Mark Reviews Movies: ARMY OF THIEVES

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Review by Mark Dujsik | October 28, 2021

Not every movie—even and sometimes especially the good, successful, and worthwhile ones—needs to be the starting point for a franchise. This line of thinking, of course, goes against all that Hollywood now holds as dear and nearly sacred, as every big-budget project these days seems to need at least one sequel or to serve as the beginning of some multi-part, multi-character universe.

While watching Army of the Dead, one might have considered that a sequel might eventually be released in a year or two, even though the story of that film—a clever and surprisingly human-focused hybrid of zombie horror and action, revolving around a central heist gimmick—was more or less finished by the end. Here we are, though, five months following the release of that film, and there's already a follow-up of sorts in the form of Army of Thieves, which eliminates the zombies (except on news reports and in nightmares) and the hybrid approach, as well as the cleverness and the basic level of humanity in its storytelling.

The whole of this tale, apart from an epilogue that unnecessarily replays one scene from the previous film, takes place before the events of the last one—or, more likely, concurrently with the predecessor's prologue. There's a zombie outbreak in Nevada, but none of that really matters to our central characters, who are a bit busy robbing banks across a trio of European cities.

Yes, the screenplay by Shay Hatten (one of the co-writers of the previous one) is little more than an international caper story, featuring a crew of tough and/or eccentric heisters, a bit of planning, a few self-aware robbery sequences, and a couple of betrayals and double-crosses. If not for the zombies in the far background and the presence of one character from the last film, one might assume this entire screenplay was crafted as an unrelated, standalone story. Actually, there's little reason not to wonder if it started that way.

The returning character is the likeable and amusing safecracker played by Matthias Schweighöfer, whose unbridled enthusiasm for his craft, mixed with his amiable personality and constant anxiety, certainly made the character stand out amidst a group of tough customers. In the earlier (but chronologically later) film, he was Ludwig Dieter, a master locksmith whose knowledge of cracking safes seemed more theoretical than practical. In this semi-prequel, the guy is known as Sebastian and possesses a surname that every other character finds impossible to pronounce. His experience with cracking safes is definitely only theoretical here.

Schweighöfer, who also directs the movie with some stylish flair and a decent sense of momentum, remains charmingly quirky and apprehensive here, as Sebastian provides the dramatic history of a famous safe-maker, whose four masterworks are rumored to be protecting a lot of wealth. He does all of this one his online video channel, which hasn't been viewed by a single person.

One viewer does arrive on his channel, suggesting that Sebastian prove his safe-cracking skills at a local competition in his hometown of Berlin. Upon winning, Gwendoline (Nathalie Emmanuel) reveals herself as the viewer and her plan to break into the three notorious safes she her team have discovered in Paris, Prague, and Switzerland (The fourth, obviously, is waiting for Sebastian, by then Dieter, and a different team of thieves in Las Vegas). Wanting some adventure, Sebastian agrees.

The rest of the team is made up of some usual suspects/archetypes. Korina (Ruby O. Fee) is the resident hacker, capable of breaking into and manipulating any security system (albeit with the requisite gaps and quirks that keep the robbers on their toes). Rolph (Guz Khan) is the getaway driver, and Brad Cage (Stuart Martin) is like an action-movie star brought to life. Hunting the team are Interpol agents Delacroix (Jonathan Cohen), who has a personal vendetta against them, and Beatrix (Noémie Nakai). None of these characters moves beyond their archetypical role, no matter how many flashbacks Hatten includes to explain their skills and basic personalities.

The plot itself is more of the usual, too. Hatten attempts to add some self-referential levity to the heist sequences, such as when Gwendoline explains that the first robbery will be as easy as the scene in a heist movie in which the characters explain what the plan will be. The approach too often falls into the trap of relaxing on the making of the reference, instead of actually doing anything to subvert or exceed cliché.

The second robbery features plenty of moving pieces and obstacles, but it's a lot of the same old stuff of any contemporary heist. The climactic one possesses a smart and potentially dynamic setup, as Sebastian has to crack a safe in the back of a truck while in mid-chase and on a winding road, but it's over before the filmmakers can take advantage of the gimmick.

A significant issue here is that Sebastian/Dieter isn't much of a protagonist and was better served as the softening comic relief in the previous film. Army of Thieves doesn't quite know what to do with this character as a hero, except to set him as just another cog in the machine of a predictable heist story.

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