When Zack Snyder delivered Army of the Dead in May of 2021, there was so much joy throughout the insanity that was the zombie infestation of Las Vegas. A crew had been put together with Dave Bautista in the lead who was charged with “stealing” hundreds of millions of dollars out of the basement safe by the casino’s owner himself. When assembling the team, a brilliant safe-cracker was not only integral to the entire endeavor even working, but when all is said and done, he or she must be your MVP.
In what was a shocking and welcomed surprise, that Most Valuable Person was none other than Dieter Lang, a German expert at all things lock and safe. Matthias Schweighöfer stole scenes left and right and immediately became a fan favorite for those who adore their Ocean’s 11 blended with World War Z.
Fast forward five months later and Dieter has got his own prequel to Army of the Dead, appropriately titled Army of Thieves.
Those pesky zombies are just beginning to be talked about on the news. In Europe, an entire ocean has kept those brain devourers at bay—for now. Dieter is just a simple man, leading a life so boring he can taste the excitement of the mere promise of possibilities.
Dieter has his own YouTube channel with a series of vids that explore the history and mystery of safe locks. One particular series caught the eye of Gwendoline (Nathalie Emmanuel), and it has to do with the so-called Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle operas, which is in turn inspired by Norse mythology.
These “Wagner series” of safes was crafted by a fellow German fellow known for creating some of the most layered and complex lock and safe combinations in the history of that landscape. There are four of these safes across the globe and Gwendoline knows where they are and exactly what is inside them. She needs Dieter to join with his unique set of skills.
Dieter doesn’t even blink. He feels that this is what he was born to do.
Shay Hatten penned Army of the Dead and she returns to write the prequel. That congruency is evident from the opening moments, even though these two films share nothing in common except the safecracker and his million-dollar persona. Hatten has crafted a terrific, edge of your seat, heist flick—which is no easy task. Audiences in 2021 are smart. They have seen it all. To entertain and enthrall in a subgenre that is the heist flick and deliver something incredibly unique and extraordinarily entertaining is quite the achievement.
Whereas in Army of the Dead, there was one safe and a million zombies, Army of Thieves can be more about the quartet of heists and the personalities that “fill out” the crew. All heist movies have to have a crew! Snyder’s Army of the Dead had one and it was impressive what Hatten and Snyder were able to accomplish in the character development department while an army of different breeds of zombies was hunting with aplomb. Hatten’s prequel doesn’t take that opportunity to further develop a crew for granted. As such, viewers are treated to a team whose chemistry transcends the heist milieu—Casting Directors Maya Kventy and Kate Ringsell have truly outdone themselves.
Joining Dieter and Gwendoline as part of the Fab Five is Korina (Ruby O. Fee), getaway driver Rolph (Guz Khan), and he loves himself a little too much Brad (Stuart Martin). Schweighöfer also plays a second role, which makes what he achieved with his performance all the more impressive. The actor serves as the film’s director.
Schweighöfer is no stranger to being behind the camera. Army of Thieves serves as his fifth feature film and that experience shows with every frame of the film. The key to why heist movies are so beloved (when they do it right) is because of that can’t-miss combination of an electric ensemble with thrills that are innate to the art of cracking a safe and then the pulse-pounding nature of getting out of there without being caught.
The director’s command of all of the balls circling in the air is uncanny. It feels like a feature coming from a filmmaker with twice the experience.
Army of Thieves is quite often funny, and those emotional ebbs and flows are so important to any storytelling endeavor, especially one involving thrills and suspense. Schweighöfer is clearly having a blast in front of and behind the camera. Like Dieter and those safes, Matthias is doing what he loves, and that blind joy is palpable. He also learned much from Snyder on Army of the Dead in terms of how to inject that humor and most importantly, when.
There’s also the element of escape. Choreographing and executing these segments are challenging yes, but integral to whether the film cooks or falls flat. The actor almost makes it look effortless with how these scenes are captured, edited, scored, and shot. It is such a home run that consider The Movie Mensch already in line for whatever Schweighöfer shoots next.
Grade: A