After a zombie outbreak Las Vegas is quarantined, sealed off from the rest of the world. Years later, the government plans to nuke the city, destroying it and the undead infestation. Before that happens, casino owner Bly Tanaka (Hiroyuki Sanada) wants Scott Ward (Dave Bautista) - the leader of a militia that aided in the evacuation of Las Vegas - and a team of mercenaries to infiltrate the city and retrieve the $200 million locked in the vault of Tanaka's casino. And they've only got four days to do it. $200 million, zombie infested city, four days... what could possibly go wrong?
I'm not really a fan of zombie movies, unless it's Shaun of the Dead of course. But the idea of pulling off a heist in a zombie infested Las Vegas sounds like quite a fun concept for a movie, even if you know everything will probably go horribly wrong. It is a zombie movie after all. Zack Snyder has built an incredible and colourful world in which zombies exist - the opening credits montage alone is worthy of its own spin-off (wink-wink). There is so much detail to be found in this world, not to mention the fact it's inundated - thanks to some great performances - with rather quirky (almost loveable) characters. Everything from how the outbreak started, to the quarantine and the evacuation actually felt kind of familiar in this post-Covid world. Should we be alarmed by that? Probably. Even the zombie hierarchy is well fleshed out, and we aren't talking about the usual shuffle and groan zombies either - well not all of them. They are fast, tough, and more importantly they are thinkers. And thanks to some incredible makeup effects they look great, in a horrifying way. They also have this incredible domain to inhabit. The sets, the locations, it all looks fantastic. So much so that it actually makes you want to get out there and explore.
Of course this wouldn't be a zombie movie without certain (almost required) elements thrown into the mix. For one thing, it's a zombie movie, so you know that death and disaster await. There's the sinister arsehole who clearly has alterior motives, and will probably get everyone killed (or at least try). They're pretty easy to spot from the get-go. As is the naive, wide-eyed idiot who you know will do something stupid and is probably going to get everyone killed. Unfortunately, a significant chunk of the plot revolves around this last one and they get rather annoying, very quickly. To the point where the character is completely unlikeable. At one point the movie wants us to feel sorry for them and it's impossible thanks to all the trouble they cause - I blame bad parenting. Seriously, someone should have knocked them out at the point where they stopped being useful.
But the real problem with Army of the Dead is it spends so much time world building that the story and that really fun sounding heist kind of fall by the wayside, to the point where they feel like almost an afterthought. From the start it feels like we're building towards this delightful nightmare scenario, where the team try to fight their way through a zombie hoard to a massive payday, but we never quite get there. Quite frankly, the movie makes promises it simply doesn't keep. What action we do get takes an age to show up, and it's nothing to write home about. That cool CGI tiger has a rather small part to play, and it was rather disappointing that Omari Hardwick's epic saw - the one teased in all the trailers - goes pretty much unused. Although, at least it gets to show a wall who's boss. Which is way better than watching it slice through legions of the undead, right?
Even with all the usual clichés and the slow movement towards the carnage, this movie is still able to surprise you. There is stuff hinted at here that you won't expect. Crazy shit! Like robot zombies (watch for the eyes), and some crazy time-loop theory that has no business being in a story like this, both of which seem to be here only to titivate us. In a flash they're gone, and without explanation or reason for being there in the first place. Maybe one day all will become clear. And don't get me started on the dried out zombies, the ones that baked to death in the Nevada sun. They apparently come back to life when it rains - sounds like ominous foreboding to me. That could be a perfectly terrifying third act event, watching them stir and creak back to life. But no. Yet another cool idea that's teased and quickly forgotten.
All that being said, I really loved most of the characters. And the world that Snyder has created is fascinating. So as disappointed as I was with the movie, I would definitely watch anything else set in this world. The trailer for Army of Thieves is great - the movie (which is available on Netflix later this year) certainly looks intriguing, not to mention fun. Granted, I said the same thing about Army of the Dead, and while it didn't exactly meet its potential, it did have its moments. But most of all, I am excited to see the animated prequel series. That opening credits montage was one of the best parts of the movie, and I can't wait to see the evacuation of Las Vegas in all its gory detail. It might even answer a few questions.
Overall, Army of the Dead is not as fun, exciting and chaotic as it should be. Too much time is spent world building, and it takes too long to really get going. That said, I would definitely like to see more of this crazy world.
6/10
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