Exército de Ladrões

Army of Thieves was very heavily promoted, and so we were probably all expecting a lot more than we got in the end, but it's still a fine comedy heist with a likable and funny main character and a passable group of robbers. The storyline in Prague, the chatty main character and the plot around the safes are good, but what hurts the film is its mundanity and overly long running time, which gets a bit boring towards the end. It’s not bad, but I can probably imagine a better time spent. A better two stars that for me doesn't reach the average, and the ending didn't convince me either. Its status as a prequel to Army of The Dead is, from my point of view, completely out of place and pointless. (30/10/2021)

I was waiting see what it was all about in the end, and it was almost about nothing. It's a pity, it's truly a shame, because the first three-quarters of an hour or so was really fun and promising, Matthias Schweighöfer is likeable and obviously he shines in front of the camera, and the music (yodeling in a nightmare) was also quite funny. In the end, however, it became a television film that would have needed a better script or a significantly shorter runtime. (30/10/2021)

A great prequel that is the guilty pleasure of the year for me, and the most entertaining heist film this year, leaving Red Notice biting the dust. The skilful Matthias Schweighöfer directs and plays the main character and he is again very funny, likeable and fair. The rest of the team is also a good, with the wonderful Nathalie Emmanuel and Stuart Martin, who looks like a Wolverine lookalike. The story is pretty straightforward but incredibly stylish and entertaining throughout. The opening of the safes not only has an interesting mythological background, but also suitable and attractive locations (Paris, Prague, St. Moritz), and the unlocking itself must be to the locksmiths what The Queen’s Gambit was to chess players, an imaginary climax. I was surprised by the fights. There weren't many, but when it came to them I immediately thought of the stylish Matthew Vaughn, with slow motion, camera angles, R-rated action – Awesome! Visually, it very good, the wisecracks work, and there are plenty of them. I was also surprised by the quite unexpected twists and the dream sequences with zombie have something to them as well. The title scene with the Army Of The Dead tie-in is also great. I haven't had as much fun as I did here in a long time, though there a few little things are missing for a full score (Gore and zombies are more attractive to me than safes, but still a very well spent two hours). Story 3/5, Action 4/5, Humour 4/5, Violence 3/5, Fun 5/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 3/5, Tension 3/5, Emotion 2/5, Actors 3/5. 8/10. (28/11/2021)

At first, Army of Thieves felt like it was shaping up to be an impressive urban fantasy, especially with Matthias Schweighöfer as both director and lead actor. The opening credits, paired with Hans Zimmer’s music, had me thinking this prequel to Army of the Dead might actually be fun. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. The protagonist quickly became annoying, especially with his ridiculous habit of pressing his ear to a safe and cracking it open in seconds. Plus, the whole zombie invasion on the news seemed completely disconnected from the storyline happening in Prague, where everyone acted like nothing was wrong. The only thing I genuinely enjoyed was seeing Prague looking beautiful on screen, but even that felt pointless in the context of the movie. Not exactly the best showcase for the city. (16/11/2021)

Quite a decent appendix to the Army of the Dead, which looks good and runs pretty smoothly. It’s a no brainer, but the director and the main safe cracker Matthias Schweighofer did a good job. A plot out of nowhere throws out the bait, hooks you, and then you and Dieter just ride together on Nathalie Emmanuel. Prague is fine, but Saint Moritz is even finer. Nothing extra dazzling, but I’d probably rather watch this movie again than the aforementioned Army of the Dead. (30/11/2021)