Den Of Thieves

The inevitable clash between an unbeatable crew addicted to heists and an elite unit of Los Angeles detectives comes to a head in "Den Of Thieves." The movie blurs the lines between good and evil by examining the rivalry between a police unit and a crew of career criminals. The gritty Los Angeles crime saga follows the intersecting and often personally connected lives of the LA County Sheriff's Department led by "Big Nick" O'Brien (Butler) and the state's most successful bank robbery crew. The robbers plan a seemingly impossible heist on the Federal Reserve Bank of Downtown Los Angeles. (Gary Reber)

Special features include the extended unrated version (02:28:49) and the theatrical version (02:20:28); commentary with Director Christian Gudegast and Producer Tucker Tooley; an alternate ending (HD 04:51); the featurettes "Alpha Males" (HD 02:06), "Into The Den" (HD 02:06), and "Alameda Corridor" (HD 03:13); 11 outtakes and deleted scenes (HD 23:22); upfront previews; and a Movies Anywhere digital copy.

The 2.39:1 1080p AVC picture, reviewed on a Sony Bravia Z9D 4K Ultra HD HDR display, upconverted to 2160p with greater resolution and luminance, was photographed digitally using the Arri Alexa XT Plus camera system and sourced from a 2K master Digital Intermediate format. The picture is terrific, exhibiting an intense visual quality with well-saturated, but natural colors. Color density is solid, hues that are warm and rich. Production design is realistic throughout with numerous varied settings from clean to gritty environments. Fleshtones are generally naturally hued, though, at times rendered with a slight sepia tint exhibited in some scenes. Contrast is excellent, with deep blacks and revealing shadow delineation exhibited in the night scenes. Resolution is excellent throughout, with fine detail revealed in every scene. Facial features, skin pores, wrinkles, hair, beards, clothing, police vests, Big Nick's weathered leather jacket, and all manner of object texture are nicely defined. The imagery is sharp and very realistic. This is a well-crafted presentation that is engaging in every scene, for an intense build-up. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is effectively dynamic, though, generally frontal focused, as there is quite a bit of dialogue involved. Of course, action scenes are intense with loud, powerfully impactful automatic and semi-automatic gunfire. In one robbery scene the voices of the robbers are discretely positioned in the surrounds, including center back. Atmospherics are realistic throughout and at times spread out to the surrounds with effective aggressive panning. Dialogue is intelligible throughout and well integrated spatially. The electronic music score is infrequent, but when activated occupies a wide soundstage. Deep bass is well extended and at times intense. The last scene is an intense shootout with powerful dynamics. This is a superb soundtrack that perfectly complements the intriguing storytelling. (Gary Reber_