Army of the Dead (2021) review (Netflix)

For Zack Snyder, 2021 started out on the best note possible as he was finally able to release his original vision for 2017’s Justice League, four years after the film’s infamously mangled theatrical cut was released, as an HBO Max exclusive. As it turns out, however, that wasn’t the only Zack Snyder film to get released this year as we also have Army of the Dead, which is a significant release for him in many ways. For one thing, it’s his first film in a decade that has nothing to do with any of the characters from DC Comics; at the same time, though, it’s also quite notable in the fact that it sees him returning to the genre that was responsible for kick-starting his directorial career in the first place, zombie films. In 2004, Snyder, after many years spent working on music videos, made his official directorial debut with the James Gunn penned remake of George A. Romero’s seminal 1978 classic, Dawn of the Dead. And despite the undoubtedly intense expectations of helming a remake of one of the most revered films of all time, the Dawn of the Dead remake is largely considered to be one of the best remakes ever made, especially when it comes to the horror genre. During that film’s production, Snyder began developing his own take on the genre with a heist film set within the confines of a zombie-infested Las Vegas, and while the initial rumors of it being a direct follow-up to Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead were ultimately proven false, it is set to become its own franchise on Netflix, which seems to be Snyder’s new distributor going forward. But until then, we have the first film of this newborn franchise that, for better or worse, is a Zack Snyder film through and through.  

When a military convoy out of Area 51 ends up in a devastating car crash, the cargo that it was transporting, a zombie, breaks free and makes its way to Las Vegas. Almost immediately, Sin City becomes the epicenter of a zombie epidemic that results in the government blocking off the entire city and, six years later, announces plans to nuke it to rid the world of this undead infestation. Before that happens, however, billionaire casino owner Bly Tanaka (Hiroyuki Sanada) approaches ex-mercenary Scott Ward (Dave Bautista), who played a key role in quelling the initial outbreak, and hires him to collect $200 million from a secure vault in Tanaka’s casino. In return, Tanaka will give Scott $50 million that he can freely split amongst the crew that he forms for the operation. Thus, Scott begins to assemble a team ranging from old allies like mechanic Maria Cruz (Ana de la Reguera) and buzzsaw-wielding philosophy major Vanderohe (Omari Hardwick) to newcomers like safecracker Ludwig Dieter (Matthias Schweighofer). But as Scott and his crew head into Vegas, they soon find themselves having to deal with more complications than they had planned for such as, among other things, Scott’s estranged daughter Kate (Ella Purnell) tagging along with them to rescue a friend of hers who snuck into the city. And if that wasn’t enough, the crew also learns that, aside from the usual shambling zombies, a new breed of highly advanced and intelligent zombies known as alphas have laid their claim in Sin City.

Army of the Dead is a microcosm of everything that Zack Snyder brings to the table as a director as it highlights his best… and worst filmmaking tendencies. As to be expected from him at this point, this film goes all-in with its visuals, which do a great job of utilizing the story’s Las Vegas setting. And, of course, Snyder has also proven that he’s one of the best action directors in the business which, naturally, results in a bunch of excellent action sequences. However, as great as Snyder is as a visual/action director, he’s still got a long way to go when it comes to the narrative aspects of filmmaking. For starters, just like a certain director’s cut, Army of the Dead is another showcase of Snyder’s tendency to draw out the pacing of his films’ proceedings to the point where they end up being longer than they arguably need to be. It also doesn’t help that the writing often feels incredibly undercooked at times, resulting in a film that, despite what I said earlier about its solid utilization of its Las Vegas setting, doesn’t necessarily fully capitalize on its unique premise of being a ‘zombie heist’ film. Granted, that’s not to say that there aren’t any great sequences here that bring a fun zombie-based spin to the usual moments that you’d get from a heist plot, such as a scene where characters utilize a mindless ‘shambler’ to be their guinea pig for all the traps that are guarding the vault that they’re after. But for the most part, the film ends up being more of a straight-forward zombie ‘shoot em up’ that, to be perfectly frank, doesn’t make it that much different from other recent bits of media from the zombie genre such as The Walking Dead and its various spin-offs or the zombie modes from Call of Duty games.

Ultimately, though, the biggest indicator of this film’s narrative shortcomings is its characters. Practically every major character in this story is one-note at best, and while some do manage to be memorable standouts, character development is almost non-existent to the point where any attempts at emotional poignancy are promptly dashed due to the characters who get these moments immediately getting killed off. Now, with that said, it’s not like there’s any ‘bad’ performances from the cast or anything because everyone involved is clearly having fun in their respective roles. Dave Bautista, for example, proves that he can hold his own as a lead just as effectively as all the great supporting roles that he’s played over the years. Nevertheless, the main protagonists in this film don’t get anything of value to work with, especially when it comes to the female characters. Whether it’s Scott’s daughter Kate making some questionable decisions during the heist or a poorly executed attempt at romantic chemistry between Scott and Maria, Army of the Dead is, unfortunately, another case of Snyder’s less-than-stellar track record with female characters (e.g. Sucker Punch). The only one who somewhat manages to overcome this is Tig Notaro, who plays Marianne Peters, the crew’s helicopter pilot. At the same time, though, that could just be due to a combination of Notaro’s legitimately great screen presence… and the fact that she was a last-minute replacement for a role that was originally written for comedian Chris D’Elia before he was dropped from the film due to his various sexual misconduct charges.

At this point, I’m well-aware of the risks that film critics such as myself face when it comes to discussing Zack Snyder films. If the utter dedication of the ‘Release the Snyder Cut’ and ‘Restore the SnyderVerse’ movements weren’t enough of an indication, Zack Snyder arguably has the most dedicated fans of any director in the film industry… and by ‘dedicated’, I mean that they’ll viciously attack anyone who dares to critique his work. Case in point, even though I will ultimately give this a positive review, I won’t be surprised if some Snyder diehards will still get on my case about it for not being a flawless 5/5 review because that’s just what’s expected from them at this point. And so, with that in mind, all I can do now is say that Army of the Dead is the very definition of a Zack Snyder film in the best and worst ways. As can often be the case with Snyder films, it’s a bit too overlong and despite all the promise of a Vegas-set heist film with zombies, the script is frustratingly underdeveloped, thus stranding a solid cast with barely any decent material to work with. That said, though, this is also very much one of those films that does exactly what it advertises and, if anything, strongly represents Snyder’s talents as a visual director. Thus, I’ll admit that, at the very least, I’m interested in seeing how this all pans out as one of Netflix’s newest franchises. There’s going to be a prequel film later this year, Army of Thieves, that will center on Matthias Schweighofer’s Ludwig (with Schweighofer himself directing) and an anime series coming next year, Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas, which will see Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Ana de la Reguera, Omari Hardwick, and Tig Notaro all reprising their respective roles. Not only that, but an official sequel has recently been confirmed as well, which Snyder will do after he helms another Netflix film, Rebel Moon. But when it comes to the original Army of the Dead, while I’m glad that Zack Snyder got the chance to do something different after a decade of doing DC films (that and doing a film that wasn’t hindered by studio interference), it’s rather disappointing to see that he hasn’t necessarily evolved as a director.  

Rating: 3/5

The Suicide Squad (2021) review

2016 wasn’t exactly the best year for the DC Extended Universe. Simply put, this was meant to be the year where the franchise would officially kick-start its efforts to rival the likes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And yet, while both of its 2016 releases did quite well at the box-office, with each grossing at least over $700 million worldwide, neither film managed to fare as well with critics. This was especially the case for the latter of the two films, Suicide Squad, despite it being one of the most anticipated films of that year. Not only did it boast one of the most notable marketing campaigns in recent memory, but the concept of a superhero film based almost entirely around supervillains allowed it to stand out amongst its peers. However, upon its release, the film was just as much of a critical dud as its fellow 2016 DCEU release, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Now, admittedly, both films were negatively affected by studio interference that had a clear impact on what was ultimately released in theaters. In Suicide Squad’s case, it was the result of Warner Bros. trying to course-correct after BvS received tons of flak for its dour tone. Thus, what director David Ayer originally envisioned as a ‘soulful drama’ was drastically altered in post-production (to the point where, no joke, the final cut was handled by a movie trailer production company) in a failed attempt at making it more light-hearted. Despite this, however, its $746.6 million turn at the box office paved the way for a sequel, albeit without Ayer as its director due to his commitment to a different DCEU project, Gotham City Sirens. Thus, this new sequel ended up going in a different direction thanks to one James Gunn.

Now I know what some of you might be thinking… isn’t James Gunn more of a Marvel guy? And to be fair, you wouldn’t be wrong for thinking that. Since 2014, Gunn has mainly been known for his work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It all started when he took some of the most obscure characters in the Marvel universe, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and turned them into some of the MCU’s most popular characters with their first official solo outing, which still stands as one of the MCU’s most highly acclaimed and widely beloved installments. He then followed that up in 2017 with an equally successful (and arguably superior) follow-up, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. And just a few months later, before much of the MCU’s post-Endgame slate was even confirmed, a third Guardians film was set up with Gunn once again returning to write and direct it… but for a while, he wasn’t. I’m not going to focus on this next bit too much since, as many of you know, I don’t like to get into deep political discussions on this site, but basically, in 2018, Gunn ended up pissing off one too many a Trump supporter, who then proceeded to target him over old Twitter posts that he had made from 2008 to 2012 that featured… let’s say, dated attempts at humor. And while Gunn had already apologized for these tweets back around the time that the first Guardians of the Galaxy film was in the works, their resurgence resulted in Disney making the utterly shocking decision to fire him as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’s director. Thankfully, Disney eventually realized that they probably shouldn’t have given in to right-wing morons and Gunn was reinstated to his original job in 2019, with Vol. 3 currently set for a May 2023 release. But before all that happened, DC promptly stepped in to offer him the gig of the second Suicide Squad film, and it’s a good thing that they did because The Suicide Squad is yet another example of what happens when the DCEU realizes that it doesn’t need to take itself ‘that’ seriously to match the high quality of the MCU.

The South American nation of Corto Maltese has recently come under attack after an insurrection led by dictator Silvio Luna (Juan Diego Botto) and his second-in-command, Major General Mateo Suarez (Joaquín Cosío). All the while, one of their main associates, Dr. Gaius Graves AKA The Thinker (Peter Capaldi), has been working on a secret experiment codenamed ‘Project Starfish’ in Corto Maltese’s Nazi-era laboratory, Jotunheim. In response to this, government official Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) reinitiates her black ops unit Task Force X, which consists of some of the most notorious supervillains in the world who are forced to cooperate under the promise of a reduced prison sentence and the threat of death via explosive devices implanted into their necks. Once again under the command of Colonel Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), Task Force X, now consisting of returning members such as the unpredictable Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) and new recruits such as mercenary Robert DuBois AKA Bloodsport (Idris Elba) and hard-edged vigilante Christopher Smith AKA Peacemaker (John Cena), travel to Corto Maltese to investigate. However, in their efforts to help the locals deal with Luna and his army, they soon realize that they’re dealing with a lot more than they had originally bargained for, especially when it comes to what ‘Project Starfish’ truly is.

I’ve often found the newer installments of the DC Extended Universe to be the antithesis of the franchise’s initial outings. Whereas the likes of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League (the ‘Snyder Cut’, specifically…) were overly dark and serious, which arguably wasn’t the best route to take for these iconic characters, films like Aquaman and Shazam felt far more natural when it came to embracing their comic book roots. And when it comes to James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad, it is probably the best example of this out of any post-Justice League installment of the DC Extended Universe, especially when compared to its predecessor. Regardless of all the issues that occurred during its post-production process, the original Suicide Squad utterly squandered the potential of its unique premise of focusing on supervillains by being a tonally uneven mess with an ugly visual style and a shockingly harsh mean streak. The Suicide Squad, on the other hand, doesn’t fall victim to any of that. It boasts far better visuals and effortlessly follows in the footsteps of Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy films by expertly balancing its strong emotional moments with its hilariously snappy dialogue. And while this next part isn’t necessarily the original Suicide Squad’s fault since it most likely had to maintain a PG-13 rating, The Suicide Squad fully embraces its R-rating. Simply put, this film can get so damn intense at times that it legitimately rivals the most graphic sequences from the likes of the Deadpool films and Logan. And yet, while this may seem like something that would make the film even harsher than its predecessor, Gunn’s skillful direction prevents that from happening.

Case in point, this film serves as another great case where Gunn manages to take characters who aren’t necessarily ‘heroic’ and give them such great character development that you come to love many of them by the end of it. Much of this is thanks to the outstanding ensemble cast that Gunn has assembled, whether it’s some of his most frequent collaborators, the few returning leads from the first Suicide Squad, or some incredibly exciting newcomers. Of course, you’ve got Margot Robbie returning as Harley Quinn in what may just be her best performance in the role to date as the film dutifully maintains the excellent retooled characterization that she was given in Birds of Prey while also fully capitalizing on the madcap personality that has made Harley such an iconic character. The far better-refined script and direction also results in stronger performances from those returning from the previous film, especially Joel Kinnaman, who gets to have a lot more fun as Rick Flag this time around instead of being the cold and stoic figure that he was in the previous film. Ultimately, though, the biggest standouts of the cast are its newcomers. Idris Elba headlines the film excellently as Bloodsport, who’s easily the most level-headed member of the group, and while he’s technically playing one of the more unlikable members of the squad, John Cena’s phenomenal charisma still manages to shine through as the hilariously douchey Peacemaker (It’s easy to see why he and James Gunn are going to be teaming up again for a Peacemaker series on HBO Max next year). And to close out the main cast, we have an outstanding trio of supporting players in Daniela Melchior as Cleo Cazo AKA Ratcatcher II, arguably the most sympathetic and ‘heroic’ member of the team, Sylvester Stallone as the voice of the fearsome but lovably goofy King Shark, and David Dastmalchian as Abner Krill AKA the Polka-Dot Man. He may be one of the weirdest characters that you’ve ever seen in the world of comics, but thanks to Dastmalchian’s wholly endearing portrayal, he’s truly unforgettable.

Simply put, The Suicide Squad is everything that the first Suicide Squad wasn’t. It’s a film that wholeheartedly embraces the concept of supervillains who are sent out on missions where they aren’t meant to survive but also succeeds in one of the main things that the previous film tried to accomplish: finding the humanity within its ‘villainous’ characters. Obviously, not every ‘villain’ in this film is meant to be ‘redeemed’, per se, but when you have a director like James Gunn who, above everything else, fully understands the importance of strong character development and emotional poignancy, it truly goes to show just how pivotal all that stuff is to the enduring success of the superhero genre. It’s the reason why the MCU has continued to be the cultural juggernaut that it is today… and why the DCEU struggled considerably out of the starting gate as many of its early films tended to emphasize style over substance. Ultimately, though, if you were to ask me why a film like this works better than something like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, I’d say that it’s because The Suicide Squad has a greater understanding of how superhero films should be like tonally. Sure, it can be serious when it needs to be, but at the end of the day, it’s a far better idea for a superhero film to embrace the goofier elements of its source material rather than it trying to be something that it’s not.     

Rating: 5/5!