Movie Review - Army of the Dead

Director: Zack Snyder
Genre: Action/ Horror/ Crime
Runtime: 148 minutes
Year: 2021
Starring: Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera, Theo Rossi, Garret Dillahunt, Matthias Schweighöfer, Nora Arnezeder, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tig Notaro, Raúl Costillo, Huma Qureshi

Description: Following a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, a group of mercenaries take the ultimate gamble, venturing into the quarantine zone to pull off the greatest heist ever attempted.

Review: Director Zack Snyder was given all the space he needed at Netflix to make an off-the-wall zombie movie to his own taste. With that, Snyder created a crazy roller coaster ride, full of questionable characters and extreme bloodshed.  
Based on the title and the content, you might expect a sequel to “Dawn of the Dead”, the film with which Snyder broke through as a director in 2004. But nothing could be further from the truth: “Army of the Dead” marks the start of a completely new zombie franchise, which will later be supplemented by a spin-off film, an anime series and a (possible) sequel.
The opening of “Army of the Dead” immediately create high expectations, especially for the fans of gore. While the cheerful song ‘Viva Las Vegas” sounds, we witness the zombie outbreak in the famous gambling city: half-naked strippers bite, bullets fly around, blood splashes everywhere, limbs and heads all over the place. The Strip, after which the army decides to seal off the entire are hermetically with a wall of shipping containers. Nice start.
A little later we are introduced to Scott Ward, a roughneck with a small heart, who managed to escape from the quarantine zone just in time. Now he runs a burger restaurant, but even there he gets little rest. A Japanese businessman makes him an offer: Scott must return to Las Vegas, where the city is still filled with the undead, to crack a safe under a casino, where hundreds of millions of dollars are stored in cash. But he has to hurry, because within 48 hours the whole place will be bombed. Why would someone take a job like that? Obviously money. In Scott’s case, the reward is fifty million dollars.
Zack Snyder created kind of a kingdom for his zombies, where a number of specific rules and laws apply. For example, from time to time some sacrifices are required. And there is also a hierarchy within the zombie community, which is lead by the Alphas.
“Army of the Dead” is certainly not a dull affair. It only because the film has a warm beating heart in the form of Dave Bautista, who plays remarkably well. And the film only has a few moments of rest where you can take a breath. It’s a wild ride.
The film has a lot of side characters and they don’t come off equally well. The low point is Dieter, a German boy who starts screaming at every noise or movement. He is extremely annoying and completely misses the mark on the assembly line. The female characters come off a little better here. Take the Coyote, she is a really cool character.
The runtime is something that could bother you, because they could have taken off at least 15 minutes. But overall, for fans of zombie movies, “Army of the Dead” is a great treat.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

Netflix Friday - Volume 56

Some Netflix film tips for the weekend! And there is something for everyone, since I picked a movie for all the different genres.
 

Action: Midway (2019)
The story of the Battle of Midway, told by the leaders and the sailors who fought it.
 

Drama: The Judge (2014)
Big-city lawyer Hank Palmer (Robert Downey Jr.) returns to his childhood home where his father (Robert DuVall), the town’s judge, is suspected of murder. Hank sets out to discover the truth and, along the way, reconnects with his estranged family.
 

Comedy: Girl’s Trip (2017)
When four lifelong friends travel to New Orleans for the annual Essence Festival, sisterhoods are rekindled, wild sides are rediscovered and there’s enough dancing, drinking, brawling and romancing to make the Big Easy blush.
 

Animation: Over the Moon (2020)
A girl builds a rocket ship and blasts off, hoping to meet a mythical moon goddess.
 

Romance: The Age of Adeline (2015)
A young woman (Blake Lively), born at the turn of the 20^th century, is rendered ageless after an accident. After many solitary years, she meets a man (Michiel Huisman) who complicates the eternal life she has settled into.
 

Horror: Army of the Dead (2021)
Following a zombie outbreak in las Vegas, a group of mercenaries take the ultimate gamble, venturing into the quarantine zone to pull off the greatest heist ever attempted.
 

Science Fiction: Dredd (2012)
In a violent, futuristic city where the police have the authority to act as judge, jury and executioner, a cop (Karl Urban) teams with a trainee to take down a gang that deals the reality-altering drug, SLO-MO.
 

Crime: American made (2017)
The story of Barry Seal (Tom Cruise), an American pilot who became a drug-runner for CIA in the 1980s in a clandestine operation that would be exposed as the Iran-Contra Affair.
 

Thriller: Prisoners (2013)
When Keller Dover’s (Hugh Jackman) daughter and her friend go missing, he takes matters into his own hands as the police pursue multiple leads and the pressure mounts.
 

Documentary: Nail Bomber: Manhunt (2021)
This documentary tells the story of the 1999 London bombings that targeted minority communities, and the race to find the far-right extremist behind them.
 

Family: Paddington 2 (2017)
Paddington (ben Wishaw), now happily settled with the Brown family and a popular member of the local community, picks up  a series of off jobs to buy the perfect present for his Aunt Lucy’s 100^th birthday, only for the gift to be stolen.