Honor must be respected,” intones Jovanna (Evin Ahmad) at the start of Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, which hits theaters Jan. 10. But as the old saying goes, there’s no such thing among thieves, and that proves all too true in this stellar sequel to 2018’s cult hit.

Indeed, watching Gerard Butler, reprising his role of tough cop “Big Nick” O’Brien, struggle to learn the proper pronunciation of the word “croissant” is one of the more interesting elements of this formulaic if slickly filmed movie in which Nick goes after Donnie (O’Shea Jackson Jr.

PanteraDen of Thieves 2: Pantera dives back into the morally gray space between the worlds of criminals and law enforcement and changes the franchise’s core character dynamics in novel ways. Written and directed by Den of Thieves creator Christian Gudegast,