Army of The Dead Review: A New Zombie Franchise is Born

What a year for Zack Snyder. Following his superior version of Justice League in March, comes Army of The Dead. An action-heavy zombie film with plenty of heart and an epic approach to zombie mythology. The epic scope is sometimes more than the film can handle and the film does drag at times.

The charismatic cast, fantastic use of Las Vegas and Snyder’s impeccable eye for action is on an impressive display. Even more than the Snyder Cut, this is Snyder’s film in every aspect. He wrote, directed and served as the cinematographer for the film.

The story of Scott Ward (Dave Bautista) leading a team of mercenaries into a zombie-infested Las Vegas to rob a casino vault before Sin City is nuked is a great combination. Bautista shines in the leading role. As absurd as the film is at times, Bautista does a great job of selling Ward’s trauma. Tig Notaro, Matthias Schweighöfer and Omari Hardwick are great at providing humor in a film that is pretty dour whenever the action dips. Every action sequence is staged to perfection.

While Army of The Dead is a great film, some missteps prevent Snyder’s latest from measuring up to Man of Steel, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and even Watchmen.

Ella Purnell‘s performance as Ward’s daughter is strong, but her character and subplot serve as a distraction from the more entertaining heist and world-building elements. There’s a suspicious member of the team who is everything he seems to be from his introduction to the end of the film. Snyder’s song selection is excellent throughout the film, but the score is nothing special.

There are some great twists and turns in Army of The Dead. However, if you’re expecting jump scares, you will be disappointed. While the design of the zombies is top-notch and there’s plenty of gore, there’s just nothing scary about the film.

These critiques pale in comparison to Snyder’s gorgeous visuals, the best opening credits montage I’ve ever seen and the bonkers ending.

With the overview out of the way, lets dive deeper into Army of the Dead. Please note there will be some minor spoilers. Army of The Dead is streaming on Netflix.

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The Army of The Dead Cocktail

Zack Snyder throws a bunch of story elements together in Army of the Dead. The opening credits montage is a simple zombie film all by itself. While “Viva Las Vegas” plays, Snyder shows the zombie outbreak, the badass nature of the main characters and the usage of shipping containers to quarantine the zombies. It’s a masterful way to begin the film.

Army of the Dead is a zombie, heist and a race against time film. If you love Jurassic Park, there’s even a hint of an InGen-like plot, that’s abandoned before it can fully take off, but is a cool idea. The heist and zombie elements work together like a perfect nightmare. The race against time element works well until the deadline is moved up. While this decision does create a sense of urgency, I’d rather the zombies be the obstacle that slows the team down.

Las Vegas: Kingdom of the Dead

One of Snyder’s greatest strengths is world-building. Army of The Dead is no exception. He adds layers to the zombie genre in this film that is fascinating. Once the outbreak begins, the zombies turn Las Vegas into their own kingdom with different types of zombies. Each type has its own role to play in the kingdom.

You have the shamblers. The slow-moving, barely functional zombies usually used as cannon fodder for the human characters or to provide a comedic beat. For example, one of the comedic high points of the film involves members of the team using shambler zombies to figure out how to access a casino vault.

There’s also fast-moving zombies who can stand toe-to-toe with humans. Then you have the ruling class of zombies. They are intelligent, strong, loyal and can even form romantic connections. These are just some of surprises Snyder dishes out.

The expanded mythology gives the film an epic scope that truly stacks the deck against the humans. Unfortunately, the race against time plot and the daughter subplot cuts into the time spent in this fascinating setting.

Putting the Team Together

Batista as Scott Ward, Notaro as the helicopter pilot, Schweighöfer as the safecracker and Hardwick as the saw-wielding philosopher are the standout characters in the Army of The Dead.

Batista’s carries the emotional weight of the film. His grounded performance makes Army of The Dead more than a mindless zombie-killing affair. As you’d expect from Batista, his action scenes pop with physicality. Purnell does what she can as Ward’s daughter. She’s great at selling her anger and resentment towards her father. Her subplot in Las Vegas breaks this strong throughline and serves as an unnecessary obstacle for Ward’s team.

Notaro filmed all of her scenes remotely, yet you’d never know thanks to Snyder and Notaro’s performance. All of Notaro’s scenes as Marianne Peters were filmed separately from the other actors and added after filming wrapped. The dialogue and action scenes featuring other actors are seamless. Schweighöfer as Dieter and Hardwick as Vanderohe are a constant delight throughout the 2.5 hours.

The rest of the cast is strong, but their characters are what you’d expect. You have the potential love interest for Ward played by Ana de la Reguera. She’s known Ward for years and would follow him into battle for free. Garret Dillahunt plays the type of unscrupulous character that is his calling card. He’s great at being unlikeable, there’s just nothing beneath his evil veneer. Lilly (The Coyote) played by Nora Arnezeder leads the team into Las Vegas and gives the team a crash course on this zombie empire. Hiroyuki Sanada exudes the right amount of mystique and power as the casino owner Bly Tanaka who sets Ward on this dangerous mission.

Raúl Castillo as Mikey Guzman and Samantha Win as Chambers are the more hot-headed, less refined members of the group. Castillo is fine as the sharp-shooting Guzman. Win makes a big impression in a small role and has the best fight scene in the film.

Army of The Dead Final Thoughts

The daughter subplot in Vegas and a human villain you can see coming from a mile away keeps Army of The Dead from entering the top tier of Snyder films.

However, the opening credits and the last hour of the film has just right amount of twists and turns to make Army of The Dead a winner for Netflix.

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