A prequel to Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead, the new Netflix movie Army of Thieves sees the return of Matthias Schweighöfer as Dieter aka Sebastian. He is joined by a new cast of characters that help bring this energetic and stylish heist movie to life.
As with most movies in this genre, there are plenty of characters on both sides of the law for fans to cheer for and cheer against. In some cases, the movie creates fun and memorable characters worth following while some of the other characters in Army of Thieves don't leave as big of an impression on the audience.
7 Delacroix
While it is important that the movie heist team is memorable in these stories, there usually needs to be a law enforcement agent who is on the trail of the criminals. In Army of Thieves, that role is filled by Delacroix, a determined Interpol agent who had a previous intense run-in with this particular team of criminals and is now obsessed with finding them.
The problem is that the movie doesn't seem sure of what type of character it wants Delacroix to be. He is first made to look like the intense and hardened agent, then he becomes an incompetent buffoon. There is even a weird moment at the end where he suddenly turns into a villain, assaulting a woman. It all makes him a hard character to care about.
6 Beatrix
While Delacroix seems like a mishmash of a character with no real direction, his partner in the investigation, Beatrix, feels like a totally unnecessary addition to the story. She is much less invested in taking down this team, especially with a zombie outbreak happening in the world, yet she comes along on the ride all the same.
Beatrix seems to be there simply to give Delacroix some comedic moments to play off of, none of which work particularly well. Her only real contribution to the movie is when she plays "good cop" to Korina following Delacroix's sudden brutal turn. Despite getting her own title card when she is introduced, Beatrix feels like more of an extra.
5 Rolph
Rolph fills the role of the team's getaway driver and another quirky character in the group. He is introduced in the typical fun way with a brief and entertaining clip showing why he is the best at what he does. He even seems to form a bond with Sebastian early on that could have been a great pairing.
However, halfway through the movie, Rolph is sort of pushed to the background and not given much to do. His character motivations are unconvincing and everything that was interesting about him suddenly disappears. He doesn't even get to do a cool car chase sequence like most getaway drivers.
4 Brad
The heist team always needs a wildcard member who inevitably turns on the team. Brad Cage fits that archetype well, having a violent and unpredictable streak while also forming an intense dislike for Sebastian as soon as he joins the team. Sadly, he is underutilized as a villain as he proves to be quite incompetent once he betrays the others and the final showdown ends very abruptly and without any real payoff.
There are also some aspects of the character that would have been fun to explore further, like his obsession with action movies of the 1990s which inspired his very fake name. But although he might be an underdeveloped character, the sequence where he rampages in the bank is at least entertaining.
3 Korina
Another key member of the heist team is the hacker, a role filled here by Korina. While some of the other supporting members of the team are sadly forgettable, Korina is the perfect scene-stealing sidekick. She has a very dry and direct way of talking as well as a darker view of the world that adds some fun comedic moments to the movie.
But while she might be a bit cynical, Korina is also an easy character to root for as she cares for her brother and ditches Brad when he decides to go rogue. She is the ideal balance between being a highlight when onscreen but also not overstaying her welcome.
2 Gwendoline
As one of the badass characters in the Fast and Furious movies, Nathalie Emmanuel feels right at home in the story of international thieves. However, this time she is bumped up to a more central role as Gwendoline, the leader of the team. She seems to be a combination of all the best qualities of her teammates – intelligent, fearless, powerful, and badass.
Gwendoline also benefits from having the most fleshed-out backstory in the movie. It wisely avoids making her too tragic of a character and instead shows her in a more grounded way with flaws while still being understandable. She is also given a sweet relationship with Sebastian that adds some charm to the story.
1 Sebastian
Before he joined the heist team in Army of the Dead, Dieter was a bored bank clerk named Sebastian. However, he stands out in his mundane life with his obsession with cracking safes. Though he was just a supporting player in the previous movie, he makes for a fairly enjoyable lead in Army of Thieves.
While it is fun to see characters in heist movies who are ultra-cool and confident like George Clooney in Ocean's Eleven, Sebastian is a fun new approach to the genre's protagonist. He is a nervous and terrified participant throughout the story but when he gets in front of a safe, he changes into an artist. It makes him a more vulnerable and thus more fun character to follow on this wild ride.
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