Review of 'Army of the Dead'

army_of_the_dead.jpg Following a zombie virus outbreak in Las Vegas the city is sealed off from the rest of the world to prevent the virus from spreading. Years later former mercenary Scott Ward (Dave Bautista, who you may remember from Guardians of the Galaxy) are hired by Las Vegas casino owner Bly Tanaka (Hiroyuki Sanada) and his associate Martin (Garret Dillahunt) to recover $200 million from his vault before the military drop a nuclear weapon on the city. Ward agrees, bringing on board former associates Maria Cruz (Ana de la Reguera) and Vanderohe (Omari Hardwick), along with cantankerous helicopter pilot Marianne Peters (Tig Notaro), German safecracker Ludwig Dieter (Matthias Schweighöfer), and sharpshooter Mikey Guzman (Raúl Castillo), who brings along his associate Chambers (Samantha Win). The team reluctantly allows Martin to join the team as an observer. Approaching Ward's estranged daughter Kate (Ella Purnell) who works at a Las Vegas quarantine camp they are told to talk to Lily (Nora Arnezeder), a smuggler familiar with getting people in and out of the city. On their way into the ruined Las Vegas, Lily recruits Burt Cummings (Theo Rossi), a brutal camp security guard who is given over to the inhabitants as an offering for safe passage. As night falls the group are forced into the buildings with eerily dormant zombies that are easily awoken…

An interesting twist on the traditional zombie film though staying true to form with loads of gore and violence. The story has a number of twists and turns that will keep the viewer moderately entertained though the acting is not that great with stereotypes all around and the film could do with being a good 30 or 45 minutes shorter. There is not really a lot to the story with the film being simply a series of action sequences while the mercenaries sneak through a zombie-inhabited apocalypse on the way towards their anticipated booty. The effects, as you might expect, are quite good with great pains taken to recreate a destroyed Las Vegas.

A slightly different type of zombie film that ultimately disappoints with lacklustre acting and a somewhat predictable story. It does look good though…

Rating: “A bit better than average”

Review Date: 2022-02-13


Directed by: Zack Snyder

Studio: The Stone Quarry

Year: 2021

Length: 148 minutes

Genre: Action/Adventure

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0993840/


Other reviewed films by Zack Snyder: