Army of the Dead (2021) Review

A bit later then I would have liked but I have now watched Zack Snyder's new film Army of the Dead and here is my review for it. The premise of the film sees a group of mercenaries attempt to pull of a heist in Las Vegas after it is infected by a Zombie Apocalypse. 

Main Character

Dave Bautista plays the lead and I think he does a decent job in the role. He feels like a lead actor and a good fit for this whole universe as the main character. But the issue is that there isn't enough there with the character and that isn't really his fault. There are so many characters involved and there is a feeling to give them all something to do, so there is not enough given to him or a reason to really care about his character in the big moments. 

Supporting Characters 

This film has a huge cast so I won't have time to go through them all but there are mixed results for sure. There are some good actors like Garret Dillahunt, Hiroyuki Sanada and Omari Hardwick and they are all very functional in their roles but when the film ended I realised that I didn't care about any of the characters that were on screen and despite these performances that is a huge issue. Ella Purnell who plays Bautista's daughter is so annoying and frustrating to watch which makes it worse when she gets given more of the spotlight then was really necessary. Even Theo Rossi, he isn't in the film much but he plays the same role as he always does and he just adds very little to the whole feel of the film. There was big controversy as Tig Notaro was added late on into this film through greenscreen and effects and it didn't quite work for me. Firstly, the character is the comic relief that isn't very funny and it does become clear that the actors weren't on screen together that much and once you see it, its hard to avoid it. 

Story 

The story had a great premise and I kind of wish that this film had been more about the events that take place at the beginning of the film. Also I liked how the zombies were handled and that it wasn't the generic zombies but they had a hierarchy and society which was one of the more interesting parts of the film. But the characters are just so dull and it really became hard to care about whether any of them lived or died, also their motivations just confused me and it seemed a bit bizarre why some of them would even want to go on this heist for the rewards on offer. 

Script

The script is easily the worst part of the film for me. The dialogue is clunky and uninspired, with drama  and humour being bland and barely worth even mentioning. There are good performers here, but they are not given much to work with and that really hurts this film. 

Style 

The film looks good, Netflix clearly pumped a lot of money into this film and Zack Snyder always makes good looking films with at least some decent action scenes. But this film has a real pacing issue, it is way too long clocking in at 150 minutes, which is ridiculous giving the type of film that this is. 

Overall

Overall, Army of the Dead is a below average film that really disappoints. There is just too much attempted here and it ends up falling flat and not a film you need to spend your time watching. 

Rating - 4/10