So, how do you raise the stakes of a Las Vegas heist? Zack Snyder says, add zombies!
Hey, everyone! I'm Marianna, this is Impression Blend,
and today I wanted to talk to you about "Army of the Dead" - a new action horror
film from Zack Snyder. It's been playing in select theaters for about a week now,
but if you haven't had the chance to see it - it's coming to Netflix globally on May 21st.
So, let's talk about some zombies!
The premise is simple: a zombie war veteran, played by the wonderful Dave Bautista,
assembles a team to break into the quarantined, zombie-infested city of Las Vegas in order to
retrieve 200 million dollars from a casino vault, before the city gets nuked in 32 hours.
Easy-peasy, right?
For "Army of the Dead", Snyder returns to his roots - his first feature film
was "Dawn of the Dead", a remake of George A. Romero's 1978 horror classic.
And, before you ask - no, "Army of the Dead" is NOT in any way connected to that film.
This is based on an original story written by Zack Snyder,
who also co-wrote the screenplay, directed the film, and was the cinematographer.
It IS worth mentioning though, that "Army of the Dead" is already expanding into a franchise
with two prequels: one a film which is going to be
"Army of Thieves", and the other a prequel animated series - "Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas".
So, is "Army of the Dead" worth your time? I would say yes, as long as you know what
you're getting yourself into. I had a lot of fun watching this film - it was action-packed,
immersive, it had a very likable lead, good visuals, and an interesting take on the zombies.
It's a film that knows what it is, embraces it, and has fun with it.
What's so interesting about those zombies? Well, the movie has two types of them.
First are your "basic zombies", so to speak,
referred to as "shamblers". They're not the slow, shuffling kind - they're fast, they're aggressive,
they run, they swarm, they fight, and they are hungry.
Now, the second type is where things get interesting: they are the Alphas.
They can think, they can hunt, they can give and take orders,
they're kind of their own pack, and are essentially somewhere between a human and zombie.
I actually would have loved to know more about the Alphas,
and I really hope that their abilities and purpose are explored more in the prequels.
This idea of zombie Alphas definitely makes things more interesting compared to just
watching a group of people go through the same type of brainless undead.
And speaking of the action, I for some reason did not expect the movie to go
as full-on horror as it did with the gore. There are some NASTY shots in there,
the R rating is definitely there for a reason, and things definitely get gross from time to time.
But, a lot of it is also framed as comedic,
so it's a great time if you're into that type of comedy.
Also, I have to talk about the title sequence in the beginning because it is easily one of
the best and most memorable parts of the film. A lot of the footage you see in the trailer
is actually taken from that title sequence, and with good reason: it's REALLY well-done.
Aside from the memorable aesthetics of a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, it also
introduces us to the group of characters we're going to be following for the rest of the film,
and it catches us up on how the outbreak was dealt with.
It's fun, it's gory, and it's... well, Vegas!
As far as the negatives go - by far, the biggest issue "Army of the Dead" has is its length.
At almost two and a half hours of runtime the movie is simply too long, but to be fair,
this is something we have come to expect from Zack Snyder at this point.
Most of the trimming could have happened in the first act of the film - it takes about
45 minutes to get through the setup and to get to the actual mission,
and it could have been cut down closer to 30. There is no reason why the
setup and all of the things leading up to the heist needed to take longer than 30 minutes.
There were also a few parts inside Las Vegas that could have been edited down slightly, but
most of it could have happened in the first 45 minutes.
I'm going to be honest, you COULD nitpick the hell out of "Army of the Dead" - from the characters
and logic, to realism and details. But I don't think it really matters with a film like this
where you're really just meant to relax with a popcorn and enjoy some over-the-top zombie action.
There's a fine line between a movie that is so ridiculous that it's bad, and a movie
that is ridiculous in an entertaining way, and "Army of the Dead" is definitely the latter.
If you show up to watch a zombie heist movie - that is what you're going to get,
and you're going to have fun with it.
Is some of the movie a little over the top? Absolutely. But are you really going to show up to
a zombie heist movie set in Las Vegas, and expect it to be tame and serious? I highly doubt it.
The ridiculousness is part of the charm.
Now, before I give my final rating, don't forget to subscribe to my channel,
if you're just finding me now! I talk a lot about movies, but I also sometimes
talk about TV series, and books. I do quick spoiler-free reviews such as this
one, as well as more in-depth discussions, recommendations,
top 10s, tier lists - you name it. I think you're going to like it here, so please, DO subscribe.
In the end, "Army of the Dead" is a movie that achieves what it sets out to do.
It's a zombie heist film that does not take itself too seriously, and wants to entertain
the audience with action, zombies, and gore. It may not be flawless, but it's fun and memorable,
and I am giving it a well-deserved 7 out of 10. Check it out, if this looks like a fun time to
you - I think you're going to enjoy it. And let me know what you think in the comments!
That's it for this quick review of "Army of the Dead"! Thank you guys so much for watching,
as always! Let me know if you've seen the movie already, and what did you think of it,
or if you're planning to see it. And also, let me know what your favorite zombie action film is!
As always, a big thank you to all my Patrons for supporting me on Patreon,
with an extra special thank you to the Patrons whose names are on the screen
right now. I appreciate every single one of you!
And I hope everyone enjoyed this video! If you DID enjoy it - please,
don't forget to give it a thumbs up, share it, subscribe to my channel if you haven't already,
turn on notifications so you don't miss future videos,
follow me on social media if you would like, and I hope you're having a wonderful day!
I will see you very soon in my next video. Bye!