Netflix Movie Review: Army of Thieves - Action Adventure and Zombies?

I recently watched "Army of Thieves". I didn't know it at the time but it was a prequel to "Army of the Dead". I hadn't seen either movie before and it came up in my Netflix suggested videos. I really didn't know what to expect but something about it made me give it a try. My general rule of thumb for Netflix movies is, it has to grab my attention in the first 15 minutes or it gets shut off and on to something else. I've just slogged through to many crappy Netflix releases only to be disappointed and wishing I could take those hours back.

That wasn't the case with Army of Thieves. It grabbed my attention as soon as the movie started. This probably had to do with the subject matter though. The protagonist in the story is an amateur safe cracker who makes crappy YouTube videos about cracking safes. I can easily relate to that because I'm an amateur locksmithing geek who also makes crappy social media videos on 3Speak and YouTube. 🤣 So I could relate.

Anyway, I'm getting a little ahead of myself. The basic plot is about a German amateur safe cracker named Sebastian who posts videos to YouTube. He's not a criminal, just a guy with a passion for safe cracking. He's a likeable bloke and a little on the nerdy side. He also seems harmless enough as long as he's not near a safe or bank vault. He gets discovered and recruited by an international ring of thieves who are also wanted by Interpol. This is all happening at the start of what appears to be a zombie apocalypse.

So now we have a mash up of three different genres, action, comedy, and zombie. Honestly my three favorites. I love action and comedy, and who doesn't love the undead shenanigans of zombies. Seriously though, you wouldn't think this would work. Somehow they pull it off.

The zombie aspect of this film is kind of an aside. It's really comedy and action. Yet in the back of your mind you're constantly waiting for the SHTF zombie action. It kept you on your toes. I almost wondered why they even added Zombies but discovered later it was a prequel to a zombie film called "Army of the Dead".

The movie is all action and adventure though as our characters globetrot around the world to rob 3 safes while being pursued by an Interpol agent who has a vendetta with the crew of robbers. These aren't just any safes either, they are thought to be uncrackable. Will Sebastian be able to crack the safes and liberate their contents? Sorry no spoilers here.

I will say this though, I love films like this. The whole mash up of action, comedy, zombies and actually making it work. That's not an easy task. All the characters were likable and relatable too.

Another thing I liked is that the cast of characters weren't portrayed by big name actors. At least they weren't familiar to me. I love finding good movies with small name actors that are actually good. For me, this one fit the bill. The acting cast executed their character rolls perfectly.

If you're looking for a fun filled film that steps outside the box of genres this is a must see IMHO. Now that I've discovered this was a prequel, I'm going to watch Army of the Dead. Maybe that will be my movie review for next week!

Runtime: 2 hours 7 minutes