Army of the Dead
release year: 2021
genre: horror remake
viewing setting: home streaming 3/17/24 and 1/24/23
synopsis: A band of mercenaries heads into zombie-infested Las Vegas to retrieve some cash before the city is obliterated by nuclear warheads.
impressions: I think this was supposed to be a sequel of sorts to the director's earlier effort, Dawn of the Dead. By and large, it's fun and entertaining. Watching people shoot and fight their way through a ruined Las Vegas - filled with flesh-eating zombies, to boot - is perversely thrilling. These zombies are the kind that move fast...they run, and jump, and are much more dangerous than "classic" zombies. They also think, or at least some of them do; they plan and even make deals, of a sort. The leader wears a metal helmet to avoid being killed by head shots! As for the human characters, they're a varied bunch, which helps keep the movie going and the viewer engaged. There were a few plot holes, but nothing major; the main gripe I had involves what I call "the tradeoff math" in which someone has to be rescued, but doing so causes more people to die. It's simple math and people need to do that math...if you're rescuing the only doctor or pilot, that's one thing, but when you're rescuing some useless idiot who ran off after being told not to...not worth the rescue attempt, folks.
acting: Dave Bautista is the leader of the group, who's a great fighter yet tormented by memories of those he's lost. Ella Purnell is his idiotic daughter. Omari Hardwick is his no-nonsense right-hand-man. Ana de la Reguera is his old friend and possible romantic interest. Tig Notaro is a crusty old helicopter pilot. Garret Dillahunt is a shifty agent of the guy who sponsored the mission. Nora Amezeder is the coyote who gets them safely into the infested city. Samantha Win is a bad-ass fighter who never gives up, no matter how bad things are looking. Matthias Schweighofer is a somewhat-annoying safecracker with zero combat skills. Richard Cetrone (who was memorable as the alien zombie leader in Ghosts of Mars) is the zombie king here.
final word: Fairly well-done and fun zombie/heist movie.
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