You could be forgiven for assuming thatZack Snyder’sArmy of the Deadintends to offer the giddy thrills of both a zombie film and a heist movie. That’s certainly how Netflix is selling it, and to be fair, there are moments where the film leans into bloody action and heisting antics. But that’s not really where the soul of the movie lies. Instead, Snyder has snuck in something that aims for dark irony and bleak decay smuggled inside a hybrid of genres that people look to for escapism. On the one hand, I can’t help but admire Snyder’s cheek and willingness to dupe an audience for something far darker than the marketing is letting on. But on the other hand, Snyder seems consumed by his own antics at well, overstuffing his movie at every turn like a stage magician piling on the razzle-dazzle in exchange for a whimper of a prestige. For some, the ultimate bleakness ofArmy of the Deadmay be worth the wait, but for others, it’s too much of a slog to reach the end.
A military convoy suffers a traffic accident near Las Vegas that unleashes an alpha zombie into its populace. Las Vegas is then overrun with the undead, but a handful of soldiers are able to evacuate some citizens while the government uses shipping containers to construct a wall around the city. Retired soldier Scott Ward (Dave Bautista), who was one of those who fought his way out of Vegas, now spends his days flipping burgers until wealthy casino owner Bly Tanaka (Hiroyuki Sanada) comes in with an offer: assemble a team, crack the vault in Tanaka’s Vegas casino, smuggle out $200 million in cash, and Scott can divvy up $50 million of it among his crew anyway he pleases. While Scott assembles a team made up of old friends and useful accessories, his estranged daughter Kate (Ella Purnell) works as a volunteer in the quarantine zone outside Vegas’ wall. When a friend of Kate’s goes in but doesn’t come back out, Kate forces herself onto her father’s team to go find her pal while the rest of the gang attempts to execute their plan. However, they’re all stunned to find that while shambling zombies exist, there’s a smarter breed that really runs the city.
If you take a step back fromArmy of the Dead, you can kind of see what Snyder is doing here with his misdirect. He’s playing all the beats of two familiar genres and mashing them up into what should be a satisfying bit of escapism. On the heist side you’ve got Scott’s close friends Cruz (Ana de la Reguera) and Vanderohe (Omari Hardwick); there’s the safecracker Dieter (Matthias Schweighöfer); Lily (Nora Arnezeder), the smuggler who can guide them into the city; zombie-killing YouTube sensation Guzman (Raúl Castillo) and his pal Chambers (Samantha Win); wise-cracking pilot Peters (Tig Notaro, who’s one of the best parts of the movie); and Tanaka’s confidant Martin (Garret Dillahunt). If you’ve seen a heist movie and a zombie movie, you’re pretty confident about what’s going to happen to this motley crew including Scott and Kate. And if you keep your eye on Scott and Kate, you can see the movie that Snyder really cares about.
WhileArmy of the Deadwill obviously draw comparisons to Snyder’s remake ofDawn of the Dead, the film you should really be considering is his 2011 movieSucker Punch. Like that film,Army of the Deadknows what appeals to your lizard brain, and Snyder is more than happy to give it to you because he’s got something else he wants to hit you with at the end. But likeSucker Punch,Army of the Deadsuffers from the same fatal flaw, which is that it seems like Snyder wants to have his cake and eat it too. There’s a borderline disdain for his audience, as if they only show up and show out for slick violence, but they can’t be trusted with anything deeper unless you really hit them with it head-on. That’s not a fair estimation of an audience, nor is it an honest dealing as a filmmaker if you’re putting so much effort scenes of mowing down zombies and violent kills only to turn around and say, “What you really need to care about is family.” Sometimes you need to trust your audience to eat their vegetables rather than putting broccoli inside a chocolate cake.
It doesn’t help thatArmy of the Deadbecomes painfully dry through its second act. After assembling the team, shooting up some zombies, and then reaching the Bly, the team splits off for separate missions and you can feel the air going out of the picture. Like Snyder’s recent moviesBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - Ultimate EditionandZack Snyder’s Justice League, he’s not a director who’s in a great hurry to get anywhere, and while some may enjoy luxuriating in these worlds that Snyder builds, there’s no economy of storytelling here. If you want to mash-up zombie movies and heist movies, that’s fine, but both of those genres tend to be fairly fleet-footed in their storytelling, andArmy of the Deadnever maintains much momentum. Instead, it comfortably goes through the motions and Snyder never has much interest in upending his tropes until the very end of the movie when he shows his hand.
I suppose some will be able to forgiveArmy of the Dead’s shortcomings because it’s a Netflix movie. You’ll pop it on and be on your phone while Dave Bautista mows down zombies in slow-motion with cash floating down through the air. But if you want to giveArmy of the Deadyour full attention (andthere will be an option to catch it in theaters), the film never really earns its runtime as it overpromises on action that doesn’t really arrive until the third. I don’t mind thatArmy of the Deadisn’t wall-to-wall set pieces, but the only thing that seems worthwhile in between is the stuff between Scott and Kate, and even that feels a bit rote and shorthand for a lived-in relationship that has real stakes. Again, some are sure to relish what Snyder is doing here with his heist-zombie-hybrid, but rather than give his audience something worthwhile to chew on,Army of the Deadis mostly fat and gristle.
Rating: C-