Army of Thieves and The French Dispatch – Movie Reviews

I reviewed Army of The Dead earlier this year and while it didn’t exactly satisfy me, I did find it an entertaining watch. Army of Thieves unfortunately is even less lackluster than its predecessor. This prequel to Zack Snyder’s zombie flick stars Matthias Schweighöfer as Sebastian, the safe cracker from the original and follows his life shortly before the events of Las Vegas.

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Both the premise and plot of Army of Thieves are rudimentary and predictable. Flowing on the juices of bad clichés that are meant to poke fun at the film itself but are neither fun nor funny. It’s honestly some of the most generic writing I’ve seen. I’m not really sure who this film’s intended audience is. They use profanity so I know it’s for 17+ but the story is almost childish.

The characters are ridiculously shallow stereotypes, borderline silly even. I did however feel like Sebastian and Gwen (played by Nathalie Emmanuel) had good chemistry. For all it’s many faults, Army of Thieves produces an endearing lead and is peppered with entertaining action scenes. It’s also well paced and gives us just enough flash and production value to keep us entertained until the end.

It proves to be a somewhat competent prequel for Army of The Dead and a passable backstory for Sebastian. If my theory proves correct, this franchise isn’t done just yet and neither is Sebastian. Also, the main question needs answering. Why would Sebastian get his own prequel film and not the others? We could very well see how this whole zombie thing plays out and get the answer to that question.

‘Army of Thieves’ Rating – 2/5

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Wes Anderson is back with another bizarre movie, and this time it’s about three independent stories written for the last issue of a magazine, The French Dispatch. I don’t watch a lot of Wes Anderson, but I loved the Grand Budapest Hotel. His movies all have distinct editing style, frame, and especially color. To love Wes Anderson’s filmography, you need to embrace the dream-like, surreal, yet beautiful looks of his movies.

The French Dispatch took this to a more extreme level. The three stories were so damn weird that it was usually hard to follow. Characters retelling stories in messy order like they have ADHD, which kinda made sense because we usually say a lot of things when we are excited.

Even though the stories were confusing, the look and editing were full on amazing. There were so many different editing styles that it’s like a soup of color and unique camera shots. Some scenes made you look left, right, or corners at the same time. Overall, a magical looking movie that I’m sure Wes Anderson fans will love.

‘The French Dispatch’ Rating – 3/5

Follow Nguyen (the Author) on Instagram – @in_nguyen_do