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Review by Brad Balfour<\/p>\n
Army of the Dead Despite some inconsistencies, illogical moves and just general bullshit, Zack Snyder\u2019s Army of the Dead<\/strong><\/em> is one hell of a ride.\u00a0If any director \u2014 besides the late master George Romero<\/strong> \u2014 has established an aesthetic for Zombism, it\u2019s been Snyder. For his debut feature, Snyder did a stylish remake in 2004 of Romero\u2019s classic Dawn of The Dead<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n The 55-year-old director is no stranger to delineating his own unique aesthetic. Just take a look at his landmark film 300<\/strong><\/em> or the stamp he placed on the DC Superhero Universe through his takes on Superman, Batman and Justice League. Like them or not, they are stylishly clever.<\/p>\n Veteran director Snyder and his producer wife Deborah have had their ups and downs working with big studios such as Warner Brothers.\u00a0 After he had made a string of DC Superhero films (with such mythic characters as Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and other Justice League members), Snyder got a chance to share his ideal vision of the DC Universe’s characters when the studio released his four-hour director\u2019s cut of Justice League<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n In the background to all this, was Snyder\u2019s wacked-out Zombie Apocalypse epic, “Army of The Dead.” Though WB held the reins to the film, they weren\u2019t giving it their support, Then, thanks to the pandemic-prompted production freeze, Netflix came to the rescue and greenlit his film.<\/p>\n In Snyder\u2019s unmistakable fashion, he came up with a new zombie film that re-fashioned its mythology while really camping it up.\u00a0He\u2019s included in this flashy feature, a blow job, Area 51, extraterrestrial DNA, and Zeus<\/strong> \u2014an intelligent and commanding zombie king. There\u2019s also a zombie queen who gets pregnant and a zombie tiger named Valentine<\/strong> \u2014 which was once part of Siegfried & Roy\u2019s troupe.<\/p>\n With a twist upon a twist, an Elvis imitator and numerous topless strippers all become zombies and Vegas casinos get overrun with the undead. Survivors who escape the zombie hordes get placed in refugee camps which are getting bussed away from the devastation before Vegas gets nuked.<\/p>\n Into all this chaos, Casino owner Bly Tanaka<\/strong> (Hiroyuki Sanada) and his associate Martin<\/strong> (Garret Dillahunt) send former mercenary Scott Ward<\/strong> (Dave Bautista) and his crew to recover $200 million from the casino vault before the military destroys the city with a tactical nuclear strike.<\/p>\n Ward recruits former teammates Maria Cruz<\/strong> (Ana de la Reguera) and Vanderohe<\/strong> (Omari Hardwick), along with helicopter pilot Marianne Peters<\/strong> (Tig Notaro — who replaced Chris D\u2019Elia<\/strong> after accusations of bad behavior surfaced), German safecracker Ludwig Dieter<\/strong> (Matthias Schweigh\u00f6fer), and Latino sharpshooter Mikey Guzman<\/strong> (Ra\u00fal Castillo \u2014 who brings along his beautiful-but-tough associate Chambers<\/strong>. Ward’s estranged daughter Kate<\/strong> (Ella Purnell), who works at a quarantine camp, directs them to Lily<\/strong> (Nora Arnezeder), a smuggler familiar with the city. Lily seemingly recruits Burt Cummings<\/strong> (Theo Rossi), a nasty camp security guard. When Kate learns Lily escorted her friend Geeta<\/strong> into Vegas, Kate insists on joining the team over Ward’s objections. Into to all this, Martin joins the team claiming to be observing them \u2014 but he obviously has more nefarious interests.<\/p>\n Lily leads them into a building full of hibernating, standard zombies. As Ward carefully carves a path through them with glow sticks, Chambers accuses Martin of ulterior motives; he diverts her off the path, waking the undead who overpower her so Guzman shoots her gas tank, blowing her and the zombies up.<\/p>\n At Bly’s casino, Ward and Kate turn on the power, Peters prepares a helicopter on the roof and Dieter works on the vault. Martin and Lily stay outside under the pretense of keeping watch, but instead lure the Queen into the open where Martin beheads her and stashes it in a bag.<\/p>\n When Zeus discovers her body and carries it to the Olympus casino, it\u2019s revealed that the Queen was pregnant with a zombie fetus. Enraged, Zeus directs the Alphas to Bly’s casino. Meanwhile, the government has rushed the nuclear strike, giving the team approximately one hour to get done and get out. And then all hell breaks loose.<\/p>\n Without revealing the final plot twists, it should be noted that nothing turns out the way anyone had hoped. Yes, there are tragedies but there are survivors as well.<\/p>\n Given that Snyder had made that debut re-imagining Romero\u2019s Dawn of The Dead<\/em>, he has again made a pretty impressive zombie film without really retreading old ground. And given that Snyder had been under scrutiny for how he had developed the DC Cinematic Universe, he has handily redeemed himself with this fully satisfying piece of total escapism. This a movie is perfect for viewing in an actual cinema this summer.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong><\/em>Director: Zack Snyder
\n<\/strong>Cast: Dave<\/strong> Bautista<\/strong>, Ella<\/strong> Purnell<\/strong>, Omari<\/strong> Hardwick<\/strong>, Ana de la<\/strong> Reguera<\/strong>, Theo<\/strong> Rossi<\/strong>, Matthias<\/strong> Schweigh\u00f6fer<\/strong>, Nora<\/strong> Arnezeder<\/strong>, Hiroyuki<\/strong> Sanada<\/strong>, Tig<\/strong> Notaro<\/strong>, Ra\u00fal<\/strong> Castillo<\/strong>, Huma<\/strong> Qureshi<\/strong>, Garret<\/strong> Dillahunt<\/strong><\/p>\nShare this:<\/h3>