Army of the Dead is the latest movie from esteemed director Zack Synder, best known for his work on films like 300, Watchmen, and Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice.
In addition to directing the action, Synder also wrote the story and screenplay, giving himself complete creative control. With an emphasis on highly stylized action, slow-mo sequences, and exceptionally wacky concepts, Synder has earned a divisive reputation among movie fans. Army of the Dead mixes Synder’s signature directorial style with a classic but subversive zombie apocalypse story.
Featuring big-name actors like Dave Bautista and Hiroyuki Sanada, Army of the Dead presents viewers with an intriguing take on this oft-treaded horror sub-genre. Set in the wild and seductive city of Las Vegas following a zombie outbreak, does Army of the Dead succeed with its style, or is this another mindlessly self-indulgent Synder flick?
Army of the Dead Review
While Army of the Dead might seem like a classic zombie film at first, it draws heavy influence from heist movies like Ocean’s Eleven. After kicking off with an incredibly enjoyable credit sequence, we’re introduced to the focal squad of zombie survivalists. Led by the burly Scott Ward (Dave Bautista), this group must infiltrate the zombie-infested streets of Las Vegas in order to break into a casino vault and recover the riches inside.
With the United States government planning a nuclear attack to wipe out the zombie population in Vegas, the squad must beat both the clock and the undead if they want to claim their riches.
In addition to the main narrative, Army of the Dead contains multiple sub-plots, some of which weaken the overall film. For example, Scott’s daughter Kate Ward (Ella Purnell) works near Las Vegas at a quarantine camp, where displaced citizens with questionable health are held in poor conditions. When Kate’s friend Geeta (Huma Qureshi) disappears into the streets of Vegas in search of money for her family, Kate takes it upon herself to join up with her dad’s crew and rescue her. While Ella Purnell’s performance as Kate is admirable, the entire subplot involving Geeta’s rescue weighs the film down significantly.
The film’s premise is strong; a squad must fight against the undead in the glitzy city of Vegas in a daring heist with enormous stakes. Unfortunately, this concept is underutilized in practice, with the film focusing far more on character drama than zombie action. This is a bit disappointing too, as the zombies in the film are built up as more interesting than simple fodder, with a quirky sub-plot of their own. Led by an alpha zombie named Zeus (Richard Cetrone), the zombies have created a sort of tribe, claiming Vegas as their land. Unfortunately, apart from a zombie tiger, some establishing shots of the city, and a late-film shootout, the promise of Vegas-themed fun is notably absent.
Our Verdict on Army of the Dead
While Zack Synder’s Army of the Dead is fun in quick bursts, it slows down far too often for its own good, deterring to uninteresting characters over gory zombie fun. While it does deliver with some fun action scenes, a lot of Army of the Dead feels taxing, but not in the anxiety-inducing way that makes horror movies exciting. There are some great characters mixed in the bunch, including the quirky safe-cracker Dieter (Matthias Schweighofer) and a blunt and comedic helicopter pilot named Marianne (Tig Notaro), but most of the characters fall flat. Most of the story is predictable as can be, and the more intriguing aspects of the story are left woefully unexplained.
For fans of the zombie sub-genre, Army of the Dead is worth a watch. Although it puts a heavy emphasis on the “dumb” in “dumb fun,” there are still some exciting scenes and interesting ideas to enjoy. If you’re not a fan of Zack Synder’s style, Army of the Dead will be a bit harder to swallow due to the excess of slow-mo, the shallow depth of field in most shots, and various storytelling decisions.
While the opening credits start the film with a bang, most of Army of the Dead’s runtime (a staggering 2 hours and 30 minutes) feels bloated and messy. If you go in with high expectations, you’ll likely be disappointed. That said, if you’re just looking for some silly zombie action and don’t care too much about the quality of the narrative, Army of the Dead has a bit of fun to offer.
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