Army of Thieves
Six years before the events ofArmy of the Dead , Ludwig Dieter was a unlike man . Although not only lack in confidence , he lived a animation of solitude and to the full embraced his good - cracking dreaming in his head . Written byArmy of the Deadscreenwriter Shay Hatten , from a story he wrote with Zack Snyder , and point by Matthias Schweighöfer , Army of Thievesshifts its tone and genre to fit the unconventional dependable - cracker . Although many would be completely satisfied with not knowing the source of the eccentric man from Snyder ’s automaton legal action - thriller , it seems the Hollywood machine will never discontinue to turn out every possible twisting - off , subsequence , and prequel it can for any seemingly interesting supporting eccentric . So , doesArmy of Thievesprove it deserves to exist ? Yes , it ’s pretty darn delightful . Army of Thievesis thrilling , endearing , and masterfully crafted , turn an already interesting supporting character into an exceptional lead .
Before he was known as Ludwig , Sebastian Schlencht - Wöhnert was a lonely German military man living a monotone lifetime filled with uneventful day as a banking concern teller and progress up his theoretical knowledge of condom . Most notably , his passionateness involves the mythical Hans Wagner safes and crack all four Norse mythology - base masterpieces . In connection withArmy of the Dead , Sebastian will finally get to the fourth safe after cracking the first three . Army of Thievesis the story of how he did just that , and how these events led him to California where he would be offer up the chance to crock up the Götterdämmerung in the zombie - infested Las Vegas .
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As is the lawsuit for many prequels , suspense and excitement is often damp by the fact that viewers know the outcome of the protagonist ’s journey . However , Hatten ’s hand and Schweighöfer ’s directing take the less jaunt route of deriving the film ’s enjoyment from the journey , not the destination . Surprisingly , Sebastian ’s ( a.k.a . Ludwig ’s ) fate inArmy of the Deadquickly fades into the deep recesses of one ’s mind becauseArmy of Thievesis a thoroughly enthralling adventure of one awkward nice hombre finding new friend , mayhap a lover , and quest for his greatest passion : crack condom . In fact , Hatten and Schweighöfer bring off to dribble in rather heavy reminder of what is to come in for the beloved cracksman in rather elusive way that do n’t intrude on the plastic film ’s momentum . His fears and anxiety about the ongoing zombie outbreak feel natural to his character and the obvious fact that Götterdämmerung will be a military mission he pursue on his own in the future does n’t ever feel out of post . cede , the satisfaction of a natural finish is marred by the reality that Sebastian and his new admirer do not succeed in crack all four safes . However , Schweighöfer ’s lively approach to the story ca-ca it all worth it .
The film ’s unspoiled feature of speech is Schweighöfer ’s sense of comedic timing and extremely pleasing visual aesthetic . In comparison to its harbinger , Army of Thievesfeels like an completely new film , despite the borrowing of objectionable deed of conveyance cards to display the role ’s locations and enter the characters themselves . However , even those things , and the scant vignettes that condense the grapheme ’s respective backstories , are done so in a way that work due to Sebastian ’s kid - like wonder as he abuse into the cosmos of outside stealing . Schweighöfer ’s directing manner is fully personalized to the persona he plays so exquisitely . Sebastian is still as awkward as ever , but incredibly endearing . That form and jolly nature that exudes from Sebastian permeate throughout the integral motion picture , specifically in its aesthetical and tempo . While the photographic film lacks any narrative suspense , what ultimately drive the film is the primal pencil lead — Sebastian and Gwendoline ( Nathalie Emmanuel ) .
Nathalie Emmanuel ’s Gwendoline is effectively Catwoman , an external jewelry thief that has an impressive rap piece of paper that get her the quarry of Interpol . However , Gwendoline lacks the cat - burglar doohickey and is in spades nicer than Selina Kyle . The compare is heightened since , at one detail , Gwendoline and her gang are precede with a plethora of tiny kittens at their hideout ( it ’s soda pop cultivation synergism at work ) . Gwendoline is , for the most part , the conscientious objector - lead . But as is the nature of prequels , her character ontogeny is decidedly short on substance as we hump she is a non - component later on in our protagonist ’s future adventure . It ’s not unlike to Qi’ra from Star Wars’Solo , who ultimately had no permanent impact on the universe . While Emmanuel ’s character is certainly the one who sets off the Antoine Domino effect that leads Sebastian / Ludwig to Las Vegas , there is simply very little for Gwendoline to be anything other than a game catalyst . And her squad is an annex of that as well as the Interpol factor that chase her . They all experience so inconsequential , but not entirely unentertaining .
Although the film does suffer from a slightly long runtime , it is not that noticeable as Schweighöfer makes usance of every form . There is nothing that is ever uninteresting to see onscreen , the use of European locals is used to the fullest extent . The photographic film is very stylish with the characters ' outfit adequately representing who they are — from the generic Hollywood hero type in Brad Cage ’s ( Stuart Martin ) appearance to the hot but cool - head hacker in Korina ( Ruby O. Fee ) , and the “ I ’m just here to ride cars very fast and feed a lot ” getaway number one wood vibration in Rolph ( Guz Khan ) to Gwendoline ’s sleek and sexy external stealer get - up . Of of course , the crème de la crème is the eccentric , yet oh - so - chic European way that Sebastian bosom , which is fully realized , each outfit perfectly tailored to the star / music director of the film . While maintaining a curt looking at , the film moves at a good footstep , only ever slowing down to develop Sebastian ’s fibre quirks and to ultimately fetch a bit of style and excitement to the good - cracking business . Just as Anya Taylor - Joy has been credited for convey aphrodisiac back to chess , Schweighöfer definitely does his part to do the same for safecracking . ( Apologies to Charlize Theron fromThe Italian Job , there is a new blond safecracker in townspeople . )
All in all , Army of Thievesis quite the victory . It expertly subverts prequel arithmetic mean all while being a playfulness man to a big mystifier . If this film is any indication of the quality of work that will progress up theArmy of the Deaduniverse , then it is dependable to say that we are about to get a really interesting franchise with each installment carrying its own unique characteristics . Army of Thieveswill surely send many towards Schweighöfer ’s filmography , several of which he lead himself . With Hollywood at his door now , there is no telling what this German headliner will cook up next .
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Nathalie Emmanuel in Army of Thieves
Army of Thievesbegins stream on Netflix on October 29 , 2021 . The film is 127 minutes long and is unrated .
Army of Thieves is the 2021 prequel to Zack Snyder ’s Army of the Dead . Starring Matthias Schweighöfer , who also attend as the director , this heist comedy centers around Ludwig Dieter ’s quest to crack a series of fabled safes alongside a team of most - want outlaw across Europe . It take place at the accurate same prison term the zombie Revelation of Saint John the Divine begin , back when Dieter was still known as Sebastian Schlencht - Wöhnert .
Nathalie Emmanuel in Army of Thieves
