Army Of The Dead: A Fun, Inspired Zombie-Heist Hybrid
A Las Vegas casino heist, a horde of super-human living dead, and a zombie tiger — oh my! Zack Snyder returns to the director’s chair and his roots with Netflix-distributed Army Of The Dead, delivering a fun and somewhat inspired genre-hybrid blockbuster.
Following a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, a group of mercenaries take the ultimate gamble, venturing into the quarantine zone to pull off the greatest heist ever attempted.
Although it briefly plays on the dueling perspectives between Republicans and Democrats that’s all too commonplace nowadays (shown through media debates a la Romero), Zack Snyder’s Army Of The Dead refreshingly eschews making a statement of any kind. In a genre hellbent on using the living dead as a metaphor or symbol, it’s nice to see one that skirts those deeper reaches and still feels totally fun and somewhat substantive. Snyder’s wobbly hit-or-miss track record has earned him a mixed reputation, but this year is turning out to be a good one for the returning filmmaker. The epically long-winded Justice League Director’s Cut (released in March of this year) earned him a much-needed reappraisal, and Army Of The Dead, Snyder’s first film since the tragic loss of his daughter in 2017, marks his first solid victory since Watchmen (which remains, in our opinion, as his best film to date).
Somewhat of a cross between Ocean’s 11 and Land Of The Dead, Army Of The Dead combines two of Snyder’s primary loves (zombies and superheroes), while also giving the genre a fun heist slant that helps it stand out. It’s a pretty inspired genre hybrid that evolves the zombie in new and interesting ways, which are sure to appease those enthusiasts out there. After a military convoy botches its cargo, releasing a high functioning, super-human zombie (referred to as an Alpha) to roam free in the desert-locked city of Las Vegas, the unsuspecting citizens and patrons of Sin City are quickly overrun and turned into a highly intelligent zombie horde. Walled off and quarantined from the rest of the world, the army of the living dead are left to run their overtaken city as they please — at least until they’re all blown sky high by an impending military air strike (a la The Rock). However, when a rich billionaire named Bly Tanaka (played by Hiroyuki Sanada, who also played Scorpion in this year’s Mortal Kombat) orchestrates a team of mercenaries to retrieve $200 million in cash from a casino vault, the hired gun who founded the mercenary group Las Vengeance, Scott Ward (played by David Bautista), leads his team into the city in a race against the clock.
Depending on your feelings about Zack Snyder (who’s style is akin to Spike Lee’s, in that you either love it or you hate it), Army Of The Dead will have a varying degree of success. It’s self-serious and a bit overly long (particularly in its bloated denouement), and the gratuitous slow-mo, deep focus, and screen blur occasionally teeter on the obnoxious, but there’s a lot that works. The title sequence (one of Snyder’s bread and butter qualities), in particular, is a lot of fun and really captures the gory, ironic cheekiness that Snyder is going for (think the “Down With The Sickness” montage in his Dawn Of The Dead remake). Impressively, Snyder took on a lot with this project, going a very PTA route, adding camera operator and cinematographer to his usual roles as producer, co-writer, and director, and the extra effort pays off nicely.
There’s also kind of an Aliens vibe to the narrative, in that a group of well-armed individuals venture into danger-infested terrain with limited knowledge and a mole implanted to keep an eye on the cargo, which further lends to the fun. While the stakes are known, the film has a leisurely stroll, which is not a dig on its adequately silly pacing. It just doesn’t really step on the gas until around the midpoint, but it all pushes toward a rousing and entertaining final 40 minutes. It greatly benefits from taking the time to set up its characters, and its ragtag group of heisters contains a nice variety of personalities, which are all well-cast. In particular, Dave Batista is one of the biggest standouts. Blade Runner 2049 allowed him to transcend his physicality, and he’s really flexing his range here. Ella Purnell and Omari Hardwick also stand out amongst the ensemble cast and deliver solid performances.
There’s some stylistic elements that are grating and a few character beats that don’t totally work, but if you’re into zombies, there’s a lot of fun to be had with Army Of The Dead. Although it misses a few opportunities for potential payoffs (like the throwaway comment about skeletons reanimating during the rain, which we unfortunately don’t get to see), there’s a lot of cool world building and zombie innovation (like its cape-wielding, super-villain-esque head zombie) here that make for a very entertaining early summer blockbuster.
Recommendation: If you’re a fan of zombies or Zack Snyder, definitely give Army Of The Dead a watch! So far, it’s easily one of the best blockbusters of the year.
Rating: 3.5 zombified tigers outta 5.
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!