Zack Snyder Netflix Zombie Movie Isn’t As Bad As It Looks

After seeing the Zack Snyder Netflix trailer for Army of the Dead we thought this was a disaster waiting to happen. It turns out, it’s quite the opposite!

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.

Nick Clement takes a look at this zombie spectacle that certainly took him by surprise too!

Make No Mistake: THIS IS THE FILM OF THE YEAR THUS FAR.

Delivering on the promise of its trailer, for me, director Zack Snyder rebounds considerably after the multi-year Justice League debacle.

Army of the Dead snacks the viewer in the face with some of the best, ultra-R-rated gore and violent action that fans of this genre are likely expecting.

This was the helmer’s Six Underground, in that Netflix gave him a massive budget, just like they granted to THE BAY POWER, and let Snyder run amok, doing whatever he wanted, seemingly never telling him no.

This is MAXIMUM SNYDER POWER, harkening back to the epic badassery of Watchmen and 300, I love having him back.

While I do love Man of Steel, overall, I think Snyder was the wrong choice for the DC universe, and I hope he moves on to new stuff. And if Army of the Dead is any indication of where he’s headed as a storyteller, I’ll be more than happy to follow him.

Keep in mind that I was a fan of his back when you’d get made fun of for openly admitting that you enjoyed his work; he lost me with the Justice League stuff but he’s back on firm ground.

Huge Dave Bautista POWER all over the place, who solidifies the entire production as if he were made of oak.

You KNOW that this film is EXACTLY what Snyder wanted to deliver, considering that he co-wrote the pulpy script with Joby Harold and Shay Hatten, served as his own dynamic cinematographer and camera operator, and just as he did with Man of Steel, eschewed a second unit director entirely, thus taking on huge responsibilities, and setting himself up for any number of complications.

This is a stunning visual achievement in all respects, and Dody Dorn’s crisp editing gives this two and a half hour opus of zombie blood and guts a breathless pace.

I’m not a big mark for this genre, but just as Snyder did with his tremendous debut, Dawn of the Dead, he sucked me into this grisly world of vicious flesh-eaters, who, as a group of villains, are given more to do than usual in terms of thematic weight and narrative importance, while still serving as target practice for some of the greatest cinematic head-shots that have ever been done.

Seriously – this movie goes all in with the face-smashing and limb-tearing and temple-exploding, and there are some genuinely gnarly kills on display.

The ultra-nihilistic double-ending first packs a big emotional punch, and then expertly sets up a sequel

Zack Snyder Netflix zombie movie Army of the Dead is currently streaming on the platform.