Day of Thieves by Christian Gudegast it shouldn't have worked. At first glance, the film appeared to be little more than a knock-off of Michael Mann's Heat and countless other cop-and-robber thrillers. Indeed, the film is often derivative - not only does it owe a huge debt to The Heat, but it even makes a last-minute twist blatantly "borrowed" from The Usual Suspects. And yet ... "Day of Thieves" inexplicably ruled. While no one could accuse the film of being original, the end result was very entertaining and enjoyable, and I don't mean that in a cynical 'so bad it's good' way. Violent, gripping, funny and unapologetically cheeky, Den of Thieves is down and dirty stuff - a confusing, dirty action movie about angry men shooting loud guns. It's not high art, it's high trash, and I love it with all my heart.

It's hard to hate a movie that features its hero, the hulking cop Big Nick O'Brien, grabbing a donut off the ground in an outdoor murder scene and taking a big bite. Not long after this moment, Big Nick can be seen chugging straight from a bottle of Pepto-Bismol. As played by Gerard Butler, Big Nick looks perpetually hungover—if you told me Butler downed half a bottle of Jack Daniels before filming his scenes, I'd believe you. A flamboyant, macho mess who seems constantly on the verge of burping, Big Nick was a flawed, brutish beast, unfaithful to his wife and prone to bending the law he swore to uphold to get his way. And in the end, Big Nick lost.

Den of Thieves saw Big Nick and his crew on the trail of a gang of bank robbers led by Marine vet Ray Merriman, played by Pablo Schreiber. As the gang begins to plan their final score, Big Nick tries to infiltrate the group by turning their getaway driver Donnie (O'Shea Jackson Jr.) into an informant. It all culminated in a big shootout in which several people died, including Merriman. However, in one final twist, Big Nick was shocked to learn that Merriman it wasn't the brains of the gang. Instead, the whole heist was orchestrated by Donnie, who was secretly a criminal mastermind and ultimately the only survivor who ended up getting away with all the stolen money. The "Den of Thieves" saga could have ended there, but there was also room for more - and, much to our surprise, the film ended up being a much bigger hit than expected. A sequel has been announcedand now it arrives in the form of Den of Thieves 2: Pantera. Instead of trying to recreate the crime-movie energy of Scazball LA from the first film, Gudegast takes the story to Europe, creating something larger in scale and creating a film that almost feels like a buddy comedy about big, tight guys bonding while doing some crimes. It's an absolute blast and a triumph of Dudes Rock cinema. Long live the Great Nick O'Brien, one of the greatest characters in film history.