Army of Thieves
Netflix | Release Date (Streaming): October 29, 2021 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
49
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 22 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
13
Negative:
3
Watch Now
Stream On

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperOct 27, 2021
Thanks to Schweighöfer’s stylish, Italian Job-influenced directing, a sense of its own ridiculous nature and some fabulous performances by the charming and good-looking supporting cast, Army of Thieves is the very definition of an entertaining Netflix confection. Read full review
75
The Associated PressMark KennedyOct 26, 2021
It’s a film no one really demanded and yet is loads of fun. Read full review
73
Paste MagazineAndrew CrumpOct 28, 2021
Army of the Dead is a film full of pleasant surprises, but Matthias Schweighöfer, playing a German safecracker with a hair-trigger for impassioned speeches about locks and bolts, is perhaps the most pleasant surprise of them all. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyOct 26, 2021
The storytelling overall is less sophisticated, leaning a little too often on strained humor, but this is a slick, enjoyably playful entertainment. Read full review
67
CNETRichard TrenholmOct 29, 2021
It's a lot of fun, until it becomes clear that making jokes about heist movies is not the same as actually making a good heist movie. Read full review
67
IndieWireKate ErblandOct 26, 2021
Army of Thieves is content to dig into its heist DNA over everything else (including, unfortunately, the rom-com sensibility it seeks between Sebastian and Gwendoline). That means unique, clever heists on a fast rotation, big twists, and major revelations, and some genuinely accomplished chase scenes. Read full review
60
We Got This CoveredScott CampbellNov 2, 2021
Army of Thieves isn't the most original or inventive heist movie you'll ever see; but it's a massively entertaining expansion of Zack Snyder's undead cinematic universe. Read full review
60
The GuardianBenjamin LeeOct 28, 2021
There’s nothing markedly necessary about universe expander Army of Thieves, niche fan service that gives backstory to a character who we know dies later on, but Schweighöfer, also acting as director, keeps his frothy caper afloat with a light knockabout tone, never insisting the film as anything that it isn’t. Read full review
60
VarietyOwen GleibermanOct 26, 2021
Army of Thieves is one of those bombastically blithe and fanciful Netflix action movies, in this case with a romantic heart. Read full review
60
Total FilmJack ShepherdOct 26, 2021
Lacking Snyder’s directorial dab hand, Army of Thieves is still a fun heist movie that makes an already likeable character even better. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comBrian TallericoOct 29, 2021
Let’s hope the upcoming projects in this fully-formed franchise learn a lesson from this gang of thieves and steal some ideas from better movies. Read full review
50
CNNBrian LowryOct 29, 2021
Strictly on its own merits, other than Emmanuel's standout performance, Army of Thieves doesn't steal much more than your time. Read full review
50
The PlaylistNick AllenOct 29, 2021
There’s something to making a prequel just for the hell of it, and giving it to an actor/writer/director whose charisma has worldwide appeal, but Army of Thieves could have had much more fun with the assignment. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesNoel MurrayOct 28, 2021
Schweighöfer does have a memorable screen presence, and this film is well made, as formulaic pictures so often are. But this one never fully justifies its existence, or its expense. It’s a big movie with skimpy ideas. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleBob StraussOct 28, 2021
As a director, Schweighöfer deftly plays around with a few genre conventions, handles action scenes capably if not distinctively, and stages a decent enough Point Break tribute. Read full review
50
IGNZaki HasanOct 26, 2021
While not without charm, the biggest factors working against Army of Thieves are a confused hybrid of horror and heist genre stories and an approach making it unclear which audience – other than the most ardent of Zack Snyder fans – it’s aimed at. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyOct 26, 2021
The idea of a group of decidedly minor-league cons trying to make it into the major leagues, maybe with a Now You See Me standard of realism, is not unappealing. But the promise of a brainless good time proves false once the actual thieving begins. Read full review
40
The New York TimesCalum MarshOct 28, 2021
A winking attitude doesn’t make the extremely tired formula any less rote or tiresome. Despite the in-jokes and references (including nods to “Point Break” and “Heat”), the movie can’t transcend its own clichés. Read full review
40
TheWrapSimon AbramsOct 26, 2021
Army of Thieves, a by-the-numbers heist movie and prequel to Zack Snyder’s gloomy zombie caper “Army of the Dead,” traces over that previous movie without ever improving or even just replicating its lighter elements, especially its chases and safecracking shenanigans. Read full review
32
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzOct 26, 2021
If you squint hard and focus most of your mental energy on folding your laundry, yeah, Army of Thieves is kinda cool. But it’s also kinda bland, kinda formulaic, and kinda sad. If this is the sort of instantly franchisable content that the streaming giant thinks its audiences want or need, then we’re truly doomed. Read full review
30
PolygonRobert DanielsOct 29, 2021
Schweighöfer’s prequel fails to offer the same level of excitement or gore as Snyder’s film. The heists are all snoozing affairs, and ultimately, the film succumbs to the script’s franchise ambitions. Read full review
25
Slant MagazinePat BrownOct 26, 2021
Matthias Schweighöfer’s film puts itself in a box, consistently failing to justify why its story deserves our attention more than the spectacle of the recently deceased rising to feast upon the flesh of the living. Read full review
More From This Movie

49 Critic Reviews

8.3 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 77 Project Hail Mary
2 75 Send Help
3 73 Hoppers
4 71 The Sheep Detectives
5 68 Crime 101
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL