Conceived as a spin-off and at the same time a prequel to the recent Army of the dead, Netflix movie Army of thieves this production Zach Snyder (300, Man of Steel) and Netflix which stands out for two factors: firstly, and regardless of its ambition as a genre film, in this case “one of thefts”, which is a thoughtful product with cinematic weight, no matter how much it was intended to be shown directly into the film. small screen. Second, and after his director of the DC superhero franchise was evicted to try and create a constellation of zombie invasion films suggested by Snyder in his own title released this year (and also obviously his first film in that) … and for many of the best remake works Dawn of the Dead presented in 2004, and it has nothing to do with those present here).
In this second sense Army of thieves, a fairly general robbery movie that doesn’t imply anything overly bad, is nonsense in itself. And this should be the prequel to Army of the dead this is his most special feature, the most special: the robberies that young Dieter (again, Matthias Schweigöfer) has to face on his way of growing up and personal European hobby, occur at a time when a zombie epidemic breaks out in Nevada, a factor that is exactly similar to the classic from series B like Comet nightWe only guess from background news or some kind of dreams (or is this a prophecy?) Of the main character. It’s a random creative decision, or “random,” as Snyder’s audience would now call it, much like the Spotify music list, a rather bizarre and completely unnecessary trait that nonetheless raises some suggestive questions. If we remove these concise concepts or zombie inserts, the movie will work exactly like it did, but at the same time, Snyder’s trick is curious as it confirms Army of thieves as, indeed, a film, but a serialized film, conceived for streaming and therefore for consumption, which allows for certain interpellations between different works that we will have to guess in the future (second part Army of the deadwhich will be called Planet of the dead, just announced) as they are clearly quirky. Was it a whim or a rehearsal said? Is it really important?
Otherwise, Army of thieves introduces Dieter (Schweigöfer must be a celebrity in his country, he also directs the film, and he does it well), leaving his comfort zone thanks to the hypnotic Gwendoline (Natalie Emmanuel, Game of Thrones). Then there is a race against time to open, not steal, three mythical safes that serve Snyder to delve into his favorite concepts: mythology, in this case Norse, and how this legendary content can resonate, repeat and stimulate society who stopped dreaming and is heading straight for the Apocalypse; “A spoiled world,” as Gwendolyn put it, who seems to disallow Campbell’s heroic deeds, like the one who, in his own way, lives by the botanist Dieter. Opening boxes is tantamount to respecting the riddle, remembering tradition, continuing history.
Beyond this request for the diaper film universe and its romantic commitment to surviving myth, history, the film explores the clichés of the genre without much input, but at the same time in a very effective and quite entertaining way. The three box robberies are too long footage that outrages the viewer (almost 130 minutes), but at the same time gives time to explore their characters even when it is not necessary, and are full of restrained action sequences, but in all three main cases, worthy admiration. Comedy doesn’t always work (despite the fact that With air and They call Him Bodhi), like the romance, as harsh as expected from its director’s production, but everything emits a strange naivety balancing between optimism and a kind of tragic breath, backed by a soundtrack by Hans Zimmer (perhaps the eighth, ninth, tenth this year, and on this time restoring the sounds of his Sherlock Holmes) and Schweigöfer’s good work in his double role of actor and director. This quirky bet between the traditional and the classic, as well as the new digital streams, is perhaps summed up in a narrator who is Dieter himself: a youtuber who nevertheless introduces us to a fairy tale worthy of Eduardo Scissorhands, but who in the end , asks you to “like”. Army of thievesIt is not only amazing Austrian and Czech countryside landscapes, but also pleasant and worthy entertainment.