Army of the Dead Franchise

By RodneyHatfieldJr for Movies

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Let me say I am so ecstatic about VOD and streaming. I don’t have to pay $30 on a ticket, popcorn, Dr. Pepper, and have to sit for 2+ hours without a bathroom break. And since I am in the middle of a Sciatica nerve attack and continuously shifting positions to find comfort and stopping the burning radiating pain; I don’t have to walk and sit in stiff theater chairs. So I may be in love with streaming now.


If you have been drowning as I have in a love-hate sea of Army of the Dead reviews, Snyder has stated he would love to do a sequel. Well duh Zack, we saw the movie. And if you have yet to see it, let me give you my small voice to the sea of reviews.


Army of the Dead is a multi-facet film. It is action, comedy, drama, and horror. If you come looking for straight horror like other Dead films, you will not be pleased. The best I can describe it is Oceans Eleven with zombies and superheroes. And it pays homage to so many zombie movies it is hard to catch them all. I would have to give it 3 change of pants out of 5. It was entertaining and kept my attention. The movie does everything right and wrong. Let me explain.


I loved the action. The effects and makeup were top-notch. The story is solid. The acting was average. We are given backstory on all the characters. The sets were superb. There were some solid kills. That should be enough to make it a watchable movie. 


However Snyder being Snyder, there are a few plot holes. First, he killed everyone off. Well everyone but the daughter of Ward (Bautista). It reminds me of the classic zombie films where they kill everyone. So I don’t mind this as much.


We have superhuman 'Alpha' zombies now. Not only are they fast, but intelligent. Like being able to train and ride zombie horses smart. And don’t forget about training a zombie tiger as a pet. Forget zombie dogs, we have zombie white tigers. 


And like any good Dead movie, Omari Hardwick somehow escapes through the sewers to escape a nuke but is secretly infected to further spread the pandemic. Really? Escape a nuke, and didn’t know he had a bite? OK. 


But the biggest and quite possibly the dumbest double-cross plot hole ever. Martin's true intentions. After locking the rest of the crew in the casino basement with a horde of attacking zombies, Martin gleefully tells Lilly that his boss, Bly Tanaka was never interested in getting the money out at all. What Tanaka was really after was the head of the alpha zombie queen to make a black market zombie army. For starters, the alpha zombie queen approaches the group almost as soon as they enter the city walls. It seems as though he could have very easily just taken the head at the start of the mission and been in and out of the city in 15 minutes, with no need for an elaborate heist. But even if Tanaka wanted to do the heist as a cover story for the team he sent in, so they didn't suspect what he was really after, Martin double-crossing the team was pointless and defeated the whole purpose of bringing them in the first place. Had he simply gone to the roof with the rest of them, he could have gotten out with the concealed head and Tanaka's cash as a nice bonus. But what does he do? He chooses to make a run for it on foot. While a nuke was on its way. Without any expert zombie-killing soldiers. Yea that makes sense.


Now that we have the main film, we already know we will be getting an animated series, titled Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas, which centers on Dave Bautista’s character. And a live-action film, titled Army of Thieves, a solo film for Matthias Schweighöfer’s Dieter character. So the franchise has laid a foundation. But will people care about Ward’s backstory since he is dead? And the Dieter character is the most boring of them all. I can only assume they think the movie will be like the classic Dead movies(there is no connection to them by the way). A new cast with every outing. But I don’t know if people will accept that. I like the virus spreading worldwide as in Dawn of the Dead. 


Did you see Army? What are your thoughts? If you haven’t, check out the trailer.



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