Army of Thieves (2021) Dir. Matthias Schweighöfer

The first rule of Safe Club? Don’t talk about Safe Club! Well, I will talk about it as we deep dive into this prequel/spin-off to Zack Snyder’s zombie heist film Army of the Dead from earlier in the year (our review). Here, we follow director/actor Matthias Schweighöfer who reprises his role as German safe-cracking expert Ludwig Dieter from Snyder’s film.

Socially awkward and relegated to unwatchable YouTube videos he is recruited to an underground safe-cracking competition. After his surprising win, he’s asked to join a team of criminals who want to get rich by breaking into 3 historic money safes designed by a legendary locksmith that are spread over the globe.

Despite his gawkiness and innocence he gains sympathy from Gwendoline (an excellent Nathalie Emmanuel), who introduces him to the seasoned crew which includes hacker Korina (Ruby O. Fee), driver Rolph (Guz Khan) and action-hero Brad Cage (Stuart Martin). Right off the bat, the film is better and far more fun than Snyder’s dry and dull “Dead” film, with the tone upbeat and plenty of tongue in cheek heist shenanigans.

And although there’s a few nods to Nic Cage films with Brad’s name and some clips from that actor’s films, the movie actually more broadly nods to the puzzle solving and global criss-crossing of National Treasure. Combined with a diverse and likeable cast, it’s enjoyable to spend time with them and their silly banter.

Thankfully the zombies are a foot note and despite what people may say about what you should know before you go in, you really don’t need to know much at all. I can safely say I saw Army of the Dead and can barely remember a minute of that dullard of a movie. So prior knowledge may be useful I guess – but personally I wouldn’t bother, and frankly you'd be better off not wasting your time.

Some Edgar Wright-style transitions, titles and text design on screen adds a bit of hipster charm too and when it does flashback to some Snyder footage, I was reminded how awful that movie’s shallow focus cinematography was. Yuk.

Maybe my expectations were lowered owing to my luke-cold reception to Army of the Dead, and it’s certainly no memorable masterpiece, but I can’t say it wasn’t mostly harmless fun. Anyone partial to a good hi-energy heist film will have an entertaining 2-hours from this nerdy distraction.

★★★½

Michael Sales