Action trailer for “Criminal Squad 2” makes “Fast & Furious” look old

Action fans can rejoice, because the first trailer for “Criminal Squad 2” with Gerard Butler is finally here! And it promises plenty of uncompromising action.

Gerard Butler will not be portraying walking killing machines or one-man armies on screen anymore. He wants to play more ordinary men who would not fall any further under normal circumstances, but who have to rise above themselves in an emergency situation. In “Plane” the British actor played a pilot, in “Greenland” a civil engineer and in “Chase” even a rich real estate agent. The ones who suffer are the fans of his most popular action series, “Has Fallen”. It is currently unclear and relatively unlikely whether there will ever be a reunion with Secret Service agent Mike Banning.

There is one exception, however, in the form of the rough LA cop Nick “Big Nick” O'Brien from the action thriller “Criminal Squad”. Audiences will soon be able to see the larger-than-life law enforcer, who doesn't take the law too seriously, on the big screen again. Constantin Film has just unveiled the first trailer for “Criminal Squad 2”:

While Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his family switch sides in the “Fast & Furious” series and work for the law – or what they think it is, anyway – Gerard Butler's Nick O'Brien is clearly going the other way. No surprise really, as in “Criminal Squad” people were wondering the whole time when he would become a criminal himself, he was so ruthless and cold-blooded. Now that there are no more rules to follow and morality has no meaning in the underworld anyway, the action can really begin. And the trailer promises a real fireworks display.

“Criminal Squad 2”: Gerard Butler is one of the last real action stars

Detective Nick “Big Nick” O'Brien hates one more than serious criminals – when they get away from him. Ray Merrimen and his crew may have been able to take out the real mastermind behind the whole thing, Donnie Wilson (O'Shea Jackson Jr.), who was able to escape. O'Brien is able to follow his trail all the way to Europe. But he doesn't want to arrest him; he wants to join forces with him to make sure he's set for himself. The unlikely pair are expecting a diamond coup like they've never seen before – and all sorts of groups want the whole pie for themselves.

This time Christian Gudegast was once again responsible for the direction and screenplay. Once again he drew on the genre pool for his action-packed chase. While the first film was primarily based on the classics “Heat” and “The Usual Suspects”, this time it is quite obvious that the filmmaker has drawn on a handful of films. From “Ronin” to “The Italian Job” to “Fast & Furious”, pretty much every genre gem is allowed to keep its head. But it's better to steal well than to think up badly. In addition to Gerard Butler and O'Shea Jackson Jr., other roles include Evin Ahmad, Swen Temmel, Jordan Bridges, Yasen Zates Atour, Salvatore Esposito and Michael Bisping.

“Criminal Squad 2” was released in Germany on January 9, 2025 in the cinemas. January will also be explosive. To refresh your knowledge before the cinema release, you can stream “Criminal Squad” on Amazon.

The “Fast & Furious” films are the benchmark for fast-paced action films with wild chases. How well do you know Vin Diesel's baby? Test your knowledge with this quiz:

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