All Den Of Thieves Fans Should Watch Gerard Butler's 2-Year-Old Spy Thriller Trending On Netflix

Any fans of Den of Thieves will love Gerard Butler’s intense action thriller Kandahar. While he’s jumped around just about every genre imaginable, Gerard Butler’s action movies have become a staple since the 2010s. Following Olympus Has Fallen, Butler has rarely stepped away from the genre.

Den of Thieves 2’s ending promised a third adventure is on the way and while the films aren’t exactly flawless, Butler’s rogue cop “Big” Nick has become one of his most popular characters. Both Den of Thieves balanced pulpy dialogue, complex characters and thrilling action sequences.

Butler has been on a run of big action films, but one of his best slipped through the cracks in 2023. Directed by regular Butler collaborator Ric Roman Waugh, Kandahar cast Butler as a CIA operative forced to flee from Afghanistan with his translator while being pursued by mercenaries and ᴀssᴀssins.

Den Of Thieves Fans Will Love Gerard Butler’s Kandahar

Gerard Butler holding a rifle as Harris and Navid Negahban as Mo in Kandahar

Kandahar is more serious and po-faced than Den of Thieves, but it’s arguably even more action-packed. Once the chase begins it rarely lets up, as Butler’s Harris and his reluctant new pal “Mo” (Navid Negahban) are relentlessly pursued across a vast desert landscape. Along the way they dodge helicopters, road bombs and angry warlords.

Despite all the car chases and shootouts, the heart of Kandahar is the friendship between Harris and Mo. Despite coming from very different worlds, they find they have a lot in common. Harris also has to come face-to-face with the complicated politics of the country that he’s intentionally blinded himself to.

Kandahar highlights Butler’s talent for picking high concept scripts that still offer fresh twists on a familiar genre.

Kandahar has a darker, murkier story than Den of Thieves, but Waugh finds the right tonal balance between being a drama and a ripping adventure. It also highlights Butler’s talent for picking high concept scripts that still offer fresh twists on a familiar genre.

How Gerard Butler Became A Go-To Action Movie Hero

Kandahar received mixed reviews and had a tepid box office run, nabbing just under $10 million. In stark contrast, his other big 2023 release Plane was a surprise smash, grossing three times its $25 million budget and receiving 78% on Rotten Tomatoes. While he has had some duds, Butler’s action run has been very consistent.

Following the success of movies like 300 and P.S. I Love You in 2007, Butler was poised to become a major A-lister. Unfortunately, he never quite found his footing outside of action, and while rom-coms like The Ugly Truth were typically financial hits, they were also critical disasters.

After a run of flops, the first outing in the Has Fallen franchise saved Butler from a freefall. His would-be blockbusters like Gods of Egypt may have done little business, but Butler really found his groove with mid-budget, R-rated actioners like Den of Thieves, the Has Fallen sequels and Plane.

Ric Roman Waugh also directed Gerard Butler in Angel Has Fallen and Greenland, and the duo will reunite for the upcoming Greenland: Migration.

Kandahar may not have made much of a dent in 2023, but its resurgence on Netflix shows that Gerard Butler fans have rediscovered it. While Butler has some intriguing, non-action projects on the horizon, like In the Hand of Dante, he won’t be abandoning the genre either, as Den of Thieves 3 is also inbound.

Source: Box Office Mojo