Matthias Schweighöfer's Army of Thieves: A Love Story

There are many reasons to watch the Netflix original movie Army of Thieves by Matthias Schweighöfer (produced by Zack Snyder). Curiosity about the backstories of the original team in Army of the Dead, Easter eggs to other Snyder movies, or just good ol' action. Mine was purely to see how the post-credits scene would connect both the movies - and it did not disappoint.

Army of Thieves Netflix Original Movie

Plot

The plot shows us how Ludwig Deiter becomes the passionate safe-cracker who joins the team that heads to Nevada for a mind-blowing heist ( pun intended ).

The Master at Work

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When the plot of the movie is expected to be simple such as in a prequel, provided the director is good, the exposition is bound to be nothing short of exceptional. Army of Thieves is no different with Snyder sparing no efforts to make this movie as pretty as a painting, with a beautiful storyline, and screenplay to boot.

Isn't Paris Beautiful!

The cinematography in the movie is amazing with sepia tones being used to highlight the beauty of European architecture. The background score and soundtrack are set to the rhythm of the dreamer that Deiter represents, with undertones of heist music.

People who haven't watched Army of the Dead or who aren't Snyder might just write this movie off as the classic trope of the weasely nerd falling for the bad-ass chick. But there's more to this movie than just cliches.

Characters

This is a great selling point for this movie with most characters looking drop-dead gorgeous, to be read as Nathalie Emmanuel, Ruby O. Fee, and Noémie Nakai. These actors play the roles of the heist team leader Gwendoline, the nerdy yet hot hacker Korina and Beatrix the French cop who is tired of her partner's impatience.

Team Meeting

While Emmanuel's acting skills are top-notch, her British accent makes her even more appealing. Fee's been given bangs and PJs to make her look immature, and it works. Nakai plays the role of an underappreciated woman on the force to perfection, looking stunning in the process.

Then there are the guys on the team - the douchiest guy in the world, played by Stuart Martin. He is so unlikeable that it is entertaining as hell. My personal favorite is one of the funniest people in the world, Guz Khan of Man like Mobeen fame. He comes off as a cockney, salt of the earth, Chris Tucker, and is delightful to watch.

The cops played by Jonathan Cohen and Nakai seem to be mute spectators to the whole adventure almost. Cohen is portrayed as being exceedingly immune to intelligent thought, while Nakia is shown as the one with any sense at all.

Coming to the protagonist Ludwig Deiter, played really well by Matthias Schweighöfer as the brainy nervous guy who in a way binds the team together. Ludwig as mentioned earlier is a dreamer, living in his own world, yet content with his creation. Seeming to want out of his 9-5 he takes on a series of risks and challenges that leads him on an epic quest for the glory and not the money.

Deiter is unintentionally funny throughout the movie, misquoting expressions and "gulp" ing verbally whenever nervous. There's great chemistry between Fee and Schweighöfer, in no small measure due to them being a real-life couple, and is fun to watch that play out onscreen.

Should You Watch This? - Yes!

Regardless of whether you have watched the Army of the Dead or whether you are a fan of Zack Snyder - you need to stream this! It is a really funny, entertaining, and joyous movie that is great to watch on an idle Sunday noon.

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