Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead was an undeniably fun zombie romp, though the filmmaker occasionally giving in to some of his worst impulses robbed it of "classic" status. Matthias Schweighöfer is at the helm of prequel movie, Army of Thieves, and with Snyder serving as a producer (he receives a "Story by" credit, but the screenplay was penned by Shay Hatten), his fingerprints are definitely all over this one. Whether it's excessive gore or what feels like wholly unnecessary Norse mythology references in regards to the safes Ludwig Dieter is tasked with cracking, that side of things tends to feel just a bit...much. Luckily, Schweighöfer elevates even the weaker moments and delivers a heist movie that's fun, exciting, and surprisingly sincere. With Army of Thieves, he puts himself on the map as a talent to watch both behind and in front of the camera.
Set prior to the events of Army of the Dead, the zombie outbreak does serve as a backdrop to Dieter's introduction to the world of crime, though nightmares involving the undead feel entirely superfluous and shoehorned in (either make it a zombie movie or don't), and these scenes feel like they're pandering to any viewers who were disappointed that this prequel wouldn't more directly link to the full-blown zombie movie we saw on the streamer earlier this year. Enlisted by an aspiring group of thieves, the lead finds himself totally overwhelmed but living the dream as he's tasked with cracking a series of legendary safes. Like most heist thrillers, there's a lot here that will be familiar to you. However, Army of Thieves turns at least some tropes on their head, resulting in some of the movie's best moments.
There's no big bad as such, and having the team pursued by an oddly intense Interpol agent doesn't really add much to the plot. As fun as it is to watch the heists (and the way CG is used to portray the inner workings of those safes), there's not a lot to them beyond a surface level. It's here the likeability of Dieter becomes crucial as you'll quickly want him to succeed in his mission.
As noted, Schweighöfer is terrific, while Nathalie Emmanuel and Ruby O. Fee similarly impress as Army of Thieves' two female leads. Emmanuel is given more to do as the woman who recruits Dieter and later serves as his love interest, but it's O. Fee we most enjoyed spending time with. Quirky and badass, we predict big things for her. Stuart Martin and Guz Khan round out the core team, and while they're not playing overly original characters, both actors do well with the material they're given to elevate their roles beyond what you'd expect from your typical fast-talking getaway driver and the douchey muscle. By now, we're sure you know Dieter's fate in Army of the Dead (as underwhelming as it was), but rest assured you'll want to see more of him, Emmanuel, O. Fee's Gwendoline and Korina down the line. Fingers crossed they're a big part of Planet of the Dead as, we didn't technically see Zeus put an end to the safecracker!
Army of Thieves does a great job setting the stage for where we found Dieter in Army of the Dead, and if this is a sign of what we can expect from the expansion of this franchise, we're excited to see what comes next. Schweighöfer's direction combined with stunning cinematography from Bernhard Jasper results in a movie with a lot of mesmerising visuals, and with so much to get invested in here, it's easy enough to look past any pitfalls. Some bolder creative decisions certainly would have been appreciated, but sublime filmmaking makes this prequel one you'll surely regret overlooking.
Army of Thieves doesn't subvert enough of its tropes to reinvent the heist genre, but Matthias Schweighöfer's incredible work both behind and in front of the camera help ensure this Army of the Dead prequel should not be overlooked.