Film Review: "Army of the Dead" (2021).

"Survivors Take All" in Army of the Dead. This zombie heist action thriller film directed by Zack Snyder and written by Snyder, Shay Hatten and Joby Harold. After a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, a group of mercenaries takes the ultimate gamble by venturing into the quarantine zone for the greatest heist ever.

In March 2007, the project was first announced with Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. hired to direct and Universal Studios and Warner Bros. onboard to co-produce it. But, in January 2019, after lingering in development hell for a number of years, Netflix acquired the distribution rights to the project from Warner Bros. with Snyder attached to direct and to pen the script with Hatten and Harold. By mid July, Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera, Theo Rossi, Matthias Schweighöfer, Nora Arnezeder, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tig Notaro, Raúl Castillo, Garret Dillahunt, and Samantha Win were cast. At the same time, with a budget of $90 million, principal photography commenced and took place in Los Angeles, California and Albuquerque, New Mexico, as well as Atlantic Club Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey, which had been closed since mid January 2014. The film was shot with custom-made Red Digital Cinema cameras and Snyder served as his own cinematographer. In August 2020, it was announced that D'Elia was to be cut from the film due to sexual misconduct allegations. In March 2021, Tig Notaro ultimately replaced D'Elia and was to be inserted into the film through a combination of reshooting scenes opposite an acting partner and also using digital compositing to insert her into the scene. In September, it was announced that a prequel film and an anime-style television series are in development to expand the franchise. The prequel film will be titled Army of Thieves and will take place before the events of Army of the Dead and focuses on Schweighöfer's character, Ludwig Dieter. The anime-style series will be titled Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas and will center around some of the characters from Army of the Dead during the early phases of the zombie outbreak.

The film stars Bautista, Purnell, Hardwick, de la Reguera, Rossi, Schweighöfer, Arnezeder, Sanada, Notaro, Castillo, Dillahunt, and Win. Bautista does prove to be a a formidable action hero, but he is also one of a rare group of action heroes in film that delivers on the drama and emotions, he doesn't just hold his own, he owns the movie.

Eschewing the claustrophobic foreboding of the film, Snyder takes all the anxieties and fears that had been built in the original and refracts it through his action movie sensibilities to create a smart action thriller. They could've avoided a few infuriating things, but regardless of all that, very very entertaining. The action, and pacing of the film, very well-done. When things ramp up, they ramp up fast, but even in the dull moments, there's something bubbling. Beyond dispute, however, is the film's timeless worth as a cathartic work, especially in terms of its accidentally commentary on the current social issues.

Simon says Army of the Dead receives:

Also, see my review for Zack Snyder's Justice League.