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Post by Popeye Doyle on May 22, 2021 15:40:57 GMT
At nearly 150 minutes, feels superficial yet never boring. Zack Snyder seems to take quite a few cues from Aliens (impending nuke, wanting to use the monsters as weapons, thinking their escape craft actually left only for it show up at the last possible moment). Needed more zombie Elvis. Other Nutflix originals like Marriage Story, Irishman, and Roma have joined the Criterion Collection. What are the odds of this one joining as well?
2.5 out of 4
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Post by politicidal on May 22, 2021 15:49:14 GMT
But what about the tiger?!?!?
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Post by Popeye Doyle on May 22, 2021 15:51:15 GMT
But what about the tiger?!?!? And lions and bears. Oh my!
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Post by vegalyra on May 22, 2021 16:06:17 GMT
A criterion release would be interesting. You never know, early in their history they did Armageddon and the Rock. More recently they did Beyond the Valley of the Dolls and Female Trouble which are definitely not high art.
I think an interesting idea would be to mesh the “rage” zombies idea from 28 days later with traditional zombies and they could have a war.
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Post by moviemouth on May 22, 2021 16:17:32 GMT
A lot of bad directing choices in the movie, but enough I like about it to keep it from being worse than mediocre. I actually didn't even think about the similarities to Aliens and funny enough those are some of the plot points that I dislike in Army of the Dead.
5.5/10
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Post by sostie on May 22, 2021 17:39:39 GMT
Not great at all. Barely good. 5.5/10 One thing puzzles me. The guy at the briefing who walks out when he finds out what the mission is. I thought you'd see him get killed for knowing too much, or appear at the end as a whistle blower. But nothing.
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Post by moviemouth on May 22, 2021 17:46:17 GMT
Not great at all. Barely good. 5.5/10 One thing puzzles me. The guy at the briefing who walks out when he finds out what the mission is. I thought you'd see him get killed for knowing too much, or appear at the end as a whistle blower. But nothing. For whatever reason I didn't really expect him to be mentioned again.
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Post by Rey Kahuka on May 22, 2021 20:35:39 GMT
My thoughts as expressed elsewhere on the site. What bothered me the most about this movie was the lack of fun. It wasn't boring (though again, it had a few tough scenes that must've been three pages of dialog that only needed three sentences, tops) but it wasn't zany, either. You open with topless zombies, you tease a zombie Elvis impersonator in the trailer, give me more of that. This is Vegas, give me something nuts. A magician, zombie Wayne Newton, something. They probably wanted to avoid a celebrity zombie to avoid the obvious comparison to Bill Murray in Zombieland, but come on.
Another puzzling script decision is this movie's misuse of almost all of its core characters. It goes out of its way wasting time giving us backstories for them all, then does nothing with most of them. The two best characters were the helo pilot and the safecracker, and that's because they were the only characters who had actual personalities. Everyone else was just there. Why does the one guy love the saw so much? Who knows, he never talks about it. I don't even think he uses it other than in flashback. Guzman, the youtube personality they recruit on reputation; he takes a goofy selfie with his buddy when they get into Vegas, other than that the youtube celeb thing is never relevant to anything. He doesn't talk about it, he isn't obnoxious, it doesn't cloud his judgment; it doesn't matter to the story, and in the end neither does he.
It's strange that the movie bothers giving us these little tidbits about their personal lives in the hopes that we'll invest in these characters, and then just uses them as mindless fodder, not much different from the zombies they're hunting. (I'd question if that was supposed to be some kind of commentary, but let's be real, this is Zack Snyder we're talking about.) You want to build tension as the movie goes, you want me to care about these people as they get picked off one by one? Make them into real people. Think the marines from Aliens, nuff said.
I mentioned the general lack of action for much of the film. It starts off with a bang, then goes a while before we get any serious zombie hunting action. Ironically, the first character in the group to be killed (Guzman's buddy, and only because she's double crossed by the tycoon's minion) has arguably the best action scene in the film. She takes on a shit ton of zombies on her own, and even survives an assumed offscreen death only to be eventually overwhelmed-- but she does not go quietly. They have some brief shootouts but it's mostly a few zombies in a hallway, or hand to hand against the alphas. Arguably the greatest 5 seconds in the trailer (from the 2:34 to the 2:39 mark) never actually happens; it's a fantasy scenario as they're formulating the plan early on in the film. We needed that scene, or something like it.
For whatever reason, Snyder thought it necessary to give us zombie lore. These zombies are organized, they have a hierarchy, they gather and do chants and...they can procreate. (Not sure how a creature in an accelerated state of decay can do that, but whatever.) Point is, I don't care. Nobody cares about the goddamn zombies. Am I supposed to be rooting for the zombies? The zombies can just be ravenous fiends, Zack. That wrinkle doesn't add nuance to the story, it just wastes time that could've been spent on dialog/character quirks that make the humans more endearing.
Nitpicks.
1. Lily, why did you wait until everyone was inside zombieworld to notify them there were more dangerous zombies who were organized, intelligent and possessed super strength and agility? This seems like an important piece of intel to sit on as you all go into an op against a supernatural opponent on their turf.
2. Zombie lord. If you're so smart, why are you having your pregnant wife barter with armed hostiles on your borders? Seems like a recipe for disappointment.
3. And this is the big one. There's a bit of a plot twist. The heist is just a ruse, Tanaka actually just wants to capture an 'alpha' zombie for potential military experimentation. "It's worth ten times what's in the vault." So...why the subterfuge? Just hire this group of mercs for the same price ($50M) and tell them to capture an alpha, payment upon completion of extraction. You'll make your money back tenfold when you sell it to the military. If they all die, you lose nothing. Why bother with the double cross? It sounds like I'm ripping the movie to shreds, and I guess I am, but it wasn't a tough watch by any stretch. It had some fun moments, but it zigged into 'this is a serious story about a man and his daughter' territory too often, when it should've zagged into 'there are zombies in Las Vegas' hijinks. Or just give me more explosions and one liners. And definitely more zombie Elvis.
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Post by mecano04 on May 22, 2021 21:49:21 GMT
The chances are pretty low. I'll be the third to rate it 5.5/10. First, it's long, especially for something that "simple" and that cliche heavy. Then you got the weird things or things with few explanations (We know Geeta was on the helicopter but did I miss her dying or getting up or we don't actually see/care for her after the crash? I mean, Marianne Peters (the pilot is dead), Kate (Bautista's daughter in the movie) is alive and talks to Scott (Bautista) before killing him but don't we forget about Geeta or we just assume she died?)
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Post by moviemouth on May 22, 2021 22:10:12 GMT
The chances are pretty low. I'll be the third to rate it 5.5/10. First, it's long, especially for something that "simple" and that cliche heavy. Then you got the weird things or things with few explanations (We know Geeta was on the helicopter but did I miss her dying or getting up or we don't actually see/care for her after the crash? I mean, Marianne Peters (the pilot is dead), Kate (Bautista's daughter in the movie) is alive and talks to Scott (Bautista) before killing him but don't we forget about Geeta or we just assume she died?) Well that whole scene is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever seen. They survive a nuclear explosion and a nose-dive helicopter crash. It would have worked had they all been zombies and there is the possibility that the daughter is a zombie too (though I doubt that is intended), but as living human beings they all would be beyond dead. And you are asking about Geeta? Not only would nobody have survived the crash as shown in the movie, but they would be likely have body parts missing. Zack Syder goes out of his way to make the crash look as un-survivable as possible. It seems obvious that she is suppose to have died in the crash, like everyone would have.
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Post by jcush on May 22, 2021 22:25:57 GMT
Apparently I'm in the minority on here, but I actually enjoyed it. I didn't watch the trailer, Bautista is the only person from the cast I knew by name, and I'm not a huge Snyder fan, but I found the movie pretty fun. The cast and characters were solid and the running time (which I was worried about) didn't bother me, as I was never bored or anything. It's far from perfect, but I was entertained.
7/10
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Post by moviemouth on May 22, 2021 22:41:11 GMT
Apparently I'm in the minority on here, but I actually enjoyed it. I didn't watch the trailer, Bautista is the only person from the cast I knew by name, and I'm not a huge Snyder fan, but I found the movie pretty fun. The cast and characters were solid and the running time (which I was worried about) didn't bother me, as I was never bored or anything. It's far from perfect, but I was entertained. 7/10 I know Garret Dillahunt by name because of The Assassination of Jesse James and Theo Rossi because of Sons of Anarchy, but I didn't know anybody else. I actually like most of the characters in the movie and I also like the initial robbery stuff, so that is a plus. It was a 6/10 until about the hour and 45 minute mark and then I started getting a bored. The movie has too simplistic of a plot to fill out 2.5 hours. Another issue I have is that all of the dramatic parts fall completely flat. The use of songs is quite bad too imo.
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Post by jcush on May 22, 2021 22:46:54 GMT
Apparently I'm in the minority on here, but I actually enjoyed it. I didn't watch the trailer, Bautista is the only person from the cast I knew by name, and I'm not a huge Snyder fan, but I found the movie pretty fun. The cast and characters were solid and the running time (which I was worried about) didn't bother me, as I was never bored or anything. It's far from perfect, but I was entertained. 7/10 I know Garret Dillahunt by name because of The Assassination of Jesse James and Theo Rossi because of Sons of Anarchy, but I didn't know anybody else. I actually like most of the characters in the movie and I also like the initial robbery stuff, so that is a plus. It was a 6/10 until about the hour and 45 minute mark and then I started getting a bored. The movie has too simplistic of a plot to fill out 2.5 hours. Another issue I have is that all of the dramatic parts fall completely flat. The use of songs is quite bad too imo. Zack Snyder does love his weird covers, but I didn't hate the soundtrack or anything. The dramatic stuff (such as the father/daughter stuff) actually worked for me.
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Post by moviemouth on May 22, 2021 22:51:33 GMT
I know Garret Dillahunt by name because of The Assassination of Jesse James and Theo Rossi because of Sons of Anarchy, but I didn't know anybody else. I actually like most of the characters in the movie and I also like the initial robbery stuff, so that is a plus. It was a 6/10 until about the hour and 45 minute mark and then I started getting a bored. The movie has too simplistic of a plot to fill out 2.5 hours. Another issue I have is that all of the dramatic parts fall completely flat. The use of songs is quite bad too imo. Zack Snyder does love his weird covers, but I didn't hate the soundtrack or anything. The dramatic stuff (such as the father/daughter stuff) actually worked for me. I didn't mean the fact that it was covers, I mean the songs are used poorly within the movie. The fact that the father/daughter dramatic stuff worked for you is likely part of why you like it more than me. They should have kept the daughter character out of the movie completely and just kept it to him dealing with memories of his zombie wife that he had to kill.
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Post by Mulder and Scully on May 22, 2021 22:59:44 GMT
The concept of having intelligent zombies was interesting but it all felt half-baked.
The characters were dull and the dialogue was poor. The humor felt totally flat. With the exception of Bautista, the cast was just awful. A lot SJW nonsense was going in the movie especially with that annoying dyke helicopter pilot.
The bloated runtime didn't really help a lot. This needed tighter editing and about 30 minutes trimmed from the runtime. It all felt really self-indulgent.
After the promising opening, with a few exceptions, it was just downhill after that.
Bautista made for a commanding lead and nearly carried the movie. Unfortunately the movie felt dull.
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Post by moviebuffbrad on May 22, 2021 23:09:00 GMT
WB hit Snyder so hard he's gotta upload his movies to porn sites?
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Post by mecano04 on May 23, 2021 1:18:05 GMT
The chances are pretty low. I'll be the third to rate it 5.5/10. First, it's long, especially for something that "simple" and that cliche heavy. Then you got the weird things or things with few explanations (We know Geeta was on the helicopter but did I miss her dying or getting up or we don't actually see/care for her after the crash? I mean, Marianne Peters (the pilot is dead), Kate (Bautista's daughter in the movie) is alive and talks to Scott (Bautista) before killing him but don't we forget about Geeta or we just assume she died?) Well that whole scene is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever seen. They survive a nuclear explosion and a nose-dive helicopter crash. It would have worked had they all been zombies and there is the possibility that the daughter is a zombie too (though I doubt that is intended), but as living human beings they all would be beyond dead. And you are asking about Geeta? Not only would nobody have survived the crash as shown in the movie, but they would be likely have body parts missing. Zack Syder goes out of his way to make the crash look as un-survivable as possible. It seems obvious that she is suppose to have died in the crash, like everyone would have. I know this was a stupid and unrealistic scene (among others) but trying to follow the "logic" of what was shown, I do wonder what happened to her, since we see the windshield splattered in blood yet Kate still opens the door to see (if) the pilot is dead, then she gets to her father. Why not show Geeta, even if it's just a corpse laying face down in the sand? I mean, if they made Kate actually make the effort to look at the pilot despise clues it was useless and we get a definitive answer, why not do the same about Geeta?
To me that's what made it even more stupid, we're led to believe it is possible (in the movie logic) some made it but then one character is being completely forgotten.
By that point, if the movie was a boat, it's already under water and going deeper rapidly but my question is why add to this mess with inconsistency?
Even if later the cherry on top of all that mess was the dude getting out of the vault and still going un-transformed. In other words, didn't they try some kind of "damage control" to prevent the movie from sinking by the minute in the ratings?
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Post by moviemouth on May 23, 2021 1:27:41 GMT
Well that whole scene is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever seen. They survive a nuclear explosion and a nose-dive helicopter crash. It would have worked had they all been zombies and there is the possibility that the daughter is a zombie too (though I doubt that is intended), but as living human beings they all would be beyond dead. And you are asking about Geeta? Not only would nobody have survived the crash as shown in the movie, but they would be likely have body parts missing. Zack Syder goes out of his way to make the crash look as un-survivable as possible. It seems obvious that she is suppose to have died in the crash, like everyone would have. I know this was a stupid and unrealistic scene (among others) but trying to follow the "logic" of what was shown, I do wonder what happened to her, since we see the windshield splattered in blood yet Kate still opens the door to see (if) the pilot is dead, then she gets to her father. Why not show Geeta, even if it's just a corpse laying face down in the sand? I mean, if they made Kate actually make the effort to look at the pilot despise clues it was useless and we get a definitive answer, why not do the same about Geeta?
To me that's what made it even more stupid, we're led to believe it is possible (in the movie logic) some made it but then one character is being completely forgotten.
By that point, if the movie was a boat, it's already under water and going deeper rapidly but my question is why add to this mess with inconsistency?
Even if later the cherry on top of all that mess was the dude getting out of the vault and still going un-transformed. In other words, didn't they try some kind of "damage control" to prevent the movie from sinking by the minute in the ratings? I wasn't bothered by the fact that they don't show Geeta, because there is enough assumption that she is dead. With that being said, I guess I can understand why it might bother some people. The movie was not going to get any worse or better for me just based on showing or not showing what happened to that character. I just don't see it is breaking the logic of the movie. Keep in mind that her death might have been left on the editing room floor. I see this as making a mountain out of a mole hill.
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Post by onethreetwo on May 23, 2021 6:52:48 GMT
Here's the thing about Snyder. He always tries to make a great movie. He doesn't always make a great movie, but he always tries.
Take Wonder Woman 1984 for example. In my opinion Patty made a movie, but she didn't try to make a great one. That's the difference between Snyder and a lot of other directors.
Army of the dead is stylish, the cinematography is great, the casting is great, and the acting was great. It never rushes and it tries to hit all it's emotional cues naturally. All that said, the movie quickly devolves into just another average zombie flick. Like most Snyder movies, not everything works. The effects, while pretty good, are uninspired. Same with the script.
Effort means something to me, and when I watch a Snyder movie I feel like I'm watching someone who is trying to make something great. That's more than I can say for most new releases I watch. I give Army of the Dead a respectable 7/10.
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Post by sdrew13163 on May 24, 2021 2:08:58 GMT
I just finished it up, probably a 6/10 for me. The opening is good, then it gets pretty boring until the final half hour or so. Then it's a fun action movie.
I've been criticizing Bautista as an actor recently, but I enjoyed his performance in this movie. I think he did a good job.
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