My Kind of
Den of Thieves

Shout out to Gerard Butler, who had some banger action movies over the past decade. Olympus Has Fallen, Geostorm, and Greenland were all awesome. The kind of action movies you want to turn your brain off to. And the best of them was Den of Thieves.

Let me tell you how crazy this movie was. Gerard Butler plays an LA detective hellbent on bringing down a crew of ex-military bank robbers planning to rob the Federal Reserve Bank of Downtown Los Angeles. Who plays the robbers, you might ask? Pablo Schreiber, O'Shea Jackson Jr., and 50 Cent.

So the guy who famously played a Spartan is battling it out against the guy who played the most notorious villain in Law & Order: SVU, a rapper famous for surviving being shot nine times, and another famous rapper's son. If that's not a good time, then what is?

Seriously though, Den of Thieves is a great film if you want adrenaline without moving. It kept me on my toes for most of it, and I have to say, 50 Cent isn't bad here, either. He did the job well.

Admittedly, I have fond memories of it because I actually went to the movie's LA premiere. They held it at Regal LA Live Stadium 14 on January 17, 2018, and I couldn't have asked for a better way to start the new year. 2018 was a great year for cinema, and I know most people don't count Den of Thieves as part of it, but I do.

I met the cast and got their autographs on an early copy of the movie poster I got the day before the premiere. I spruced myself up, warmed up my vocal cords to call out to them, and brought some pens they could use. Everything went well, and when I got there, things only got better.

The cast looked like they had fun on the red carpet. As much as I loved seeing O'Shea Jackson Jr. attend with his dad, Ice Cube, I was more focused on getting the cast's autographs.

Luckily, they were ready to give them. I called out to the cast, and though only a handful came over to me, I still got their autographs. Gerard Butler, Pablo Schreiber, 50 Cent, and Cooper Andrews signed my poster. My only regret is not getting O'Shea Jackson Jr., but I was still satisfied.

They were also friendly, which really surprised me. These men have played such tough guys on screen that I didn't know what to expect, but that night, they were all nice. I felt comfortable asking them for their autographs because they were so personable.

I watched the film that night, too, and as I've been saying all this time, it was great. Was it excellent filmmaking? High-brow cinema? No, it wasn't. Still, the movie served pure entertainment on a silver platter, and I happily ate it all up. I honestly believe we need more mid movies, and this couldn't be better!