Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead premiered on Netflix and was a film I was fairly excited for. I like balls to the wall action movies, zombies, and hell, I like heist movies. The film promised to mix all of those with a big cast, lots of violence, and lots of guns. I’ve watched this flick twice now, and I have feelings. The first time I was felt it was an okay movie, but upon my second watch, I slowed down, paid more attention, and, well, let’s get into the review, the guns, and gun handling.
I’m so torn on this movie. I’m torn on lots of Zack Snyder movies. His films often feature these really awesome scenes, be it action, dialogue, or interactions between characters that by themselves are fantastic. I love Sucker Punch because that’s really all it is. I loved the Batman v Superman fight. And, I love parts of this movie.
The problem comes from stringing these parts together and trying to form a coherent film. The best way I can review Army of the Dead is to break it into the parts I like and the parts I don’t. Here is your one and only spoiler warning.
What’s Good
The action’s great. The film’s beginning shows Las Vegas under siege from zombies, and we get an uber-violent montage of the heroes kicking zombie ass. We get gunplay, the use of concrete saws, some M2 50 cal action, and more. Throughout the film, the action is pretty solid and fun to watch. Dieter’s fantasy of a circle full of zombie killers stands out fairly well.
The Army of the Dead world is also fun. I like the post-zombie America and the fact the zombies are contained in Las Vegas. I like the whole idea of the film—a heist flick in a Las Vegas overrun by zombies. That’s a cool concept that is certainly somewhat unique. The movie riffs on films like Aliens, but I would still say it’s largely original.
I love the characters too. Most are pretty great. Bautista is charming, Vanderohe is a badass, and the enigmatic Lilly is pretty great too. The bad guys are super bad and terribly menacing, which I appreciate in my bad guys. I like the actors too, they all do well. Hell, I even like the zombie tiger.
What’s Bad
I’ve never made a movie before, so I hate being so critical. However, Zack, why do you stuff so much extra in your films? I know this is supposed to be a franchise with sequels, prequels, and an anime series, but come on. Lay off, or be subtle. Why do we have aliens and robot zombies? Why the zombie baby? None of it is addressed.
Too many extra plots are introduced, and it kills the pacing of the movie. There is so much going on that it distracts and ultimately detracts from the film. My biggest complaint is that the main story is overcomplicated. Army of the Dead would be much better as just a heist film, but instead, there is a silly twist involving Martin needing to steal an Apex zombie’s head.
It makes the movie drag on and on and takes time away from the strong parts of the film. We end up with a clunky mess of a movie trying hard to be some kind of interconnected Marvel franchise without any other parts of the franchise established. This 2.5-hour flick could be cut to 90 minutes and be a fun zombie romp with an original idea.
The Guns of Army of the Dead
Oh boy, do I appreciate the guns. Logistically it would make more sense for everyone to use similar rifles in the same caliber with the same magazines. If I armed a zombie-killing team, I would pick M4s in 5.56 and call it a day. That makes sense, but it’s boring. A character’s weapon can be part of their personality, and this is true in Army of the Dead.
As such, everyone gets their own fancy weapon. Highlights include Scott’s HK 416, Martin’s got a SCAR-L with an FN40GL, zombie-killing social media star Guzman’s gold AKMSU rifle, and Vanderohe gets the awesome KAC PDW. That’s just a sampling of the many weapons we see Mk 18s, SAWs, P90s, MP7S, and more.
We also see these weapons adorned with modern accessories. Scott uses an ACOG with RMR, a PEQ 15, and a Magpul D60 drum. We see various unknown red dots mounted at dubious heights on a variety of weapons. Cruz uses a D60, as well as an Eotech, and Steiner Dbal on her 416C. The firearms and their accessories are quite modern and very high speed.
Killing Zombies
The Las Vengeance clue handles their weapon okay. It’s a ton of full auto, always accurate, plot armor accuracy, but it’s fine enough. They aim their guns, use their optics, and deploy their stocks, well, most of the time. There is one great scene where the safecracker Dieter imagines them all being badasses, and it’s a very stereotypical action movie.
They stand in a circle, firing from the hip and butchering zombies without restraint. That’s only part of that fantasy and doesn’t reflect the rest of the film. Throughout the film, we saw lots of creative kills. There is certainly some style over substance in the film, and it’s not trying to be some crazy believable zombie heist movie.
Outside of the gunplay, there are interesting gear choices. The experienced Las Vengeance crew wear practical clothes, and some wear plate carriers. My only question is, why a plate carrier? I mean, the threat is zombies biting you, not bullets. I’d stick to the chest rig like Vanderohe or the belt-like Lilly. I do think it’s funny that Martin wears black Kryptek camouflage. Black, in the desert, during the day, makes a ton of sense. I mean zombies even see well enough for camo to matter?
Uncle Sam Wants you
Army of the Dead is worth watching if you’re already paying for Netflix, but it shouldn’t be a film you subscribe for. It’s a fun flick, with some cool ideas hampered by a ton of excess that easily be bled off. Luckily the guns are pretty dang sweet.
