ARMY OF THE DEAD | FILM REVIEW
Dir: Zack Snyder (18, 148 mins)
Before he moved into the gleaming CGI muscles of 300 and the gloomy DC Universe, Zack Snyder’s debut film was Dawn Of The Dead: a high-octane, brilliantly realized zombie remake that is arguably his best film. After the melee surrounding Justice League, the director who gave his name to its Snyder cut returns to the world of the undead in another enjoyably gory popcorn movie.
In an opening prologue that riffs on plots from other films – Raiders Of The Lost Ark is namechecked – a container carrying an unknown cargo is accidentally unleashed. It’s a superfast nasty zombie, who ends up with Las Vegas in its sights. A fabulous opening credits sequence (Snyder is superb at these: the beginning of his Watchmen film is the best thing about it), shows how Las Vegas subsequently became overrun with the undead. Elvis impersonators rip flesh and dancing girls tear people apart whilst others try and win on slot machines. It’s also where man-mountain Dave Bautista lost his wife. Now in a dead-end job, this mercenary is enticed back to Viva Las Vegas to try and grab the cash that is still in the vaults of a casino there by shady businessman Hiroyuki Sanada.
So, Bautista gathers a team together including Matthais Schweighofer’s funny German safebreaker, Omari Hardwick’s philosophical buzzsaw wielder, old friend Ana de La Reguera and a digitally-parachuted-in Tig Notaro’s helicopter pilot, amongst others. Notaro was brought on after the previously cast, then scandal-hit Chris D’Elia had to be excised – her scenes blended in seamlessly despite her filming everything on her own.
Vegas is due to be destroyed by a nuclear blast within a few days, thereby relieving the world of its trapped zombie population, so they haven’t got much time to get the cash. Also along for the ride is Bautista’s estranged daughter Ella Purnell, out to save a friend who has gone missing inside, plus company man Garrett Dillahunt and slimy enforce Theo Rossi. What follows is an amped-up steroidal action film mixing the Dirty Dozen, Aliens and Mad Max beats in relentless fashion. There are great set pieces as the team go through corridors full of sleeping zombies, encounter zombie tigers and deal with the alphas, evolved zombies who communicate and even procreate.
It’s ridiculous: there are gaping plot holes and silly character motivations, particularly from Purnell’s character, whilst other elements are directly lifted from other films. Snyder, however, mashes it all into thoroughly entertaining and cartoonishly violent slick cinema, having bloody fun with a game cast of mostly memorable characters. A familiar, frenetic blast.
Out now via Netflix
words KEIRON SELF