there is nothing I don’t like about that. Is it blowing the genre out of the water? No, but as a solid piece of thriller cinema, it’s elevated by some very fun performances and a great leading duo in Butler and Jackson Jnr. As another addition to the sainted GBCU, I am happy to welcome Pantera into the ranks.
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By Louise MacGregor
(header image via IMDB)
No But Listen 