After the mammoth task of directing Superman and Batman in the Justice League,Army of the Dead sees writer-director Zack Snyder returning to his roots. Free of the well-known restraints he faced in superhero territory, this Netflix release feels more personal and smaller in scope. Well, small by Zack Snyder standards. Revisiting zombie lore for the first time since debut film Dawn of the Dead, this is about as down-to-earth as a zombie tiger.
Set in Las Vegas, the film’s stylish opening is reminiscent of Snyder’s Watchmen. After a military car crash results in a zombified test subject running loose, we witness a dazzling slo-mo montage that shows how the virus spreads through Sin City. When Vegas becomes overrun with zombies, a government-imposed quarantine keeps the population protected.
A heist movie that just happens to feature zombies, the plot kicks into gear when a shady casino owner (Hiroyuki Sanada) comes to former mercenary Scott Ward (Dave Bautista) with a proposition. Can Scott and his team extract £200 million from a casino vault before a nuke drops on this city of dead? Described as ‘a simple in and out’ job, this is, of course, anything but.
As Scott rallies his misfit crew, the main issue of the film becomes clear. Do we actually feel attached to any of the characters here? For the most part, the answer is no. From a tough-talking zombie killer (Omari Hardwick) to a talkative pilot (Tig Notaro), these characters have few if any distinguishing features. There are attempts at comic relief with a goofy German safecracker (Matthias Schweighöfer), but these mostly fall flat. In a film this silly, a little extra humour would have gone a long way.
This lack of connection sadly extends to the main character. Scott’s character motivations are grounded by an attempt to reconcile with his estranged daughter (Ella Purnell), whose mother he was forced to murder when she joined the ranks of the undead. However, her reason for even being involved in the mission is questionable, while the action-heavy story leaves very little chance to focus on this emotional connection.
If the human character development leaves a lot to be desired, this is probably because a lot of the attention has been lavished on their zombie counterparts. With the help of mysterious city guide Lily (Nora Arnezeder) we learn about the interesting hierarchy of the zombie kingdom, which is led by the ‘Alphas’. Unlike the slow-walking zombies of old, these zombies are intelligent and fast, carrying a palpable sense of threat right to the end. Beware – there are some truly gory deaths here.
Despite its flaws, Army of the Dead is plenty of fun. Synder has a solid grasp of his action sequences, from a tense scene with a room of slumbering zombies, to a bonkers final act full of betrayal and zombie carnage. It doesn’t make a lot of sense, and some of the decisions will have you scratching your head in disbelief – the characters don’t really seem aware of the time limit - but there is never a dull moment.
Though it’s certainly more style than substance, Army of the Dead delivers what you’d expect from a zombie heist movie – fun, ridiculous action and not a lot of brains.
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