Director: Christian Gudegast
Starring: Gerard Butler, O'Shea Jackson Jr.
Running Time: 144 minutes
Synopsis: After stealing a precious Mafia-controlled diamond in Antwerp, master thief Donnie (O'Shea Jackson Jr.) moves to Nice in southern France to plan a complex heist of the seemingly impenetrable World Diamond Centre. He connects with Cleopatra (Evin Ahmad) and her gang of Serb experts to plot the theft. Donnie's nemesis Nick O'Brien (Gerard Butler) of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department is disgruntled with his law enforcement career, and shows up in Nice offering to switch sides. The two man have to guard against each other as well as disgruntled team members, while Mafia leaders are keen to get their diamond back.
What Works Well: This sequel tries something new by dialing down the hardcore grittiness of the original and aiming for a smoother, cooler vibe. The picturesque European locations underline the shift away from violence and towards cleverness, and just the one high-energy (electric) car-chase-with-bullets scene makes the final cut. Instead, director and writer Christian Gudegast elevates a tense and mostly quiet heist centrepiece sequence into a highlight, and searches for seeds of camaraderie between Donnie and Nick.
What Does Not Work As Well: The running time is again unnecessarily flabby, the plot holes are sometimes just astonishing (including Mafia dudes showing in the middle of nowhere for a perfect intervention), and the supporting characters surrounding Donnie and Nick promise much but all fade into irrelevance. Every prominent vehicle is from the Audi/Porsche family, pushing product placement to an extreme.
Key Quote:
Nick (to Donnie): I'm broke, and I'm sick of being the hunter.

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