By: The Don
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
Well, well, well… It’s what we have all been waiting for on Netflix… at least I have. It’s a Zombie Apocalypse film with a twist that we haven’t seen before… planning a heist to retrieve $200 million from a vault below the Las Vegas Strip, and Zack Snyder directing! What was so special about this film was that this was Snyder’s first film without Warner Bros interrupting his directing style. We should have all seen the Snyder Cut to Justice League by now and, sure it was long as hell, but it was really worth it to me. It showed Snyder’s true directing style compared to the Justice League released back in 2017.
Back to Army of the Dead, the film to me was very entertaining, filled with phenomenal action scenes and fun comedic jokes. And now to the cons. I was a bit disappointed with the story. The story to me could have been so much more. There were some cool characters and some that did not even need to be in the film.
First let’s discuss the plot. The film’s about Scott Ward (played by Dave Bautista) recruiting a group of experienced and savage zombie mercenaries that gets sent to Las Vegas to retrieve $200 million from a vault in a hotel under the Las Vegas strip owned by rich business man Bly Tanaka (played by Hiroyuki Sanada) who has ties with the US Government. Only problem, a severe zombie outbreak that was caused and led by a smarter and faster Alpha Zombie called Zeus. Zeus has engulfed and taken over Vegas, and turned it into a desert wasteland. Seems easy enough right?
The story seems like a good idea on paper, but was poorly executed by Snyder. With a run time of 2.5 hours, the story wasn’t as engrossing as I hoped it would. There were a few twists and turns that will capture your attention at times, but if it wasn’t for the action packed scenes, you would be bored and looking away at times. The story just kind of drifted away and focused on Ward’s daughter Kate (played by Ella Purnell) in search of some of survivors she was taking care of in the evacuation camp, who snuck into Vegas to get none other than… you guessed it, money to help free her family from the camp for a better life. I felt like that strayed away too far from the main plot and Snyder should have just focused more on the heist itself. The problem with Snyder is that he wants to include every living moment into his films. It’s great and all, but it strays from the main plot of the story which was the heist, as it showed in the trailers. And it’s okay Snyder… you can cut some things out. Being a director is to show the audience what you want them to see and whats relevant to the film and script and what’s needed for us (the audience) to understand. This is what makes and breaks director’s careers.
Zack Snyder did really good on the cinematography. One of my favorite scenes was when Ward was using his knife to attack one of the zombies and the zombie was dodging his knife attacks. It was so epic and amazing! Or when Ward was running through the casino and shooting zombies left, right and center! Turning Vegas into a zombie wasteland was awesome and it looked it on screen.
Also, IT’S A GODDAMN ZOMBIE TIGER!!! That was a first for me. I felt like the CGI of the zombie tiger was good. At times, I could see parts of the CGI showing, but you have to be really, really looking for it. So I have to give Snyder props for the time he put into making this so crisp and clean.
The acting was fairly decent. Bautista at times would talk and would bore you a bit. His action scenes definitely made up for his dialogue. I wish there were more scenes from Hiroyuki Sanada. He was included in the beginning and one scene in the end. We gots to see more of him if there is a future for this franchise… which I hope there is! One of my favorite characters was Chambers (played by Samantha Win). I really wish she was included in the film more. Her kickass fighting skills was so badass and it really was a shame that she wasn’t in the film more. I thought she was one of, if not the best zombie slayer in the film. Omari Hardwick is the MAN. I love his weapon of choice… his fancy saw. He is funny and protects the German savvy vault cracker Dieter (played by Matthias Schweighofer) who is funny, but tries too hard to be too dumb. The one character I could not stand was Marianne Peters. She was unbearable and just plain annoying. Maria Cruz (played by the delightful Anna de la Reguera) was a delight. I love her relationship with Ward. Old coworkers that did jobs together in the Vegas outbreak. I could feel the strong relationship between the two. They showed great chemistry on screen. Lilly or the Coyote (played by Nora Alexander) was okay. She’s knowledgeable of Vegas and the zombies. She does try too much to be the smartypants of the group, but I loved her on screen. From her looks to her intelligence, Alexander did a good job with her character.
Overall, this is a very fun film filled with lots of action pack scenes. It’s one of those films where unless you want to see some good action and not focus on the plot entirely. The Kate plot I think should not have been focused as much as it was in the film. I really wanted more focus on the heist. I felt like that only took up half of the film. And badass characters that went too early in the film. It was nice to see Zack Snyder go wild on this film, but not with its issues. Snyder said this was the Director’s cut, I hope there is a sequel and it shows more zombie kickass action and more focus on an actual plot and not multiple plots. I say check this one out!
VERDICT
6.5 out of 10