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Army of the Dead
(Netflix)
By Lucas Allen
The pandemic may have turned us into couch zombies, but nothing surpasses the fear of a zombie apocalypse, especially on TV. Adding to that apocalypse is the new Netflix original film “Army of the Dead,” which is sure to give streaming fans something to hold them over until the eventual return to crowded movie theaters. Not to mention, it’s the second zombie movie directed by Zack Snyder after 2004’s “Dawn of the Dead,” as well as his second trip to the streaming scene this year after unveiling his full vision of “Justice League” on HBO Max.
A military convoy accident in the Nevada desert unleashes a zombie plague on the city of Las Vegas, turning all residents and tourists into undead flesh-eaters. Ex-military struggling cook Ward (Dave Bautista) and mechanic Cruz (Maria de la Reguera) have had professional and personal losses during the Vegas outbreak. One day, ruthless businessman Tanaka (Hiroyuki Sanada) hires Ward to sneak into ground zero, rob $200 million from a highly secured casino vault, and quickly walk out before the government drops a nuclear bomb on the site. But first, Ward must put together a team of his own to try to complete the mission. Other than Cruz, he also has to hire a helicopter pilot (Tig Notaro), a safecracker (Matthias Schweighofer), a soldier-of-fortune (Omari Hardwick), and a sharp-shooter (Raul Castillo).
Joining the team is Ward’s daughter Kate (Ella Purnell), who knows a small Mexican family is lost in the site and has to be rescued. Together with a tracker (Nora Arnezeder) and one of Tanka’s security officers (Garret Dillahunt), the team treks through the ruined city while avoiding detection from the fast-moving creatures including their King (Richard Centrone) and Queen (Athena Perample). Although they eventually made it to the casino vault, Ward and his team will soon face twists, betrayals, and bloodshed in their quest for cash.
The movie starts off very well with the beginning of the outbreak before its spectacular title sequence set to a cover version of Elvis Presley’s hit song “Viva Las Vegas.” Then it becomes your standard zombie film filled with action, gore, and characters you either root for or can’t wait to see them get eaten. However, it manages to tell an interesting story that combines “World War Z” with “Ocean’s Eleven.” The end result is a movie that plays with audience’s expectations and still deliver full-fledge entertainment.
Fans of the sub-genre will also eat up all the fantastic effects work with the excellent zombie makeup and buckets of blood pouring on the screen. The best thing this one has going for is giving the zombies a little more personality while making them feel more threatening than in any previous zombie movie. They’re highlighted by the king and queen zombies, who both bring a villainous and human essence as performed by the actors.
Like any zombie story from George Romero to AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” your level of enjoying this film depends on your tolerance for the human characters presented. Some of them are written to be over-the-top caricatures and the actors perform just as its written with those tropes alone. Bautista however remains perfectly natural in his leading man role displaying muscle and tender emotion. Some of his scenes with Purnell help bring heart to this otherwise insane zombie film.
Despite its overlong runtime of nearly two-and-a-half hours, “Army of the Dead” works best as an action-packed gore-fest for horror viewers looking for something satisfying to watch at home. It helps to have a filmmaker like Snyder who understands what audiences can have versus what other major studios usually ask for.
THE MOVIE’S RATING: R (for strong bloody violence, gore and language throughout, some sexual content and brief nudity/graphic nudity)
THE CRITIC’S RATING: 3.25 Stars (Out of Four)
