Gerard Butler’s old heist movie jumps to Netflix

Gerard Butler has played a lot of tough guys—kings, soldiers, heroes—but in one 2018 film he played someone just as tough, only on the wrong side of the law. In Den of Thieves he led a gang of ex-soldiers planning to rob a downtown Los Angeles bank. The story pits Butler’s crew against a detective trying to stop them before the vault opens. It’s the kind of setup Hollywood has used before: cops versus robbers, with high stakes and loud explosions. Critics weren’t impressed when the movie first came out. Review scores were low, though regular viewers were slightly kinder. Still, the film made four times its budget, which tells you something about what sells in action movies.Now Netflix has added it to its library alongside older crowd-pleasers. Streaming services often recycle forgotten titles when they need quick content, and crime thrillers fit the bill. The plot follows the usual pattern—betrayals, gunfights, a twist or two—but nothing here feels fresh. Fans of shoot-’em-ups might still enjoy the stunts and the back-and-forth tension, even if the script doesn’t surprise anyone. Netflix’s move shows how older films get a second life on digital shelves, especially when the price is right.