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FILMTRACKS.COM
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VIEW 
Review of Army of Thieves (Hans Zimmer/Steve Mazzaro)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you can open your mind to a rambunctious, energetic,
and humorous combination of electronic/dance action propulsion and
heavier, Richard Wagner-inspired melodrama in Hans Zimmer's comfort
zone.
Avoid it... if you have no patience with the brazenly electronic pilfering of the heist genre, especially by the time cute sound effects and outrageous vocals make you evaluate your sanity.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Army of Thieves: (Hans Zimmer/Steve Mazzaro) As a
standalone diversion in the Army of the Dead franchise created by
Zack Snyder, the late 2021 streaming film Army of Thieves serves
as a prequel to the earlier, initial entry about zombies taking over Las
Vegas. The purpose of Army of Thieves is to explain the backstory
of the safecracking Ludwig Dieter character, establishing why the defeat
of the safe in Army of the Dead represented the culmination of
his efforts to thwart the famed safes of German locksmith Hans Wagner.
Before becoming Dieter and joining the doomed Las Vegas gang of thieves,
the man lives a mundane life as a bank teller in Germany but is
recruited by a different group of thieves to help bust into Wagner's
other three safes. Achieving success in his plight comes at the expense
of his relationships and, in the next film, his life, and there's
something dissatisfying about spending so much time establishing a
character in such a circumstance when his rather unhappy destiny is
already known. From a musical standpoint, the film leans heavily on
German composer Richard Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen" operas to
explain the motivation of the story's Hans Wagner locksmith and his
safes. As the protagonist breaks into each of the ring cycle safes, he
plays music from the operas and rambles through a commentary on how the
music is significant to that particular target. The story of the
Rhinegold informs the first job, while the Valkyrie and Siegfried
follow. (Twilight of the Gods is saved for Army of the Dead,
"Siegfried's Funeral March" playing in that film.) The stories of the
operas inform Dieter's own journey over these pictures, the music of the
Ring Cycle thus playing an outsized role. For the rest of the music in
Army of Thieves, Tom Holkenborg was originally slated to return.
To nobody's surprise, however, Hans Zimmer and his current, prime Remote
Control Productions associate, Steve Mazzaro, stepped in to provide the
prequel's score instead. Zimmer is, naturally, an immense enthusiast of
Wagner's work, so this project likely ticked his fancy. There are no
early indications about the breakdown of duties between Zimmer and
Mazzaro on this score, though the amount of other crew involved was
surprisingly minimal given the typical breadth of a Zimmer work.
The score for Army of Thieves was caught in a bizarre position of bridging the Wagner source material and Holkenborg's electronic score for the preceding film. Zimmer and Mazzaro attempt to appease both sides of that nearly unsolvable equation, adding to that mix a supremely quirky personality for the particular gang of thieves in this story. The Wagner material doesn't explicitly inform the score outside of funny snippets like the strings at the start of "It's Already Done," and with how shallow the soundscape can be, that's actually something of a relief. The two composers managed their own synthetics for Army of Thieves, including a bevy of sound effects that may remind some listeners of Jerry Goldsmith's 1980s humor. A significant synthetic presence is dominated by electronica beats that ramble through many of the action scenes in the score. The orchestral half of the score has the sound of overdubbing and sampling, with only a few solo players on violin, cello, accordion, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, percussion, and woodwind credited. A whistler and yodeler also contribute alongside a female vocalist (who also wrote and performed two original songs for the movie), which tells you all you need to know about the music's comedic stance. To say that the score for Army of Thieves is schizophrenic would be an understatement, its tone shifting from Holkenborg's domain to a dash of Brian Tyler's Now You See Me, traditional espionage thrillers like Mission: Impossible and the James Bond franchise, and Zimmer's own tendency to emulate the overwrought melodrama of Wagner. The score suffers as a whole because of this totally wayward meandering of styles, but that doesn't mean that each individual part doesn't titillate. There is also a fair amount of motific development hidden underneath the glitzy renderings in the score, giving the whole a surprisingly effective narrative even if the music sounds completely haphazard on casual appreciation. The composers provide Dieter's persona in this film with a primary theme that receives significant manipulation, including a romantic variant for his gloomy love life. More interesting is an ascending motif clearly inspired by Wagner that represents his skills, the work, and the anticipation of success associated with it. There's a motif for the pursuing Interpol villains as well, with variations on the main theme informing a number of the espionage rip-offs in the score. The main theme in Army of Thieves is quite malleable, oozing the Zimmer-Wagner melodrama when needed but almost like Toys when performed in its manic swing, as in the quirky whistling mode of "Army of Thieves." The idea doesn't often access that side of its personality in the work, however, shifting to provide a smooth finish to the suspense of "The Test." The theme's underlying chords only persist behind meandering lines of mystery in "Hans Wagner," and the soft, solo woodwinds in "A Life Less Ordinary" give the idea a slightly mystical sense of whimsy that carries over to the opening of "Cathouse." The theme agonizes at the end of "That's My Bike" and continues its slow, keyboarded disillusionment in "Long Walk Home." Redemption comes in the massive, melodramatic, full "ensemble" performance at the end of "Escape in Switzerland," this dramatic stance extending to the second minute of "Ludwig Dieter." It's diminished to pretty electronic keyboarding later in that cue, building to a solemn finish for the score. Extending out of that theme is a stunted romance variant, lightly aspirational at 0:33 into "Longing for More" and never enjoying similar treatment until its phrasing is toyed with in the latter half of "Ludwig Dieter." The ascending skills and anticipation motif often conveyed by strings is even more of a bridge to Wagner, debuting late in "The Test," occupying most of "Warming Up My Instruments," briefly returning early in "It's Already Done," and taking on new life throughout the long crescendo of "Safecracker Extraordinaire." After a brief choral snippet of the skills motif at end of "Transferring the Safe," the idea defines the middle portion of the action in "Escape in Switzerland" and bids us farewell with rambling electronic base in the third minute of "Ludwig Dieter," setting up the next film in the story's chronology. Other motifs in the score aren't really effective at providing clear evidence of their representation, the Interpol motif particularly disappointing. Its presence in eerie low flute, alien-like synthetics, and choir in "Interpol," with repeated notes for emphasis, lacks distinction, and its attempts to become an action motif by "Creating a Diversion" are varied. Faint reminders of the motif die out early in "Ludwig Dieter." The espionage and heist mode of the score switches to snazzier tones, the genre influence announcing itself early in "Here's the Plan," enjoying a techno variant in "It's Already Done," and receiving its heaviest rendition in "The Robbing of a Bank." Aside from the cues in Army of Thieves that extend the narrative through these motifs, Zimmer and Mazzaro throw some absolute oddballs at this score as well, diversions that go well beyond even the most flagrant cues in Army of the Dead. The Goldsmith-like sound effects may strike three or four cues, but their carnival-appropriate version of the main theme in "Good Samaritan" carries all the best and worst aspects of demented children's music. Enticingly unique is "Cathouse," its driving, menacing dance attitude with Western stylings from electric guitar at the end definitely pushing the score into strange territory. The rambling electronica in "According to Plan" is most reminiscent of Holkenborg's work for the franchise, and don't be surprised if most casual listeners return to these techno-inspired portions of this work. Insane humor with finger snapping coolness and analog arcade attitude in "Transferring the Safe" makes for an almost psychotic chase cue. The most outrageous of these cues is "Gwendoline," which features a highly disturbing metal version of the "Ring Around the Rosie" nursery rhyme appropriate for a Suicide Squad film. While Army of Thieves strives to recognize its Wagner half dutifully, you get the impression that the composers were tempted to take the same route that John Murphy did for his 2021 score for The Suicide Squad, essentially throwing anything and everything at the film. At times, as with "Good Samaritan" and "Gwendoline," the music will send you seeking relief before long, as they are too obnoxiously cute for their own good. But that's the intended spirit of the score, and Army of Thieves certainly offers more fun to the listener than any of Zimmer's other 2021 works. His enthusiasts will appreciate some keen throwbacks to his melodramatic days, 2:27 into "Escape in Switzerland" presenting vintage, early-1990s Zimmer action with no remorse. The hybrid electronica/dance and orchestral cues are often the highlights of the score, thriving on attitude while affording just enough weight to the main character. On album, the Wagner material is not present, but that's perhaps not as big a sin as the omission of the film's lengthy end credits suite that contains a better version of the "Army of Thieves" performance. The two songs at the end of the product are not offensive but are unrelated to the score. Overall, a little patience may be required to appreciate the smart narrative of Army of Thieves, and it definitely requires a particular mood from the listener. Strap yourself in. ***
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 68:57
* performed by Stephanie Olmanni
NOTES & QUOTES:
There exists no official packaging for this album.
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