Army of Thieves was released on Netflix this month, starring a relatively unknown German actor named Matthias Schweighöfer. But action packed with a tinge of zombie apocalypse, this ultra-American film is pretty entertaining. Read our spoiler-free Army of Thieves review below.

What’s the Origin? 

Let’s rewind and start with zombies. What? Army of Thieves is actually a prequel to Army of the Dead, which came out earlier this year in May. Army of the Dead features a rag-tag team of different skill sets, headed by Dave Bautista, infiltrates the quarantined, zombie-infested Vegas strip to retrieve millions of dollars in an underground vault. 

One of the team members was Ludwig Dieter, a highly talented safecracker. His character was so foreignly charming and ingenuous, he instantly became a fan favorite. Hence, Netflix releasing his very own movie prequel. And hence why you may not have heard his name before.

What’s It About? 

This is Ludwig Dieter’s origin story and what brought him to the Las Vegas desert from his home country of Germany. We learn his real name is Sebastian Schlencht-Wöhnert. 

Sebastian loves safes. He’s been cracking them while racing against a clock from a young age, even writing his own comic book about a safe-cracking superhero. And of course, he does have favorite safes.

Hans Wagner was a famous German safe manufacturer. In fact, he constructed four famous safes in his time, named after Richard Wagner’s famous four-piece operatic opus, The Ring of the Nibelung: the Rhinegold, the Valkyrie, the Siegfried, and the Götterdämmerung. 

But alas, it’s just a hobby that he has in addition to his boring day-time, bank-teller job. One day, a stranger leaves him a single comment on one of his YouTube videos. He is tasked with meeting at a secret location, to which he finds out is an underground safe-cracking competition. Needless to say, he wins. And the rest of his life is changed forever.

It was Gwendoline, internationally renowned jewelry thief, who orchestrated the meet up. Sebastian is smitten. She wants him to leave his ordinary life behind and join her and her team in stealing the contents of the four Wagner safes. 

Watch It Or Not? 

What ensues next brings Sebastian on the ride of his life, learning friend from foe, learning about love, and most importantly, learning what he is truly capable of. 

A far cry better than Army of the Dead, Army of Thieves has action, suspense, comedy, and romance. You’ll head into the movie having no preconceived notion of who Sebastian is, but by the end of it, he might be the most endearing movie character of recent (Netflix) times.