3 out of 5 stars
Zack Snyder fans will be glad to see that the regularly celebrated and maligned director has found new life on Netflix with his Army of the Dead franchise. Even though many critics panned his latest streaming venture, audiences kept coming back for more of the zombie heist action. Within this fateful cast of characters was an unexpected bright point found in the safecracker Ludwig Dieter played by one of Germany’s biggest stars, Matthias Schweighöfer. He not only stars in the prequel to Snyder’s zombie adventure, but also directs this tale of his character’s history leading up to the infamous heist.
Before joining the team that would attempt to break into the vault in Las Vegas, Deiter worked as a teller in a bank branch in Munich. Even though he is a gifted and motivated safecracker and even posts about his passion on Youtube, few people take notice of his talents. Then one day, he gets a mysterious invitation to an underground event that pits those with similar nefarious gifts against one another in a competition. After unexpectedly winning this bizarre battle, Deiter is approached by the notorious jewel thief Gwendoline (Nathalie Emmanuel) with a proposition. She hopes to recruit the reclusive bank teller to join her team to break into a series of vaults designed by the legendary locksmith, Hans Wagner.
With the latest zombie outbreak causing most of the world to be distracted, the team hopes to benefit from this diversion and get in without being detected. In typical heist fashion, Gwen has a small gang of thieves who play various roles in these intricately planned break-ins. Even though most of the group hopes to gain financially from these jobs, Gwendoline’s primary motivation is to establish herself as a legendary thief who could crack these legendarily impregnable vaults. With limited time and Interpol tracking their every move, she must work to keep her quirky band of thieves focussed and alive as they put their plans into motion.
What can be said about Matthias Schweighöfer’s vision for this comedic caper with a zombie apocalypse working around in the background is that Zach Snyder was not too far off. Every element of the cinematography, music and action has the producer's fingerprints all over them. As this sets up the eventual backstory for Army of the Dead, all the German actor needs to do is to enjoy the ride and unpack his character’s history. This is aided by his unassumingly winning personality and ability to bring the audience along as his life unfolds before them. Even though it has action, romance and inter-team difficulties, it was a challenge to keep people’s attention with all of the dialogue about the details of safecracking and Wagner’s legacy.
Army of Thieves is a by-the-book heist project despite having the zombie element boiling in the background. Yet, Schweighöfer is self-aware enough to make this part of the narrative and does allow the viewer in on the joke. He capitialises on the humour of his characters, but does not lose sight of the action needed within this stroyline, Interestingly, once again, this movie proves that Snyder may be better suited as a producer than sitting in the director’s chair. He has allowed his protege to make a better film than the original installment in the franchise. Especially since it is more accessible to a broader audience and, unlike the first chapter, they have allowed the movie to be edited down to a reasonable time frame. Not that it breaks any new ground within the genre, but it does introduce the world to the refreshing talent of Matthias Schweighöfer and it will provide an entertaining option for Netflix followers.
Reel Dialogue: What are your gifts and are you using them?
Ludwig Deiter’s gifts were honed from a young age and they eventually became a passion for him. One undercurrent of this film touches on people's inner drive to do whatever it takes to satisfy the need to express their talents and desires. Even though God never gets a mention in the film, Army of Thieves does draw on the concept of the established gifts afforded to each person. Unwittingly the film suggests that their existence had an origin.
In the Bible, two writers named David and Jeremiah spoke of how God wove us together before we were born and had plans for our lives. He was the originator of our thoughts, dreams and talents, which makes sense why so many people work so hard to use them. Despite the sacrifice, the difficulties and hardship, their fulfilment needs to be satisfied.
Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
