Unlikely Heist Prequel (Army of Thieves review)

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Before Las Vegas, we meet a locksmith nerd who becomes a wanted criminal that will be chosen to crack open the Gotterdammerung amongst the likes of zombies. Not only does he reprise his role as the locksmith, but Matthias Schweighofer also directs the film alongside producer Zack Snyder. Army of Thieves serves itself as a direct prequel to Snyder's Army of the Dead that premiered on Netflix earlier this year, providing a narrative that puts the most underrated characters of the film into the spotlight. 

Army of Thieves possibly takes place a few months before Army of the Dead where the zombie outbreak has just occurred and Sebastian is in Germany living his mundane life by eating a banana muffin and working at his boring job. On the side, Sebastian makes video blogs on YouTube about his talent and knowledge of cracking the lost locked safes, especially ones made by Hans Wagner that were collectively called the Ring Cycle. The video gets attention from an anonymous source which leads to an underground competition for safecrackers in which he ultimately wins. Later he finds out that Nathalie Emmanuel's character, Gwendoline found him on the internet and sent him to this competition to learn of his talents of safecracking to recruit him to join her team on a quest to crack three of the most legendary safes in human history.

This film's lack of zombies - which was somewhat a relief - makes this unlikely heist prequel probably considered to be in the same caliber as one of the better heist movies ever done especially amongst the likes of the Oceans franchise (Sorry, FF franchise. You're just not a heist franchise no matter how hard you try). Army of Thieves was surprisingly more compelling and fun to watch despite the fact that audiences would have an idea as to what might happen in the end which would lead up to Army of the Dead. The storyline is exciting, hilarious, and adorable thanks to Matthias' bubbly character that you cannot help but love and wonder why did they not feature him as much in the zombie flick.

None of the cast members were memorable except Matthias and Nathalie due to their undeniable chemistry and connection within this narrative that you cannot help but root for them to be together. Unfortunately, like the Norse tale - that came with the legendary safes - subtly but heavily referenced in this film, it was clear that these two were doomed from the start. Speaking of that reference, it is nice to see that in this film as well... or at least parts of it, land nods to Sebastian's or... should I say Ludwig's death in the future, an easter egg that seems as spooky and unconventional as the one in the Army of the Dead about how a time loop is supposedly happening within the narrative. This compelled me further as to where this franchise is going, knowing that Zack Snyder is nowhere near to ending this shared Netflix franchise.

Without spoiling too much, Army of Thieves is a recommended watch for anyone who was invested in Army of the Dead as much as I was and is just as excited as to where we are going next with this franchise. It is also targeted towards anyone who loves heist movies which give audiences motivation to catch this proper standalone prequel that it is not bogged down by a larger narrative that is being teased by Snyder himself. Army of Thieves is streaming on Netflix today. 


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