Best word to describe Snyder: exhausting. He makes bloated films, too dramatic, trying to be too artsy, and thinks too highly of himself. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy his work, but he gets carried away. Take Dawn of the Dead. Simple setup and narrow in focus, but it works really well. But he gets carried away with Army of the Dead. A zombie heist action movie should not be two and a half hours long! You could easily trim 45 minutes for the better and get rid of the pointless subplots. And The I Am Legend-esque zombies are just too much. I loved the zombie heist angle and it's a shame Snyder couldn't have just kept it simple.
I haven't seen it yet (still planning on to). The reviews here seem to match with some of the critics I follow; which is lukewarm to cold. I'll keep my expectations low.
I agree that the side plots weren't necessary and that the Vegas location could have been better used. That said I was never bored.
It was alright. Good action but story was clunky. The daughter was a completely unnecessary character and probably could have trimmed off at least 30 minutes. C-
Just finished it. I'd give it about a 7/10 given expectations/genre/Zach Snyder Plot: Spoiler It's Aliens with zombies & a heist plotline. Kate = Ripley Bautista = Hicks Scumbag corporate guy = scumbag corporate guy Lesbian Pilot = Lesbian Pilot Ragtag mercenaries = ragtag space marines Zombies = Aliens Things I liked: Spoiler German guy/black guy chemistry Smart zombies (has a lot of potential) Dave Bautista Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jr. Things I didn't like: Spoiler Cliché Vegas **** Cliché cover music The tiger was overdone/repetitive and didn't really pay off much Somehow there's an international team, in the middle of the desert outside of a warzone (I'm sure this was to sell to markets outside of the US) Most of the other clichés I think this movie could have been so much more with a better director. I don't need fresh, but I don't need Michael Bay Jr., either. The zombie mythos they introduced could be pretty cool to explore.
I liked the film, but I agree with most of the comments... a bit too long; unnecessary parts; repetitive (for zombie apocalypse movies--unable to avoid); and Spoiler ...the inevitable sequel or continuing outbreak . I liked the cast; Spoiler Super Zombies/mutants were ok; Vegas is good setting (but like Jason Goes to Manhattan), expecting a little more from the location; the action scene are good; and even though it's kind of long, it's pretty well paced for the most part.
I agree with everything, though I think Snyder makes better movies than Michael Bay. I feel like Snyder can handle a serious and/or complex story, pretty well. He has alot more subtlety in his films than most Bay movies.
Generally agree. Sllghtly above average. But nothing new. Tragic flaws of the team members all the same. Motivations were blah. Tiger looked good in moments, but the kill was poorly executed which was unfortunate. Big baddie was ok, but there should have been more backstory and maybe a little creepier like in mad max. Zombie rules were different, but make no sense, as in why not just kill everyone rather than take a sacrifice. And how about that helicopter. There's no way it was going to get them all out.
Some of the slow mo shots worked for me like the drapes that looked like they were from 300. Wth is wrong with me...
Army of the Dead (2021) Dialogue and acting were kinda bad, even by B-action movie flick standards. The bad acting seemed like a zombie virus bite that went from Bautista to most of the supporting cast. Reminded me of why lot of Hollywood keep Dave Bautista's dialogue down to a minimum. Parts of the movie where it supposed to be dramatic, turned unintentionally funny. Out of the supporting cast, the muscle (Omari Hardwick - black dude) and Helicopter lady (Tig Notaro) were the only two that I found decent. Omari has the action star look. Tig was her usual deadpan self and they gave her some of the funnier punchlines. The daughter / dad strain relationship was contrived. Here I don't think the acting is the issue, but the material was bad that she can't really elevate. Side rant; I know it's Hollywood, but resemblance wise, the father and daughter look nothing alike (especially the eyes). This isn't to be mean, but I turned on subtitles because of the following supporting cast. The Mexican Ex (Ana de la Reguera) The German Coyote (Nora Arnezeder) The Safe cracker (Mathias Schweighofer - german actor) The Japanese puppetteer (Hiroyuki Sanada) On imdb, checked out some of their past movie credits, they've done stuff. In the right vehicle, actors like Sanada (Scorpion in Mortal Kombat) or Reguera (n Nacho Libre), they'd be OK, but Zach Snyder didn't do them much favors. The more I see from Zach Snyder as a director, the more I wish Zach and his wife didn't produce. Zach Snyder is a good cinematographer. As a director, he's better off working with other producers, who can rein him in. "Yo Zack, chill out on the slow mo" Zach is also the main writer, in which I'd suggest they hire someone else for future projects. The overall plot is OK as a heist zombie movie, and he tried some different things with the zombie genre. But as far as character interactions and writing dialogue, his stuff is always very on the nose and surface level. Don't be cheap Zack, help the economy, hire some real writer(s). Lastly the casting director gets a 'L', but good news is, if a sequel, it's likely a new cast next time. Grade C-
Fun Summer B movie, exactly what I wanted. Refreshing, seems like we only get a litany of super hero movies trying to fill that gap anymore
Remember how when you ventured to a Blockbuster you'd roam there for like an hour looking for something to rent? That's how I feel about the 2 streaming services I have. I feel like I've seen everything worth a damn. Then I decided to watch this film after reading the first page. For a zombie flick, it's quite good. Fast paced action: check. Hot chick that I always confuse with Paz Vega: Check. Zombie hoards: check. Gory: check So humanity was doomed because another hot chick was blowing her chubby husband after getting married in Vegas...I totally buy it.
No...but oddly i remember that signature smell of video stores. Indy rental shops smelled different than Blockbusters. Most memories of indy shops melted into some mental image from Clerks Don't tell me I'm the only one who remembered or noticed...
