Army Of The Dead: 9 Stupid Blunders That Completely Ruined It
A howlingly awful Netflix Original.
It was nigh-on impossible not to feel excited about Army of the Dead prior to its release. With the killer pitch of a zombie heist film, an eclectic cast and Zack Snyder returning to the subgenre of the shuffling undead for the first time since his feature film debut, Army of the Dead was easily one of the most exciting Netflix Originals of 2021.
Was.
Alas, Army of the Dead is rubbish. An overlong, charmless and infuriatingly-written slog that completely falls short of its stratospheric potential, Army seems doomed to be a disappointment for all but the least-demanding viewers - it's low IMDb score of just 5.9 indicates that a lot of viewers have been dissatisfied by it and who can blame them?
In terms of Zack Snyder's filmography, it's one of his very worst. The picture had been described as a spiritual successor to his 2004 debut Dawn of the Dead; Snyder's Dawn isn't that good, but Army sure as hell makes it look like a modern classic.
Unfortunately, various follow-ups to this are in the works. If these movies are to succeed, they must avoid the mistakes that Army of the Dead made - in particular, these following nine blunders...
9. It Never Tops The Opening
With a dazzling opening credits sequence - a brutal and darkly comical slow-motion montage of the Las Vegas zombie outbreak that is set to 'Viva Las Vegas', a brilliant music choice - the film really hits the ground running.
Not only is it unbelievably fun to watch, but it hints at a much better film than the one we got: a flamboyant, larger-than-life and semi-comedic offering that leaned into the absurdity of its premise. Hell, this is even better than the opening credits of Dawn of the Dead, Snyder's other zombie film, and that's saying a lot.
The pre-credits scene, which shows how the outbreak fist began, is good as well.
Sadly, the film then launches into a very dreary first act - in which the characters and heist are introduced and set up, but not in a remotely compelling fashion - and the brilliance of the opening quickly fades away.
Still, this was one of the greatest opening credits sequences of recent times, so that's something.