Army of Thieves

Dieter was one of my favourite parts of Army of the Dead. There are moments where he falls into the "weird European" trope but Matthias played it well and he got more than a few laughs from me. Giving his character his own movie was a bold choice and while Matthias retains his charm as Dieter, making him the main player stretches that likeability to its limits. He starts to grate in certain scenes but the movie pulls back enough that it didn't become annoying or ruin the experience. His naivety and underdog spirit are still relatable considering the circumstances. I can't say much either way about the other members of the team, only Gwendoline avoids being a stock character, even if her interest in Dieter is a little puzzling. There's nothing wrong with the characterization in Army but other than Dieter, it's not driven by strong character development.

Schweighofer is pulling double duty as both the star and the director and the star. Thieves is competently shot and put together, the car chases and action scenes are all decent and they flow as they should. The bits with the zombies are sprinkled in effectively but what's interesting to me is how little connecting tissue there is between the movies despite them existing in the same universe. It's another interesting choice and in a way Thieves benefits from it. Thieves stands on its own and doesn't rely on Dead to justify itself. It shows confidence and I respect that for sure.

Matthias Schweighofer is more established as an actor in foreign films but Thieves shows that his performance in Dead wasn't a fluke. He's consistent with the performance and while I didn't always love Dieter as a character, it wasn't due to his acting. He's actually pretty good at displaying a child-like wonderment when he's brought into this world. Nathalie Emmanuel has a lot of screen presence and this movie knows how to use it, she's sultry and mysterious as Gwendoline. You can see why Dieter would be captivated by her and she's good at showing that there's still humanity and vulnerability underneath the front that her character is putting up. I wish Ruby O. Fee was given more to do and ditto for Guz Khan and Jonathan Cohen, they're all forced to go over-the-top to make up for the fact they're given so little on the page. Brad Stuart is appropriately cast but he's also relegated to just being the pretty-boy jerk and his performance is just that.

Army of Thieves has a decidedly different feel than Army of the Dead. It's contained and doesn't feel like the world hangs in the balance. I appreciated that, it's a choice I wish more movies would make and it limits some of the cartoonish feel that Army of the Dead couldn't escape. But this will turn some people off and it wasn't as "epic" in scale so that could limit interest. The downside is that Thieves has more than its share of heist movie cliches, from the character types to the surprise twist. The focus on safe-cracking is a new angle but from the dialogue to the characters, you've seen a lot of this before.

Army of Thieves is more familiar and less high-concept that its predecessor but I think it has far fewer problems and is a better movie overall. Is it stellar or must-see material? Absolutely not. But I want to applaud Schweighofer and his team for taking this universe in a different direction and although adhering to the basics isn't always exciting, it can make for a better overall film. If you liked Army of the Dead or enjoy heist movies, give this a watch. But if you haven't seen Army of the Dead, I can't insist on a viewing but I also wouldn't describe it as a waste of time.

This is good fun, and part of a series of films. I've only seen this one so far. This is a prequel to Army of the Dead.

Army of Thieves introduces us to a bank teller, Sebastian (Matthias Schweighöfer), whose obsession is safe combinations. He practices at home seeing how fast he can open a lock.

Sebastian has a YouTube video about the great locksmith Hans Wagner. Wagner created four impenetrable vaults, named after the Ring Cycle: Siegfried , Die Walküre, Das Rheingold, and Götterdämmerung.

No one knows where Gotterdammerung is, but a young woman named Gwendoline (Nathalie Emmanuel) is impressed by Sebastian's video and wants him to join her in cracking Siegfried, Die Walkure, and Das Rheingold. He agrees.

He then joins Gwendoline and her gang, Korina (Ruby O. Free), Brad (Stuart Martin), and Rolph (Guz Khan). A frustrated detective Delacroix (Jonathan Cohen) and Beatrix (Noemie Nakai) are after them, but the crooks keep beating them. Meanwhile Sebastian (who later changes his name to Ludwig Dieter) is successful in opening the first two safes and stealing a great deal of money.

For Sebastian, it's the challenge; for Gwendoline, it's making history. The money is secondary.

When they reach the third safe, trouble brews. As bad as it gets, Gwendoline's jealous boyfriend Brad makes the situation even worse.

Very enjoyable film, with an excellent performance by Schweighofer as a man who leads a dull and somewhat lonely life and is introduced to danger and adventure by Gwendoline.

The entire cast is excellent.

In Army of the Dead, which was actually made first, a group goes after the Gotterdammerung during a zombie apocalypse in Las Vegas. The zombie apocalypse is going on during Army of Thieves as well. I can't give anything else away, but if you come across these films, see Army of Thieves first.

I enjoyed this one more than its predecessor.

While the first one was a disappointment cos there were expectations, this one surpassed the expectations in terms of being a very different prequel.

Hope there are more chapters of Ludwig Dieter/Sebastian.

Also they shud get the zomtiger back somehow.

What makes this movie different is that it excels in the filming of the details. Every time they crack a safe and the film zooms in on the details, it is just marvellous. And then there is the superb acting of mainly Nathalie Emmanuel (Gwendoline) and Matthias Schweighöfer (Dieter). The plot and storyline are predictable but this does not prevent to put a quality label on this movie. Just watch the credits at the end, then you realize what an amount of work has been put into this movie. Now I am waiting for a sequel where they go for the fourth and final Wagner vault! This is not a zombie movie but a thoroughbred heist movie. Heist movies tend of course to be similar and predictable, and "Army of Thieves" is not different. You've got all the usual stuff from the assembly of the team of experts with highly specialized skills to the double-crossing. I was also happy to see a Nixon mask during a heist. The last time I saw this was in 1991 (Point Break) "Army of Thieves," is a prequel starring and directed by the "Army of the Dead" ensemble player Matthias Schweighöfer and takes place in the very early days of the zombie apocalypse. With the undead safely confined to the United States, the Europe-set "Thieves" is free to focus entirely on pulling of the biggest heist in history.

Straightforward review, just watch this movie. It's just over 2 hours but is over in a jiffy.

The movie starts in a very unique way. It is artistic and creates an interesting built up. The pace of the movie is fast enough to keep you awake, which is good; even if you're not too excited about the happening, you still don't get bored. However, the end of the movie doesn't make enough sense. It felt like sort of another movie. It's like nobody knew how to finish it properly, in an interesting and meaningful way. Also, "Army" of Thieves doesn't make much sense either. Where's the "Army"? The ending of the movie might make more sense if there's second movie to it, but in any case, the ending is not fun.