Earlier this year, Zack Snyder gave us Army of the Dead, a movie about a team of mercenaries trying to pull off an impossible heist amid a zombie apocalypse. This time, we’re getting thrown six years before the events of that film for Army of Thieves, a heist movie following the character of Ludwig Dieter (Matthias Schweighöfer), a talented safecracker. He gets recruited by a woman named Gwendoline (Nathalie Emmanuel) to rob three of the most complex safes ever made in the early days of the zombie apocalypse.
Army of Thieves takes one of the supporting characters of the first film and serves as a prequel and a bit of an origin story for Dieter. Schweighöfer, who portrays the protagonist, also directs the movie. So does this work as a prequel to one of Netflix’s biggest original films ever made? Surprisingly, it works very well. This is an enjoyable heist movie with charm from Schweighöfer, both in front of and behind the camera.
Heist films generally follow a specific formula: a group of people comes together to steal something, each member of the team has a particular skill set to assist with the mission, the authorities investigate the thieves, but at the end of the day, the heroes succeed in their mission and drive off into the sunset. This movie follows that formula to a tee, barely offering anything new, but remains quite an entertaining ride. The charm of this film partially comes from its self-awareness, with a screenplay that’s honest about the character and genre tropes.
The film moves at a delightfully brisk pace, casually referencing the zombie apocalypse in a way that may seem jarring to those who have not seen Army of the Dead, but this is a very different film. With Army of the Dead, Snyder was making a serious heist action film with blood and guts. However, Schweighöfer brings a very different style to the genre, offering a heist movie with a more lighthearted comedic twist. Our new set of heroes have to steal from three safes as the authorities close in and the relationships build between the team members. The directions the relationships go are all entirely predictable but serviceable nevertheless.
Each character stands out on their own, and they are all fun personalities to watch. Dieter steps into protagonist status surprisingly well in a role that could be annoying in the wrong hands, but Schweighöfer portrays him with such innocence and likability. In a genre film, a typical male protagonist is generally the coolest, suavest guy in the room, but Dieter does not follow these norms, bringing his unique talent and charm to the table.
As far as the film’s issues go besides the familiarity, the action sequences don’t quite look as good as Schweighöfer may have intended, with some moments that appear to be trying too hard to be flashy. However, Schweighöfer still helms the film with considerable flair, giving us a heist film that succeeds in the breezy entertainment it desires to be. This may not be the prequel fans expected or asked for, but the result is a film that doesn’t take itself too seriously, has likable performances, and sets up the possibility for more movies from a zombie-filled world.
SCORE: 7/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 7 equates to “Good.” A successful piece of entertainment that is worth checking out, but it may not appeal to everyone.
Disclosure: Reviewer saw the film at a critic screening for our Army of Thieves review.
