Let me get straight to the point, Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead is a treat yet just for zombie aficionados and Zack Snyder's fans. Snyder considered making this zombie saga in 2007 after his zombie apocalypse blockbuster Dawn of the Dead in 2004. That was considered surprisingly better than Romero's exemplary original by many including me. Army of the Dead remained in the advancement stage for a long time however fortunately not dropped and in 2019 Netflix purchased the rights of this film, and the making process got boosted up and the shooting started in July 2019 and then after a controversy where one lead actor Chris D'Elia got blamed for sexual misconduct and got replaced by Tig Notaro, many reshoots took place.
Zack Snyder understands what their fans anticipate from him and this time he attempted to work out of the 'dim', making the film look bright and cool. Simply see the official posters of this film, it's so good. Overwhelmed by neon tones, it looks way cool and doesn't resemble what Snyder is known for, the dreariness and the seriousness. The atmosphere plays a pivotal part in his movies however this time Snyder is completely dedicated to giving what his viewers are expecting from a zombie film, a big-budget zombie film made on a budget of $90 million and yes, there's a shortage of good zombie films as of ongoing years.
The plot of the film is pretty straightforward. In the first place, we see a US military escort is shipping a payload however an accident occurs and from that container comes out a giant zombie. It murders every one of the soldiers and contaminates two of them. And afterward, they head to their closest city, the city sink in bright lights, Las Vegas. The alpha zombie makes destruction and soon the city loads up with grisly beasts and the government isolates the city. Now the real story, a casino proprietor Bly Tanaka (Hiroyuki Sanada) approaches Scott Ward (Dave Bautista), who once battles with the zombies and is currently working as a cook in a lodging. Bly enlightens Ward regarding the task of taking $200 million from his gambling club vault before the military destroys the city by an atomic strike.
Presently Ward seeing his present position consents to do this work and approaches his previous colleague Vanderohe (Omari Hardwick), Maria Cruz (Ana de la Reguera), and enlists other members, a helicopter pilot Marianne Peters (Tig Notaro), a sharpshooter Mikey Guzman (Raúl Castillo) alongside his mate Chambers, and a safecracker Ludwig Dieter (Matthias Schweighöfer). Martin (Garret Dillahunt), the right-hand man to Tanaka additionally joins to keep an eye on them. On the way, they are joined by Lily (Nora Arnezeder) and Kate Ward (Ella Purnell) the alienated daughter of Ward who works in the quarantine camp and needs to go in to find Geeta (Huma Qureshi) who is a defenseless refugee and a single mother to two kids.
Zack Snyder, Shay Hatten, and Joby Harold have written the screenplay of the film and without a doubt it is amazing. There's the same old thing, let me disclose to you this as well yet in any event it is entertaining as hell and very engaging. Snyder this time has crossed his zone of being not funny and brings wit and lightness through his characters and brings some comic relief as well. What you found in the trailer isn't anything when contrasted with this amazing 148 minutes film. Regardless of the runtime is long, which Zack Snyder's movies are known for, simply see Zack Snyder's Justice League it's 4 hours, Army of the Dead never plunges, not even for a second.
The initial credits rolls and we see Los Angeles being charged at and transformed into a defilement zone and is walled by enormous containers. It's a keen move not to show it independently in the film and the film rapidly progresses too with showing Ward recruiting for his group. The speed that is frequently ending up being a short point for Snyder's movies, Army of the Dead is energetically paced. The monster zombie Zeus (Richard Cetrone) was taken someplace from Area 51, where did he come from? The question stays unanswered. What's more, there will be many fan hypotheses springing up from everywhere in a few days. This isn't your typical zombie film, here the zombies are savvy and fast and Zeus is the king and The Bride (Athena Perample) is the queen of the Alpha zombies.
Not all zombies are alpha. There's furthermore a tiger zombie and that is crossing a line - one character says. Furthermore, they're not locked up in this spot, this place is their realm and the Queen is pregnant. Snyder is one stride ahead with all the zombie tropes that we are as of now acquainted with. There's a scene where Vanderohe gets and uses numerous zombies as their bait to booby traps in the way to the vault is just amazing. That one where one zombie got crushed in the middle of one trap is so scrumptiously bloody. The film flies and shines when it comes to slashing and killings of zombies with chainsaws and headshots. The blood-spouting and over-the-top carnage is essentially a treat to zombie film fans. That is the reason we love Snyder, for his vision and he does what he has on his mind. He won't compromise.
The thrills are incredibly assembled and conveyed, similar to the one where they cross a passage loaded with zombies in hibernation or when Zeus at long last comes to battle and that too hand to hand. As I said they're not the standard zombies. There's additionally a father-daughter track, among Scott and Kate, however not completely fleshed, it is sensibly well done as the feelings come out just as was required. And, zombie films are a bad place for compelling feelings and emotions, and Zack Snyder has attempted to keep it that way. The cast needs star power yet every one of them is in acceptable form and engaging at their best.
Dave Bautista as Scott Ward steals everyone's attention with his messed up father symbol. Though Huma Qureshi shines as Geeta. It was a proud moment to see her playing a small yet significant character in a Hollywood film. Matthias Schweighöfer as Ludwig Dieter and Tig Notaro as Marianne Peters are there to evoke laughs and they are effective in that. Nora Arnezeder as Lily as the badass coyote is amazing and Ella Purnell as Kate Ward, Omari Hardwick as Vanderohe, and Ana de la Reguera as Maria Cruz have their moments.
The film looks visually staggering and stunning as is expected from Snyder's film. He captured the film and truly the film is a visual dazzle, the remnants of Las Vegas and the wide or the Ariel photography, everything is first-rate. The special effects are pitch-perfect. Army of the Dead is a zombie film we were sitting tight for quite a long time. In the middle, I've seen numerous B-Horror zombie films yet nothing fulfilled me. With over-the-top gore, slashing, some humor, and a heartbreaking and shocking climax, Army of the Dead is a phenomenal zombie film of recent times. Now I hope that all will be well with the forthcoming zombie heist film Army of Thieves that is all set to release this year on Netflix and will fill in as a prequel to Army of the Dead.
Rating:- 4/5
Now streaming on Netflix.
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