Army Of Thieves

This review may contain spoilers!

Army Of Thieves is a prequel to Zack Snyder's Army Of The Dead, which also released this year. In this feature we look back at the life of Dieter and how he came to become the best safe-cracker possible for the zombie-infested Las Vegas caper. This film really serves itself strongly as a character piece, examining the character of Dieter and putting him through a trial of fire. Meeting Dieter, known initially as Sebastian, is a wonderful starting point; this is an outsider living a mundane life. But the thing about our protagonist is he has this passion for safe-cracking and the invention of safes. The pleasure I got from watching this film was watching as Dieter stumbled into the world of master safe-cracking, eventually getting plucked up into a gang of thieves. Seeing these robberies through the eyes of an inexperienced novice is exceedingly fun, especially as Dieter can be quite cowardly or unpredictable in conflict. However, those exquisite moments in front of the safes in which Dieter begins elegantly explaining the mythos behind each individual safe, relating these allegories back to the plot at hand, are just grand examples of good screenwriting. I was also really surprised and delighted by the score for the film; it has a very light and whimsical tone which fits well with our protagonist but contrasts some of the other moments it is set against in a pleasing way.

 

Ruby O. Fee, who played Korina, has a very dry and sarcastic wit that grows on you throughout the feature; she has a very relaxed and self-confident presence that makes her very easy to like. Guz Khan, who played Rolph, is an absolutely hilarious role with some of the best quickfire dialogue; Khan is extremely cocky and steals the scene in those lighter moments.

However, the best performance came from lead performer, Matthias Schweighöfer, who played Dieter. There is little surprise that Schweighöfer stands out in this film as he is notorious for stealing the show in Army Of The Dead. But what I really wanted to know was how well he'd manage leading the action, which he is more than capable of. In this feature we meet a Dieter who seems out of touch with the life that he lives, he really yearns for something more meaningful or thrilling. When given this opportunity he stumbles his way into it but also grabs at it with certainty, proving to be an adept safe-cracker. I love seeing Schweighöfer really unleashing the bulk of comedic dialogue while also squealing or nervously negotiating his way through the more dangerous scenes. Yet the reason I loved this performance again so very much is how gently and elegantly Schweighöfer presents his monologues in front of the safes. These detailed speeches in which he describes the individual myths behind the Wagner safes with something akin to reverence is powerful, by far my favourite aspect of this prequel.

The problem with Army Of Thieves is that it really falls apart when the feature doesn't focus on Dieter. In fact, the main storyline of cracking 3 safes in 3 days is pretty cut and dry; playing out a very generic heist storyline with classic heist characters. The film even makes a few self-referencing jokes about the heist genre, almost like it knew how closely it was sticking to the mark. To break things down a lot of tropes are utilised such as characters who fill specific roles/jobs and nothing more, a heist being discussed and then acted out as it is narrated and even the classic double cross subplot. I also think the film had a very poor way of conveying exposition, with characters always narrating their backstory in the space of a scene. The romantic subplot for the feature wasn't very well told; the relationship felt one sided, especially because most of Gwendoline's thoughts and backstory we get from the perspective of Dieter's narration. Linking with Army Of The Dead by having Dieter experiencing nightmares of zombies was a pretty loose link and it felt jarring in relation to the rest of the story. The cinematography feels quite simple for such an action-heavy feature, a lot of the framing feels like its purpose is function rather than style. The editing sets some strange transitions that don't link well to one another, the title cards for main characters as they were introduced was also an awkward link back to Army Of The Dead's style.

 

Nathalie Emmanuel, who played Gwendoline, has this very stoic and serious thief leader role that she never lends much depth to; I also found that Emmanuel really puts nothing into the onscreen relationship that develops between her and Schweighöfer. Stuart Martin, who played Brad, is probably the most stereotypical of our 'army' of thieves; Martin is the musclebound man with a gun who's entire dialogue bounces from threats to testosterone-fuelled quips. Jonathan Cohen, who played Delacroix, has to be one of the most camp antagonists the film could've asked for; Cohen's role is entirely motivated by a vendetta that one of the robbers shot him in the butt, so that paints a picture. Noémie Nakai, who played Beatrix, has her work cut out for trying to do the straight man to the inconsistent performance from Cohen; I felt Nakai had potential but floundered with an overtly serious role in a comedic setting.

This isn't the best heist film but it is a significantly better watch than Army Of The Dead. I would give Army Of Thieves a 6/10.