Netflix’s Army of The Dead – A Zombie Blast

Zack Snyder has had quite the roller coaster the last few years following the controversy stemming from his involvement in 2017’s widely-panned Justice League and the resulting controversy surrounding the release of his cut of the film. Nevertheless, he’s on his way back by diving back into the zombie genre after his 2004 classic Dawn of The Dead remake with Army of The Dead and if anything, it should serve as a reminder that he is more than just superhero films. The film is sure to be a hit as it breathes new life into the genre, transcending its usual mindlessness with an epic story full of action, thrills, twists and turns, and the kind of brutal body count we have come to expect. Perhaps bloated to a certain degree and saddled with a longer running time of nearly 2.5 hours, the fast pace keeps things moving to the point where it is barely noticeable. Suffice it to say that this film will not be for the feint of heart but that essentially goes without saying.

Sure, Army of The Dead could have been a deeper film but it was never going to be one of those kinds of films and that’s okay. All that matters was that there are zombies and the characters had to figure out what to do about it though it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone that the situation was not nearly as simple as that. The film set the tone in an incredible way as following a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, a team of mercenaries led by Scott Ward (Bautista) ventured back in the now walled-off quarantine zone to pull off a dangerous heist before the city was set to be destroyed. All coming from different walks of life and for different reasons, personalities clashed from the start. However, they would need to learn to work together in spite of that in order to survive what was to come (though some clearly would not). These zombies were not just like the usual zombies and had their own particular quirks and abilities to them that at least made things more interesting to watch.

The odds were certainly not in these mercenaries’ favor but that being said, they still put up a fight (not all of them were fighters of course) in exciting and fast-paced action sequences against some worthy adversaries. Little did they know, the zombies weren’t their only concern. Somewhat grounding the story in the real world, there were consequences to these humans’ actions as the outbreak was just a vehicle for bigger issues that aren’t new by any means but look to continue past this film. The ultimate intersection of it all was where the film truly took off as actual stakes were presented to ratchet up the tension a few levels. The work done to develop the relationships between the mercenaries over the course of the film paid off here. Though they were thin, the film did a great job at giving viewers enough of a reason to care about them which is needed to truly stay invested in the story for those who want more than just mindless zombie action for which the film will otherwise satisfy. As mentioned, Army of The Dead is only the beginning and the positioning towards that inevitable continuation, without giving anything away (or at least more than what already has been), was a little on the awkward side while not overly shocking either.

Technically speaking, Army of The Dead is a beautiful film, finding plenty of color and detail amongst all the desolation (before having them splattered by blood and various gore) while creating an impressive sense of scale with the location and sheer zombie count within its version of Las Vegas. Though it may all be CGI, it was still very well done on a larger scale and a smaller scale with the zombies themselves and their many distinguishing quirks and abilities (and their fantastical demise). The zombie tigers were also standouts. Meanwhile, the score also added to that epic feel during big and small moments.

What ultimately tied Army of The Dead together was its performances which were solid across the board. Bautista as Scott Ward once again uses his charisma and shows off more of his leading chops, taking charge while also showing a softer side when needed. Having done so in a few films before, he is merely going through the paces but it still works here as he and the others were still compelling to watch. In terms of other performances, they all had their respective moments as the film did a decent job at balancing its cast. Much has been made about Tig Notaro’s role as she was added digitally added to the film post the departure of Chris D’Elia following sexual misconduct allegations. The work to add her in the film was relatively seamless and her performance was still a scene-stealing one despite not acting off of anyone.

At the end of the day, Army of The Dead looks to be yet another zombie hit for Zack Snyder along the lines of his last zombie hit.

still courtesy of Netflix

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.