We watch Zack Snyder's blockbuster 'Army of the Dead' and figure out why the innovative approach to zombie horror turned out to be unsuccessful.

In 2021, Zack Snyder returned to the director's chair and, right after the premiere of the original 'Justice League', released 'Army of the Dead' in collaboration with Netflix. As we remember, Snyder's career started with the remake of 'Dawn of the Dead'. And now, 17 years later, he returns to the zombie theme, but this time with a dose of humor.

'Army of the Dead' is the second film where Zack acts as a screenwriter, in addition to appearing as a producer and cinematographer, personally shooting many scenes with the meticulous attention of a creator. Netflix gave the iconic director complete freedom in filming the new movie, and therefore we will see the director's and only version of the film (which he managed to joke about in numerous interviews).

'Army of the Dead' is not shy about using genre clichés. Due to a military blunder, the world is under threat. One of the experiments breaks free and attacks soldiers, spawning a horde of bloody zombies. Fast and endowed with advanced physical strength, the dead take over Las Vegas. To retrieve a large sum from a safe hidden in the depths of the destroyed city, Bly Tanaka (Hiroyuki Sanada), a businessman and casino owner, hires a team led by mercenary and former soldier Scott Ward (Dave Bautista). The plan falls apart, zombies have learned to think and split into social groups, and the government is about to drop a nuclear weapon on Las Vegas on Independence Day. And it all seems great. But what's wrong with this story?

Bread and Circuses!

'Army of the Dead' has potential but lacks charisma. It's not enough to build an entertaining film on a foundation of action and battle scenes; it's important to play it all around a compelling central character, whose charisma is not part of Bautista's repertoire. Dave Bautista pleased audiences as a complement to the star team in 'Guardians of the Galaxy', and he would have fit harmoniously into the circle of 'The Suicide Squad', which he turned down to film 'Army of the Dead', but in Zack Snyder's new zombie horror, he gets lost among the supporting characters. Put Dwayne Johnson at the head of the cast, and the film would become several times more energetic and charming.

One could call 'Army of the Dead' a pompous film if it had more passion: tense anticipation of horror (a few more horror shots), deep family drama (not teenage grievances), or at least the characters' concern for their comrades. I was struck by the scene in the middle of the film where sniper assistant Chambers (Samantha Win) fights off a couple of zombies (and quite successfully!), but the team leaves with the words 'she's done for' even before the bloodthirsty crowd swarms to the noise. It felt like an editing error; the phrase came too early and anticipated the events. The absurd devaluation of the heroes' lives leads to the viewer not caring whether the characters survive or join the ranks of the dead.

New and Old Zack Snyder Tricks

Each new Zack film is characterized by an abundance of slow-mo, but the visual feature of 'Army of the Dead' unexpectedly becomes the defocusing of the background, the bokeh effect, so now every viewer can imagine what it's like for people with -8 vision without glasses or lenses. Because of this, 'Army of the Dead' loses an important part of its visuals—the flavor of devastation and apocalypse, for which we enthusiastically turn on sci-fi and adventure action films, movies about extraterrestrial civilizations or earthly tragedies.

Chekhov's Gun Misfire

They say that mountains of bones dried under the scorching sun can come to life in the rain, and the impressive chainsaw of one of the mercenaries will chop up more than a dozen zombies, but the rules introduced at the beginning of the film and the artificially created expectations of plot developments remain only hints and gossip between the characters. Chekhov's gun never fires, the viewer is not treated to a plot twist and is left with a long list of useless instructions on how this universe works, while the film's runtime competes with Zack Snyder's superhero movies.

The Other Side of the Coin

The development of cinema and the abundance of well-trodden script paths push directors to look at familiar things in a new way. Zombies no longer inspire fear but become a topic of conversation, as in the comedy horror 'The Dead Don't Die', or create their own communities in 'Army of the Dead'. And until this becomes another hackneyed standard, viewers will be curious to observe fresh ideas and will easily forgive innovators for failed dialogues or script holes.

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Humor Will Save the World (and Cinema)

Even the most lame and flat story gains charm if you add a pinch of humor. 'Army of the Dead' is based on irony: here, pumped-up fighters in tank tops against zombies who only want one thing—to sink their teeth into any exposed part of the body, an abuser with a thermometer gun, jokes about racism and parallel universes, and the final song The Cranberries – Zombie.

In 'Army of the Dead', there is something to see, take at least a few crowd scenes reminiscent of paintings from the New Age period; the spectacular and beastly aggressive scene of the zombie tiger attack is memorable; the film has something to laugh at for the uninitiated viewer, Snyder's new action movie is not shameful to watch in a light mood and in a playful company. While 'Army of the Dead' effortlessly entertains the mass audience, connoisseurs can only hope that a talented screenwriter will touch the bold ideas, and in the genre of non-trivial zombie horror, a quality and meticulously thought-out film will finally appear.

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