journal features

movie review - Army of Thieves

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-eight years and a million words

Kokubunji, 2021.10.30

Following hot on the heals of "Army of the Dead" comes a prequel about the German safe-cracker. The film opens with our safe-cracker living a frustrated life as a government clerk who posts safe-cracking videos. Things rapidly spiral out of hand and we learn in the events of the film to come that it's a very close prequel indeed. This film sets up the safe-cracker's immediate interest in the supposedly uncrackable safe in the first film, and then layers on some forgivable plot filler and a handful of characters that are let's face it doomed from the beginning. It's a notably better if not ambitious movie (it's a heist movie set as the world is succumbing to zombies) and a welcome pre-zombie follow-up.

Recommended.

rand()m quote

The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to such a pass that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love, and in order to occupy and distract himself without love he gives way to passions and coarse pleasures, and sinks to bestiality in his vices, all from continual lying to other men and to himself.

—Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov