Director: Zack Snyder
Starring: Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera, Theo Rossi, Matthias Schweighöfer, Nora Arnezeder, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tig Notaro, Raúl Castillo, Huma Qureshi, and Garret Dillahunt
It’s been an interesting year for director Zack Snyder.
A few months back, he released Zack Snyder’s Justice League, which ended up getting pretty positive reviews.
He’s now followed that movie up with Army Of The Dead, which has just landed on Netflix today.
WARNING: There are SPOILERS for Army Of The Dead in this review.
Spoilers For Zack Snyder’s Army Of The Dead In This Review
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Zack Snyder’s also got an interesting history when it comes to the zombie movie genre.
You could say that it’s the genre that gave him the career he has today.
Back in 2004, he directed Dawn Of The Dead, which was a sort of continuation of the George R. Romero zombie movies.
The script was written by none other than James Gunn – yes, that James Gunn – and I believe that it’s still to this day one of the best zombie movies made in the last twenty years.
I would say that only Shaun Of The Dead and Train To Busan beat it.
Is Snyder’s Army Of The Dead any good?
Credit: Netflix
Read more: Zack Snyder’s Army Of The Dead Drops New Images And Details About His Netflix Zombie Heist Movie
Right, that’s enough of me waxing lyrical about zombie movies and Zack Snyder’s Dawn Of The Dead.
What’s Netflix’s Army Of The Dead like?
Well, I’m happy to report that this new movie of Zack’s is a lot of fun. It’s tense, thrilling, action-heavy, gory and brutal.
Everything you could possibly want from a zombie film.
One thing this film isn’t is subtle.
If subtlety and a deep look into humanity’s psyche are what you’re looking for in your zombie movies, then this won’t be the film for you.
I mean, it is called Army Of The Dead.
This movie kind of does what it says on the tin.
It promised an army of the dead, and that’s what this movie delivers – a full-on army of dead people.
What’s Army Of The Dead’s plot?
Credit: Netflix
Read more: Zack Snyder Reveals Army Of The Dead’s First Teaser Trailer
Right, let’s get into the plot.
There’s a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, and the city is quarantined off.
However, a group of what can only be described as mercenaries end up going back into the city when they are tasked with the job of breaking into one of the city’s many casinos and steal $200 million from its incredibly secure vault.
So, this film is what I like to call a genre-bender.
It’s part zombie movie, part heist film.
However, what I will say is that there’s not much intelligence to the heist.
This isn’t an Ocean’s 11 type of movie, just with zombies in it.
That would have been pretty cool actually.
The ‘heist’ wasn’t really a heist…
Credit: Netflix
Read more: Netflix Reveals First Footage Of Zack Snyder’s Army Of The Dead Movie
This is actually, I think, my biggest gripe with the film.
I didn’t get enough heisting and there was no real clever plan on how to get to the vault without being detected by the zombies.
They just kind of shoot their way to it, and stumble along.
I think the film would have benefit from focusing a little bit more on the heist part of the film.
Where the film really succeeds, however, is in the zombie part.
The ‘White Walker’-esque zombies are brilliant!
Credit: Netflix
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The zombies in this movie are pretty darn brilliant.
They are split into two categories: you’re bog-standard zombies (the ones that move slowly and moan), and then the intelligent, fast-paced White Walker zombies.
I say White Walker zombies because, for all intents and purposes, that’s what these ‘new’ zombies are.
They are a lot like the White Walkers from Game Of Thrones.
They have a King – the guy that started this whole zombie outbreak – and he has a plan.
He even rides a horse like the White Walkers do in the HBO series.
One thing I really loved was the fact that the king of these White Walker-esque zombies had a pet tiger.
That’s pretty darn cool.
I also like seeing these zombies interact with one another, and the zombie Queen is also pretty freaky and I loved that about this movie.
Army Of The Dead makes zombies scary again
Credit: Netflix
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It made zombies scary again.
They pose a genuine threat to the film’s protagonist.
They are fast, clever, agile and also are part of a coherent and intelligent community.
They aren’t you’re typical brainless zombies we’ve been used to seeing over the years.
They’re something different.
Sure, they resemble the White Walkers from the Game Of Thrones series, but that’s fine because it works.
Finally, I think there are actually quite a lot of strong performances in this film.
Dave Bautista is the film’s lead, and he’s brilliant and gets to show off his vast range of acting talent in this movie, despite it being an action-heavy affair.
There are just too many other actors to go through each and everyone, but they are all on their A-game in this film and perfectly cast.
Dave Bautista and Tig Notaro stand out
Credit: Netflix
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Speaking of casting, I do believe that the decision to replace Chris D’Elia with Tig Notaro as the helicopter pilot was an ingenious one.
I just love Tig’s deadpan delivery in this movie, and I just can’t see anybody else doing that role justice other than her. She’s just great.
So, yes, this isn’t the best zombie movie ever made, and it certainly isn’t the best heist film of all time.
However, it’s a lot of fun and does what it set out to do – entertain people.
What do you make of this review?
Have you watched Army Of The Dead yet on Netflix?
If so, let us know what you thought of it in the comments below.
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