Review: Dieter Returns for 'Army Of Thieves'

Whether or not you enjoyed Zac Snyder's zombie heist movie "Army of the Dead" (I did not), the appeal of Matthias Schweighöfer's Ludwig Dieter is difficult to deny. Ludwig was a bright spot in a muddy, overlong film that was neither a great zombie nor action flick. Schweighöfer, largely unknown to American audiences, marched into every scene with wonderful comedic timing and a disarmingly charismatic performance. If there was anything worthwhile to take from "Army of the Dead," it was that Schweighöfer was an artist to seek out.

So it was with both delight and surprise to see that he was not only getting his own "Army of the Dead" spinoff/prequel, but that he would also be directing. And while "Army of Thieves" may not be groundbreaking or altogether memorable, it has no trouble being better than "Army of the Dead."

Set six years before the events of "Army of the Dead," we find Ludwig Dieter before he has a single heist to his name. Not yet having adapted his nom de crime, Sebastian Schlencht-Wöhnert (later Dieter) is little more than an aspiring safecracker/YouTube personality. After releasing his latest video on renowned safe designer Hans Wagner's four masterpieces, he is discovered by international thief Gwendoline, who is looking to solve and rob three of Wagner's puzzles. Sebastian may just be her missing safecracking piece.

Dieter Ludwig is an inherently silly character. A perpetual fish out of water, he carries an optimism that confuses the thieves he throws in with. His sweet silliness is what made him stand out in the first place, and Schweighöfer proves in "Army of Thieves" that he understands the character's appeal. The passion and joy within Sebastian infects the entirety of the film, propelling it when a predictable script, lazy plot, and repetitive sequences threaten to inspire the last thing that you want in a heist movie: Boredom.

In the director's chair, Schweighöfer appears to recognize the weaknesses of the franchise that has been handed to him and injects the silliness of Dieter into any spot that it will fit. This is a movie where a secret underground safecracking competition is introduced, not explained, and then promptly forgotten about. Admittedly, this ridiculous competition inspired several laughs, whether intentional or not (although good luck convincing me that having each competition start with an official shouting "CRACK" wasn't a joke with purpose).

Despite these nonsensical tangents, ultimately "Army of Thieves" is a heist-cum-romantic comedy movie, and it predictably leans on these tropes. As a heist movie it is adequate, if largely unexceptional. Schweighöfer's direction utilizes animations of the safes' inner workings, in an attempt to make the process of safecracking interesting to watch. And while the animations are initially intriguing, as the audience sees the largely identical sequence a second and third time, it loses much of its punch. Furthermore, the less said of the forced romantic subplot between Sebastian and Gwendoline, the better.

As a heist movie, "Army of Thieves" is squarely in the middle of its class. However, if we are to judge "Army of Thieves" against its predecessor, it is a vast improvement with many of the same problems. Like "Army of Dead," "Army of Thieves" could easily lose 30 minutes and be better for it. Its script is largely idiotic, with characters that act almost entirely in service to plot as they are afforded little in the way of development. But despite its imbecilic script, through Schweighöfer it manages to be passably enjoyable. "Army of Thieves" takes a great character from a poorly made movie and gives him a place to play. And while Schweighöfer is the primary reason that any of it works, at least this time that was on purpose.

"Army of Thieves" is streaming on Netflix.