Netflix has become a reliable platform for underrated and forgotten movies to find new audiences, or be re-appreciated by fans. One title that’s currently enjoying a bump is the Gerard Butler-starring Den of Thieves, which sits in the top 20 films (at #15) being watched on the service around the globe. Is the picture worth checking out, though?
Released in 2018, the movie reunited Butler with director Christian Gudegast, who wrote London Has Fallen. The plot deals with a group of County Sheriff Deputies in LA who take on a gang attempting to steal from the Federal Reserve. Butler plays Nicholas “Big Nick” O’Brien, a detective going after the group of ex-Marines planning the heist. Other cast members include Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and Pablo Schreiber, with the latter leading the criminal crew.
Although Den of Thieves performed above expectations at the box office, taking in over $80 million on a $30 million budget, critics were largely indifferent to the effort. Still, the film’s financial success was enough to justify a sequel being put in development, which so far has failed to materialize. Netflix subscribers have a soft spot for the movie, though, and it’s previously performed well on the streamer.
Indeed, Gerard Butler seems to be a favorite among viewers, with Angel Has Fallen somewhat inexplicably dominating Netflix at one point last year, and the perhaps-best-forgotten Geostorm also doing well in recent months. To be fair to Den of Thieves, it’s arguably a cut above some of Butler’s other projects, representing a solid thriller with a decent cast.
Those who can’t get enough of Gerard Butler can also catch his recent effort Greenland on VOD, after a planned theatrical release was cut short by COVID-19. At a time when the world is in a pretty bad place, switching off with the action star in Den of Thieves or any of his multiple actioners is pretty tempting, with Netflix subscribers clearly happy to do so.
