There is only one issue when it comes to Army of the Dead…it is not as fun as Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead
Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead is a great mashup of two genres of film that re-emerged in the early 2000s and have been overused ever since. It’s a wonder that this film didn’t emerge amidst the popularity of the Ocean’s Eleven trilogies and Snyder’s previous Zombie film, Dawn of the Dead. What is fantastic about this movie, is that it is successful on both fronts. Proving to be a well-thought-out heist film and an action-heavy zombie thriller.
Snyder’s marriage of the two genres works well, taking a group of interesting and odd characters, thrown together out of circumstance; each with their own special skills and quirks, and the hopes of getting out alive. The film itself hits all the right beats for each of these genres to be successful, but in order to do so, Army of the Dead takes its sweet time to do so. Running at two hours and twenty-eight minutes, Army of the Dead is at least twenty minutes longer than any Ocean films.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it is something to note before watching. There seems to be far too much exposition at the beginning of this film to really care for many of these characters. Other films, such as Deadpool 2, or Lucky Logan, have collected its cast in more unique ways. I understand the value of having a large cast so that you can slowly murder them all in interesting and varied ways, but it becomes a bit confusing when you have to start counting who is left standing.
Where Army of the Dead is successful is in delivering the action. The intelligent zombies add a cool and interesting take on zombie films. That being said, having classes of zombies is something that video games have been doing for decades, but it doesn’t often find its way into films. We are often given either runners or the shambling type of zombie. That being said, I wish that the shambling zombies presented a bigger threat in this film. We are given an entire intro of the devastation and chaos they present, in typical Snyder slow-motion, and yet there are few moments in the overall narrative where typical zombies are ever an issue.
Making the creatures feel less like zombies and more like the zombie-vampire Darkseekers from I am Legend or the Strigoi in The Strain. The intelligence of Army of the Dead‘s zombies is not directly associated with anything we know about zombie lore, sure the main zombie bites and turns countless humans whom he feels are worthy, but the process is not entirely zombie-like.
It is a ritual process, in which the human is presented to Zeus, the leader of the zombies, making it feel more vampire-like. What is both interesting and confusing is that we are given early hints that Zeus has impregnated a mate, the Queen of the zombies, and must later tear the fetal zombie from her lifeless corpse. This brings up more questions to the film’s particular brand of zombie biology than it answers.
The cast of the film is relatively strong, as there are really no standouts of anyone not pulling their weight. Dave Bautista does a decent job leading the film, as the stoic leader, Scott Ward, but is hardly given any time to really shine, as he has in the Marvel films. Bautista can be a joy to watch, but he is not comedic relief here, and it makes the movie a bit humorless. The only real comedic bright spot is Tig Notaro’s Marianne Peters, who famously replaced Chris D’Elia, after his recent accusations of predatory sexual behavior.
I cannot imagine this movie without Notaro, as she is one of the only fun characters in the film, save for the occasional naivety of Matthias Schweighöfer’s Dieter. That is not to say that the rest of the cast is not good in their respective roles, but with a cast this large it is hard to stand out.
Characters pay to their type not really offering more than a two-dimensional trope. Garret Dillahunt’s Martin seems like he is going to be an untrustworthy character, and lo and behold this is the case. None of the characters are surprising or unique, we expect them to act exactly how they act. This is neither good, nor bad, per se, but it’s predictable.
Some of the best parts of this film are within the ravaged Las Vegas, it is bleak, dirty, and desolate. It represents the best parts of a zombie apocalypse, the destruction, and chaos. An organized zombie horde, lead by an unstoppable leader is a sight to behold. The digital effects are top-notch, from scenes with the CGI rendered zombie-tiger to Zeus riding his zombie-horse through the empty streets. These moments look fantastic.
It is when we get closer to Zeus himself that his makeup looks less than stellar, a more partially carved block of clay, than a threatening zombie king. There is also an interesting blueness to the intelligent zombies, which is never fully explained. Not in the original Dawn of the Dead sort of way, but rather a neon coloring to some of their blood, but this isn’t something that appears in all of the zombies. It even had me wondering in the film if they weren’t zombies at all, but weird robotic cyborgs of some sort, as the effect is rather jarring.
It’s also important to note that Tig Notaro physically stands out in the film. She is often not perfectly rendered, is noticeably discolored, or has obviously been added to the scene in post-production. I wish that I didn’t know about this prior to watching the film, as it would not have been as noticeable. This doesn’t ruin the experience, but it’s hard not to notice and remember whenever she is on the screen.
The biggest takeaway for me is the complete lack of joy in this film. Like I said previously, it is a bleak post-apocalyptic zombie film, but so was the James Gunn written Dawn of the Dead. What I would have given to see a James Gunn draft of Army of the Dead. This brings up my major criticism of all of Snyder’s films, a real lack of humor. I have enjoyed all of Snyder’s films, but I cannot say that a single one has been fun since Dawn of the Dead.
They are all overlong bleak depictions of suffering or going up against insurmountable odds, only to fail. Snyder seems to want to have the most heart-breaking and gut-wrenching endings to his films, and this film is no different. Ella Purnell’s Kate Ward, the daughter of Bautista’s Scott Ward, is the only character who is truly still alive at the end of the film, and the rest are zombie fodder. Now, I know that movies do not always have to end on a positive note, but I would like just one Zack Snyder film to give me hope for the future of its characters.
I enjoyed Army of the Dead as it was a unique spin on the zombie genre and opened up a world that can be explored further in sequels, the already filmed prequel, and the upcoming anime series. I am looking forward to all of this, because at the end of the day if you love zombie movies, you are most likely going to enjoy Army of the Dead as well.
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