With only mere days left before the release of Army of the Dead both in theaters and on Netflix, critical reactions have dropped regarding the upcoming zombie action-adventure flick from director Zack Snyder. The hype surrounding the filmmaker's first post-tentpole superhero flick, as well as his return to the horror genre, has been absolutely real, with recent teases of this neon-infused line-up of stars including a fun batch of character posters and the reveal that the zombie tiger featuring prominently in that full-length trailer was based on one at Carole Baskin's own tiger refuge.
Directed by Snyder, who co-writes alongside Shay Hatten and Joby Harold, the film stars Dave Bautista as the leader of a hardened group of thieves and mercenaries who attempt a Las Vegas casino heist. The only problem? Sin City is absolutely infested by the undead. The impressively sprawling ensemble cast also features Ella Parnell, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ana de la Reguera, Omari Hardwick, Tig Notaro, Raúl Castillo, Samantha Win, Matthias Schweighöfer, Nora Arnezeder, Garrett Dillahunt and Theo Rossi. Army of the Dead will be released in select theaters on May 14, a week prior to its streaming debut on Netflix on May 21.
Now, with the film locked and loaded for its premiere in a matter of days, it's time to find out what the critics thought. Has Army of the Dead been worth the wait, or does the zombie apocalypse action movie shuffle along more aimlessly? Check out some of the early critical reactions below — we'll keep updating as more continue to come in.
First off, Collider's own Vinnie Mancuso and Perri Nemiroff had this to say:
In fact, the general consensus seemed to be that Snyder was returning to his most comfortable roots with his latest offering of zombie gore fare:
However, some critics felt that the film didn't necessarily remake the wheel when it came to having anything new to say, although the cast and humor were still one of the common features praised throughout:
Ultimately, even if it seemed like the film might have overstayed its 2-hour-and-28-minute runtime, especially toward the end, most agreed that this is a wild, delightfully over-the-top movie that fans of both Snyder and ensemble action flicks are going to enjoy wholeheartedly: