SPOILERS AHEAD
After a zombie outbreak, Las Vegas is walled off with shipping containers and a group of mercenaries venture into the quarantine zone for a limited time window heist of a lifetime and personal motives.
Army of the Dead pulls no punches in terms of gore, the makeup effects are outstanding. The cinematography and art direction are something special. It's a genuine work of art. Zack Snyder returns to the zombie genre to inject a new spin, however, viewers should note that the zombie evolution and pecking order borrows heavily from David Wellington's novel 'Monster Island' and 'Dead Pulse'. That said, what Snyder does bring to the table is his unprecedented visual flare, high production values, action, thrills and spills along with fantastic executed special effects. It's an ambitious, outlandish zombie heist mashup that Snyder pulls off effortlessly.
The cast is great offering enough drama, action and comedy to satisfy. Dave Bautista as Scott Ward, Ella Purnell as his estranged daughter and love interest Ana de la Reguera offer sold performances. Notable is Tig Notaro as as nonchalant helicopter pilot and Omari Hardwick as Vanderohe. Richard Cetrone as zombie Zeus is memorable but oozing screen presence is Athena Perample as the zombie bride queen and Nora Arnezeder as Lily who both steal every scene.
It is not as intense of scary as Snyder's Dawn outing. Nevertheless, the tone works pretty well, it's thankfully played serious with some wit and laugh-out-loud moments thrown if for good measure. Granted, there's been a stack of zombie movies set in Vegas but none with Army's finesse. The score is fitting, the soundtrack includes covers of The Doors, Elvis and ‘Bad Moon Rising’. Also The Cranberries’ ‘Zombie’ and many more tracks bring to life the one screen hijinks, zombie tidbits, casino shootouts jam packed with action and double cross.
It's a hybrid zombie mix, arguably more than merely homages, writers Shay Hatten and Joby Harold screenplay along with Snyder unashamedly take moments, lines and setups from American Werewolf (it's opening scare, plus title track), Star Wars, Aliens, Escape from New York and Resident Evil, Train to Busan's hibernation zombies to name a few. Again, what it lacks in originality it makes up for in delivery, scope and pace. The main plot is pretty simple, crack the safe, get the stash and escape, this is set up amusingly in a flash imagination segment. With a zombie tiger, there's also enough story twists and surprise deaths staple with the zombie genre to shake things up and leave it open for a sequel. As well a Vanderohe’s Mexican zombie invasion, it includes many directions with the mention of zombie tests in Area 51, also a set up as Nora Arnezeder’s Lily knows her way out she’s a destined successor, to name a few avenues.
Overall, zombie fans in general will be blown away and get a kick out of Army of the Dead but lawyers may be rubbing their hands with the lack of originality.
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