Snyder's Army of the Dead (Netflix 2021)

[bassman]

Remember when Zack Snyder used to say he had an idea for a quasi-sequel to Dawn04 called Army of the Dead but then nothing ever came of it? Well, it starts shooting this summer with a ninety million dollar budget from Netflix:

https://www.joblo.com/movie-news/zack-snyder-to-return-to-the-world-of-zombies-with-army-of-the-dead

Synopsis:

set amid a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, during which a man assembles a group of mercenaries to take the ultimate gamble, venturing into the quarantined zone to pull off the greatest heist ever attempted

Comments from Snyder:

I thought this was a good palate cleanser to really dig in with both hands and make something fun and epic and crazy and bonkers in the best possible way.

I love to honor canon and the works of art, but this is the opportunity to find a purely joyful way to express myself though a genre. It will be the most kick-ass, self-aware — but not in a wink-to-the-camera way — balls-to-the-wall zombie freakshow that anyone has ever seen. No one’s ever let me completely loose [like this]... I love big action, I love big sequences. My movie brain starts clicking around and I was like, ‘We need to be shooting this now!’ Constructing these sequences really fired me up.


I’m flabbergasted how this is coming out of nowhere after fifteen years! But hey, Snyder could probably use some more fun in his life after the last few years have been quite rough on him, both personally and professionally. I wish them the best and look forward to seeing what they do!

[EvilNed]

Probably hoping to ride on the expected mega-blockbuster that is Fincher's World War Z 2.

[JDP]

From the description he himself makes, this just reeks of "kwel!" stuff; you know, with a certain demographic primarily in mind. Expect protagonists defying the laws of physics and kicking CGI "enhanced" zombie ass, all while they get extreme close-ups and deliver "clever" one-liners, plus zombies that can participate in a decathlon competition.

Shit, I miss Romero, Ossorio, Grau, Fulci, even hilariously inept hacks like Bianchi and Mattei. In their heydays they all made way better zombie stuff, and with shoestring budgets, to boot!

[Skinrash]

Not a fan of the Dawn remake and if Snyder insists on using screeching, hyperactive runners again then I'll pass on it.

[MinionZombie]

Like you, bassman, I wish him well after the rough few years he's had. It really does sound like he's found a new lease of life after all that strain.

Now, I wasn't much of a fan of the Dawn remake ... for one thing it was a remake of a classic of cinema (and one of my favourite movies), but it lost all of the subtlety and intelligence of Romero's flick and it just dumbed everything down to running, screeching banshees with woeful character development (some of them literally have no name, or have no purpose, and even the smart ones make some of the dumbest decisions). There's things I like about it, but there's a lot I really don't like about it as well. I've not seen it in a very long time, so maybe one day I'll dust off the DVD and have a looksee again.

As for this new flick, perhaps it'll feel better as it's more its own thing, but I'm still no fan of 'raptor zombies'.

[bassman]

Agreed, MZ. You and I both had negative reactions to Dawn04 all those years ago, but I’ve lightened up as time has passed. I still wouldn’t call it a good zombie film, but viewed under the right action movie mindset, it’s passable. “It is what it is”, as they say.

However, since then Snyder has learned a lot, so perhaps this could be less music video and more Watchmen/Man of Steel? I hope so. Besides, with a wealth of zombie-related material these days, unlike the early 2000’s, maybe we could use a bit more good action to balance the scales? This time I’m more mature and willing to wait and give it a chance until I’ve seen it. :p

Also....in the end it’s “free” on Netflix, so that may help soften the blow a bit. If someone isn’t into it, they can literally hit the back button and get something slower and more dramatic with Walking Dead, plus countless others.

[Neil]

Yeh, not a fan of the Dawn remake TBH. Too many ninja zombies screaming like raptors for me, along with character behaving in odd/clunky/daft ways... But the film was generally watchable and OK.

So hoping this new one is a step up from the Dawn remake...

[bassman]

I wonder if the news of this film could possibly draw DJ and Lou back to the forums? :lol:

After all, Dawn04 was loved by them, so they’d likely be thrilled with this news. It’d be great to see them again!

[bassman]

Probably hoping to ride on the expected mega-blockbuster that is Fincher's World War Z 2.

As I always feared would happen, Fincher is out of WWZ2. Likely due to his own demands on script and budget. I don’t know if they’ll make their release date now. It’s the first film all over again...

https://www.joblo.com/movie-news/paramount-seems-to-have-pulled-the-plug-on-david-finchers-world-war-z-2

[MinionZombie]

It was bizarre in itself that Fincher was going to do a WWZ sequel, so it's not surprising that it's all come apart at the last minute over budget and such. Hopefully Fincher doesn't take too long to make a new movie, mind you. The man's a masterful filmmaker and it's sad as a film fan to see a master craftsman not making movies because of this that and the other, you know?

[bassman]

As much as I would have loved to have seen Fincher’s zombie film, you have to admit that from a business standpoint, this film can’t be a 200+ million investment for Paramount. They’d rather do something smaller and that’s wise. The first film was a moderate success at best, general audiences don’t know or care about Fincher, Pitt probably doesn’t have the same appeal as he did years ago, etc. Sure, zombies are in style, but Paramount is one of the “small guys” now after the Disney/Fox merger. If they’re putting down that amount of money, it’s on their hits like the Mission Impossible’s.

This is exactly why the Star Trek film series is hanging in the wind at the moment.

[MinionZombie]

I wouldn't say that audiences don't care about Fincher because he's done a series of very well received and well known films (including Se7en, Fight Club, Panic Room, The Social Network, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Gone Girl), so he's front and centre on the films he makes.

Pitt is moving into a different stage in his career now. He's still super famous, but he's not so much in the 'media inferno' as other young actors are melting under that heat right now. He'll still have plenty of heat and light surrounding him, but it does feel like he's being able to move into a slightly calmer atmosphere perhaps.

Quite right on budget. WWZ kinda scraped through once you factor in the likely advertising budget doubling the whole expenditure. Hell, Fincher didn't get to continue to the Dragon Tattoo franchise for similar reasons - while his film made a modest profit, it just wasn't a risk worth taking for studios, which is a damn shame as he made a damn fine film. English Language remakes tend to skew towards being worse or even downright awful, but Fincher's TGWTDT was superb.

Anyway, getting way off topic here, haha!

[bassman]

Perhaps it depends on what sort of audiences you’re around? Certain screenings or just certain audience members are cinephiles and will no doubt know who Fincher is, but in my experience at least....aside from trailers that have the text, “from the director of such and such”, in which the audience says “ohh I liked those!”, they generally don’t pay attention to the creative minds behind the scenes. So it all varies, of course.

Either way....no matter how great Fincher is, he’s probably not “200 million dollar sequel to a poor film” great. He’s no Spielberg or Abrams as far as recognition, that’s for sure.

[Moon Knight]

Aside from the zombies, I loved Dawn 04. It was mindless fun and didn’t take itself too seriously. I just hope we get characters we like. I’m down for this. Why not.

[beat_truck]

Aside from the zombies, I loved Dawn 04. It was mindless fun and didn’t take itself too seriously. I just hope we get characters we like. I’m down for this. Why not.

I'm glad someone here besides me likes Dawn '04, despite it's cringe worthy moments.

Hopefully this new movie will be as good or better than Dawn '04. I always hoped for a direct sequel, but this will be better than nothing I guess.

As an aside, I can't believe it's already been 15 years since it came out.:eek:

[bassman]

I'm glad someone here besides me likes Dawn '04, despite it's cringe worthy moments.

I’ve always been under the impression that it’s generally quite liked. I was rough on it in my younger days, but now even I can enjoy it on certain occasions.



As an aside, I can't believe it's already been 15 years since it came out.:eek:

No kidding! It seems like just yesterday we were in that period where zombies were making a comeback with Shaun, Dawn04, Land, etc.

[Zombie Snack]

I loved Dawn04, just wish it had been called something else,

[bassman]

In a recent interview for another project, Dave Bautista(Guardians of the Galaxy, Spectre, Avengers: Infinity War) let it slip that he’s starting on a project with Zack Snyder in June, which of course would be Army of the Dead. So that’s probably our first bit of casting for the film.

https://www.joblo.com/horror-movies/news/zack-snyder-netflixs-army-of-the-dead-shoots-in-june-with-dave-bautista

I imagine we’ll see quite a few of Snyder’s regular actors in the film, as well. Billy Crudup, Jena Malone, and Matt “Max Headroom” Frewer? Perhaps the drop-dead gorgeous Carla Gugino? :D

[blind2d]

Yay, Batista! Maybe it'll be good after all?

[bassman]

Dave Bautista has been confirmed as one of the leads. Deadline is reporting a budget of seventy million, which is lower than initially reported, yet still pretty large for a zombie film...

https://www.joblo.com/movie-news/dave-bautista-to-lead-zack-snyder-directed-army-of-the-dead

[Neil]

Dave Bautista has been confirmed as one of the leads. Deadline is reporting a budget of seventy million, which is lower than initially reported, yet still pretty large for a zombie film...

https://www.joblo.com/movie-news/dave-bautista-to-lead-zack-snyder-directed-army-of-the-dead

So it's going to be about an average Joe surviving in the apocalypse then? :rolleyes:

[blind2d]

So it's going to be about an average Joe surviving in the apocalypse then? :rolleyes:

No, Batista. I don't think Samoa Joe will be appearing. :p

[bassman]

To be fair, we don’t know the details of the plot. Being that it’s about a big heist during the apocalypse, perhaps he’s meant to be an ex-military man or something?

While he hasn’t done too many talkative roles outside of the MCU, I do find Bautista to be quite the likable fella...

[Moon Knight]

Batista is great in character roles. I really liked him in the new Blade Runner.

[Neil]

I do find Bautista to be quite the likable fella...Agreed!

[EvilNed]

"Get me the Rock, but cheaper"

"Say no more."

[blind2d]

"Get me the Rock, but cheaper"

"Say no more."

LOL, yep.

[bassman]

Probably true, but I’ll be surprised if Bautista can really reach the height of stardom that Johnson has gotten to. He’s doing great, getting more starring roles, and as I said, I find Bautista likable, but I’m not sure he has that certain charm and wide appeal that Johnson can pull off. Time will tell. It’s kind of interesting that these big guys are becoming huge stars again like the old days with Stallone, Swarzenneger, etc.

Although a small role, I loved Bautista as the Oddjob/Jaws-esque Bond Villain in Spectre. Mr Jinx, I think? I haven’t seen the film too many times, did he survive? I’d like to see that type of memorable secondary villain again and Bautista did a lot with very little.

[MinionZombie]

While The Rock has this huge mainstream success, he's also kind of an albatross around his own neck - he plays a version of The Rock in most of the films he's in and doesn't really get to play many different roles, just slight variations, but mostly he's cool and can beat everybody up. He'll have different vocations in his movies (e.g. Baywatch / Rampage / San Andreas / Skyscraper), but there's not a huge variety in his CV at the moment despite his huge success (we don't really see him in films like Southland Tales much these days).

Bautista, on the other hand, may not have the huge mainstream recognition and mega success that The Rock has, but I think Bautista has a more varied career. From Spectre, to Guardians of the Galaxy, to Hotel Artemis he's able to play very different kinds of characters - naturally there's an aspect that always carries through them all due to his physicality, but he seems to get more flexibility in his choice of roles.

[bassman]

Maybe it’s because I’ve yet to see Hotel Artemis, but I haven’t really seen much range from him just yet. Thus far, his roles have all felt very similar to me, much like Johnson’s. Although he felt a touch different with Blade Runner 2049.

Hopefully I’ll find more range as I eventually see his more recent roles....

[bassman]

First photo as filming begins:

https://www.joblo.com/assets/images/arrow/news/2019/05/Zack%20Snyder,%20Army%20of%20the%20Dead,%20AITH.jp g

That zombie appears to be quite degraded, so perhaps it is further into the apocalypse?

[Moon Knight]

Are they runners? Would be nice if they weren’t for once.

[bassman]

Are they runners? Would be nice if they weren’t for once.

Unknown at this time, but being that it’s Snyder and the project originated as a “sequel” to Dawn04, it’s probably safe to assume that they’ll be runners. If they’re starting up filming, we should see how the zombies perform fairly soon.

[Skinrash]

If they are as decomposed as the blurry image suggests, then it's gonna make even less sense for them to run than in the Dawn remake. Since at least in that film most of them were recently dead.

[Neil]

I'd love for these to be shamblers... But it's Snyder :(

[bassman]

I would be up for the more decomposed being slower and the newly dead being more aggressive. That could potentially work well, if they went that route.

[Daoyinyang]

I'll be frank, I love the remake of "Dawn of the Dead". Read years ago about a supposed sequel that never happened. Then Snyder started working on Triple A productions like "Man of Steel" and "BvS".

I am excited for this new Snyder zombie film but I am also afraid that it might be terrible despite even having a 90 million dollar budget.

[bassman]

That’s always a possibility of course. And Snyder already has a rocky reputation with the fans that disliked Dawn04, so he’ll either win them over or just add to their disappointment. Here’s to hoping for the best!

[Moon Knight]

I fell into the camp that enjoyed the mess that was Snyder’s Dawn.

[blind2d]

Looks interesting, but we'll probably all be disappointed. :(

[EvilNed]

Snyder is a visual director with very little capacity (or interest) to depict emotional depth or anything noteworthy to tell. It'll likely be a pretty decent action flick with some stellar imagery. But the film will probably be more annoying than exciting.

[Daoyinyang]

I'll be honest. I am looking forward to both WWZ 2 and Army of the dead. I am a huge zombie fanatic. I am annoyed by most terrible zombie films but there have been great gems. Movies like Battery, Cargo, Hidden, Rec (excluding 3) series, and train to Busan have been great recent zombie films in my opinion.
Let's just ignore the DOTD remake and sequel that of which is subtitled Bloodline. Diary of the dead, Rezort, Re-kill, and other dumb zombie films not really worth mentioning.

[bassman]

Cast photo:

http://cdn.collider.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/army-of-the-dead-cast.jpg

[Neil]

https://www.republicworld.com/entertainment-news/web-series/army-of-the-dead-release-date-on-netflix-announced-know-premiere-of-zack-snyders-film.html


It is speculated that the project could premiere on the streaming platform [Netflix] during Halloween which falls in October.

So still a long wait!


Even before the movie's premiere, Netflix has revealed its plan to expand the zombie universe. The streamer [Netflix] has greenlighted two Army of the Dead projects. One is a prequel movie and the other one is an anime series. The untitled prequel film will be helmed by Matthias Schweighöfer who will also star in it as Ludwig Dieter, his character from Army of the Dead. The anime series, Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas will show the origin story of Dave Bautista’s Army of the Dead character. The plot will revolve around him and his crew during the initial fall of Vegas as they face the source of the zombie outbreak. A couple of episodes of the series will be directed by Zack Snyder, along with showrunner Jay Olivia who will also helm a few episodes.



https://ew.com/movies/zack-snyder-army-of-the-dead-netflix/


There's also a dash of political overtones – metaphors about immigration, consumerism, and a jingoistic president.

Of course, there has to be...

[EvilNed]

Well, wouldn't be a zombie flick if it wasn't.
But releasing a film with a jingoistic president in October 2021 is gonna make it feel dated real fast.

[MinionZombie]

Well, wouldn't be a zombie flick if it wasn't.
But releasing a film with a jingoistic president in October 2021 is gonna make it feel dated real fast.

Is it that the backstory is the events are partly the fallout from the actions of a jingoistic president (i.e. a failure to tackle a pandemic properly :| ), and this is set some time after that, or is it that said jingoistic prez is an active character in the story?

Either way. A year (almost) after Trump was finally booted out is gonna make it, probably, feel a bit 'after the horse has bolted'.

[Neil]

From another article:-


This time around, however, it looks like Snyder will be going old school with a zombie more akin to something you would see in one of George A. Romero’s classic Night of the Living Dead, but with a twist.

[Moon Knight]

From another article:-


This time around, however, it looks like Snyder will be going old school with a zombie more akin to something you would see in one of George A. Romero’s classic Night of the Living Dead, but with a twist.

That actually scares me.

[Neil]

That actually scares me.

What? The, "with a twist" bit?

[beat_truck]

I can only imagine what "the twist" will be.:confused:

[MinionZombie]

They merely jog? Oh wait, do they fly? Do they crawl on piss weak ceiling tiles? Do they insta-rot? Do they talk? Are they vegan? Do they cancel you instead of bite you?

[Neil]

I can only imagine what "the twist" will be.:confused:

They DO NOT scream like dinosaurs, and DO NOT get misty eyes the moment they turn into zombies? That would be a twist to most modern zombie flicks :)

[Moon Knight]

What? The, "with a twist" bit?

Yessir. I can only imagine.

[MinionZombie]

H83kjG5RCT8

Trailer is out.

[shootemindehead]

I got to the 40 second mark.

[JDP]

Looks like a CGI crapfest.

[Neil]

Ummm... In a world gone zombie apocalypse, what is the point in risking your life for money?

[MinionZombie]

I got to the 40 second mark.

And you only had another 13 seconds to go. :p


Ummm... In a world gone zombie apocalypse, what is the point in risking your life for money?

1) It looks like this will be set quite early in the ZA? Unless it'll be another "what happened" montage and then fast forward a bit ... in which case, yeah...

2) On the other hand, in the words of the real Dawn of the Dead - "You never know". Or, indeed, in Land of the Dead, it was used to establish a micro economy for interconnected settlements.

[JDP]

Ummm... In a world gone zombie apocalypse, what is the point in risking your life for money?

Such a thing could only happen during the earlier stages of such a catastrophe. So, no wonder that in Dawn and Land money still has value and people will still take risks in order to acquire it. Whereas in Day money is found among debris and trash in the long abandoned decayed streets, a useless relic from a bygone organized society that gave it meaning and value.

[shootemindehead]

And you only had another 13 seconds to go. :p

13 seconds too long Mini.

Hey, I tried my best.

[kidgloves]

Dead Rising the Movie

[MinionZombie]

Such a thing could only happen during the earlier stages of such a catastrophe. So, no wonder that in Dawn and Land money still has value and people will still take risks in order to acquire it. Whereas in Day money is found among debris and trash in the long abandoned decayed streets, a useless relic from a bygone organized society that gave it meaning and value.

https://i.imgflip.com/1tyr69.jpg

[JDP]

https://i.imgflip.com/1tyr69.jpg

https://i.gifer.com/2Vmq.gif

[Neil]

Such a thing could only happen during the earlier stages of such a catastrophe. So, no wonder that in Dawn and Land money still has value and people will still take risks in order to acquire it. Whereas in Day money is found among debris and trash in the long abandoned decayed streets, a useless relic from a bygone organized society that gave it meaning and value.

The opening shot implies Vegas has been in bad shape for a long time!?

[beat_truck]

I don't have Netflix, and I definitely won't be getting it just to see this turd.

[Neil]

The opening shot implies Vegas has been in bad shape for a long time!?

So the zombie outbreak is just in Vegas?

If so, why haven't the military cleaned it out? eg: Drive tanks up and down the main roads for a few weeks playing loud music...

[bassman]

Kind of shocked to see the negative reactions. It’s always seemed to me that most fans of the genre regard Dawn04 as one of the best dead films in the last 20-30 years.

[beat_truck]

I like Dawn '04 quite a bit, but it's not really saying much that it's one of the best zombie movies of the last ~30 years. About 90% of the rest of them have been total shit.

[MinionZombie]

Kind of shocked to see the negative reactions. It’s always seemed to me that most fans of the genre regard Dawn04 as one of the best dead films in the last 20-30 years.

It's been a very long time since I last saw Dawn 04 ... but the movie's problems will still be there. I never understood the praise that it got. There was too much stupidity in it (a whole plan fucked up because of a damn dog, after that idiot teen girl goes running off after it - even the smartest guy in the movie just says 'okay, sod it' and jacks in a sensible plan of action), and it sucked all of the commentary out and was just flashy and sparkly with mostly quite poorly drawn characters (cliches and one-note types). These problems would have existed even if it had been named something else.

It has some stuff going for it and certain sequences that work quite well (e.g. the 'celebrity' zombie hunt from the rooftops, it's gory and stylish, and has scale), but damn it for inspiring every Tom, Dick, and Harry to put raptor screechers into their half-assed zombie movies.

I am kind of intrigued to go back and view it again some time, just out of interest after all these years. Weirdly, despite my numerous issues with this movie, I actually own it on DVD (the Director's Cut). I bought it way back in '05 IIRC on a whim in some spell where I was feeling more generous about the movie. :lol:

[Neil]

It's been a very long time since I last saw Dawn 04 ... but the movie's problems will still be there. I never understood the praise that it got. There was too much stupidity in it (a whole plan fucked up because of a damn dog, after that idiot teen girl goes running off after it - even the smartest guy in the movie just says 'okay, sod it' and jacks in a sensible plan of action), and it sucked all of the commentary out and was just flashy and sparkly with mostly quite poorly drawn characters (cliches and one-note types). These problems would have existed even if it had been named something else.

And let's not forget ninja super quiet ceiling/pipe crawling legless zombies. :duh:

[shootemindehead]

Yeh, my forgiveness levels go up and down for Dawn 04. But its zombies will always be bloody stupid for me. They were in 2004 and they still are today. Runners have never made much sense to me. People legging it around like Usain Bolt in death, and they probably wouldn't get off of the couch in life. To quote Simon Pegg, "Death is a disability, not a superpower."

It's problems, in the end, just come down to it being a Zach Snyder movie. All flash and bollocks, with no real substance. And I have no doubt whatsoever that 'Army of the Dead' will exhibit the same issues. I might stream it or D/L it. But I certainly won't be going out of my way to get it.

[MinionZombie]

I'll definitely watch Army of the Dead, but I'm only expecting it to be Zack Snyder in flashy videogame mode. We'll see how that affects my viewing (i.e. low expectations).

Perhaps it'll be easier to swallow for not being a remake of Dawn of the Dead, but again, the problems with Dawn 04 almost always extend beyond it being a remake (they're just faults with the film itself regardless of title).

As for Pegg and his comments about zombies - quite right - the whole conceit of a zombie doesn't lend itself to being physically improved. I mean, even physiologically, it wouldn't really make a lot of sense - the decay would cause the bodies to break down, and certainly so with all that running, jumping, leaping, climbing etc.

They can't speak, but they can perform like triathletes? Doesn't really make sense within the internal logic of the zombie itself - they would have less control over their bodies. Running is a complex coordinated action. Their brains are barely functioning, only on a primordial level ... the pure motorised instinct level ... so, yeah, doesn't really work.

Of course, one of the real reasons that runners became popular is - laziness. Filmmakers who couldn't be bothered to figure out how to make shamblers scary. But, seriously, it doesn't need to be a hard thing. The Walking Dead has continually made the shambling walkers a threat and/or scary. Sometimes the humans are too skilled at taking them out, sure, but you can't have maximum zombie peril all the time.

Runners can work and be in good movies - Return of the Living Dead (they even talk), or Train To Busan, being two examples ... ... and no, 28 Days Later isn't zombies. They're virus-infected human beings. Zombies don't die of starvation after a month. Simples.

[JDP]

The use of the silly exaggerated "super-zombies" in the Dawn remake also totally ruined and impeded one of the most iconic sequences in the original Dawn: the marauding biker army assault on the mall stronghold. Now, how the fuck can you plan a Dawn remake and NOT have this mandatory sequence has always been beyond me. One of the constant points in Romero's zombie movies is that humans themselves can be as dangerous (if not actually more) to other humans as the zombies themselves. The biker gang assault sequence is an example of that.

However, I still thought that the Dawn remake was actually better than I had expected it would be. I thought it was going to be a total crap-fest. Surprisingly, it has some redeeming qualities.

[beat_truck]

I know Dawn '04 is FAR from perfect. I hate the sprinters, dinosaur shrieks, and legless ceiling crawling zombie, but for some reason, the movie is mostly pretty enjoyable for me.:duh:

I'd actually rather watch Dawn '04 than most of the episodes of TWD from past the first few seasons.:)

[Neil]

Yeh, my forgiveness levels go up and down for Dawn 04. But its zombies will always be bloody stupid for me. They were in 2004 and they still are today. Runners have never made much sense to me. People legging it around like Usain Bolt in death, and they probably wouldn't get off of the couch in life. To quote Simon Pegg, "Death is a disability, not a superpower."

It's problems, in the end, just come down to it being a Zach Snyder movie. All flash and bollocks, with no real substance. And I have no doubt whatsoever that 'Army of the Dead' will exhibit the same issues. I might stream it or D/L it. But I certainly won't be going out of my way to get it.

Amen to that. That opening scene of Snyder's Dawn, where the little girl, and her boyfriend, demonstrate super agility, as well as super vocal chords (dinosaur scream), just seems bizarre to me...

I'll watch the Army Of th Dead, and hopefully it'll just be a good comic book action flick.



The use of the silly exaggerated "super-zombies" in the Dawn remake also totally ruined and impeded one of the most iconic sequences in the original Dawn: the marauding biker army assault on the mall stronghold. Now, how the fuck can you plan a Dawn remake and NOT have this mandatory sequence has always been beyond me. One of the constant points in Romero's zombie movies is that humans themselves can be as dangerous (if not actually more) to other humans as the zombies themselves. The biker gang assault sequence is an example of that.

However, I still thought that the Dawn remake was actually better than I had expected it would be. I thought it was going to be a total crap-fest. Surprisingly, it has some redeeming qualities.Yeh, it has good areas. I've not watched it in years. Maybe it's time I revisit it :)

[shootemindehead]

Amen to that. That opening scene of Snyder's Dawn, where the little girl, and her boyfriend, demonstrate super agility, as well as super vocal chords (dinosaur scream), just seems bizarre to me...


Yeh, that was an "oh dear" moment.

I wasn't ever that enamoured with the idea of a Dawn remake, but when that little girl happened, my heart sunk.

In fairness, the opening is quite well done in other respects and the Johnny Cash song worked pretty well. The movie has some good moments scattered throughout and I liked Ana and Michael as characters, but the others were awful. Having a teased romance or at least friendship between Ana and Michael only for Mick to turn around at the end and say he was buggered was a nice touch as well, I thought. But it's littered with shite as well, like the zombie baby or that fat lady zombie.

But, one of my biggest issues is that there is just no hope whatsoever in Dawn '04. Because run around super zombies eliminates that completely. At least with shufflers, shamblers, walkers or whatever, there remains something for humanity to fight for. With these modern super zombies, there's just nothing. They're completely overwhelming.

I spose in the end the best thing I can say about the 2004 'Dawn of the Dead' remake is that it wasn't the 2008 'Day of the Dead' remake. :barf:

[Skinrash]

Kind of shocked to see the negative reactions. It’s always seemed to me that most fans of the genre regard Dawn04 as one of the best dead films in the last 20-30 years.

Not here. The majority here have been calling it out for being the derivative cashgrab with magical super-zombies that it is since it came out.

[bassman]

Not here. The majority here have been calling it out for being the derivative cashgrab with magical super-zombies that it is since it came out.

I have to disagree there. Opinions may have changed over the years, but when Snyder’s Dawn hit in 2004, it was received warmly by the majority of HPotD members. I remember this well because I was one of only a handful of members here that disliked the film.

It’s also best to remember that at the time, we didn’t have an over saturation of zombie material like we do today. The genre was just starting to make a comeback with 28 Days Later/Shaun/Dawn04, but we had nothing substantial in the genre for nearly two decades before that, so there’s a chance it was received more warmly upon release because it was fresh.

But yeah....I remember quite clearly that Dawn04 had a generally warm reaction. At the very least it felt like 70/30.

[MinionZombie]

I'm not sure if I'd say it was "warmly" received, especially as it was a remake of Romero's most iconic film.

I certainly recall there being heavy debate about the movie with lots of back and forth. Some folks quite liked it, and other folks hated it or found a large amount of faults with it.

[EvilNed]

I can't recall what my initial thoughts of it were. I haven't seen it in ages, though I remember it being pretty good.

[MinionZombie]

I read a bit about this in Total Film.

It seems to suggest that it does indeed take place years into the zombie apocalypse ... so, surely, there'll have to be some sort of fully fleshed-out reason given for the heist of paper money in that context.

There was also a suggestion of different zombies having different levels of intelligence (even strength?), which made me worry about some lame L4D rip-off class system. I haven't seen anything specifically talking about that, but there did appear to be a hint towards 'group intelligence/leadership' among the dead (so a rip-off of Land, then?)

[bassman]

There was also a suggestion of different zombies having different levels of intelligence (even strength?), which made me worry about some lame L4D rip-off class system. I haven't seen anything specifically talking about that, but there did appear to be a hint towards 'group intelligence/leadership' among the dead (so a rip-off of Land, then?)

He’s remade Dawn, followed by remaking Land. Someone get Phillyswat in here, he’s got new ammunition for his Land-before-Day argument! :p

[MinionZombie]

He’s remade Dawn, followed by remaking Land. Someone get Phillyswat in here, he’s got new ammunition for his Land-before-Day argument! :p

https://en.meming.world/images/en/thumb/5/5f/Scared_Hamster.jpg/300px-Scared_Hamster.jpg

[bassman]

^ :lol:

Colorful, but otherwise boring poster:

https://www.joblo.com/assets/images/arrow/news/2021/04/EN-US_AOTD_MAIN_Slots_Vertical_RGB_EN-US_Theatrical.jpg

Why would they not put zombies on the poster, at least? With zombies being so popular in recent years, it seems strange not to have zombie imagery on the poster...

[MinionZombie]

Yeah - no zombies at all on the artwork? Bizarre.

I do find these 'line up the cast' posters to be thoroughly boring. It serves the same function as just writing their names up top, it's so uninspired and has been going on since the 90s when it was all just about showing people who was in it, rather than trying to get a feel for the flick at the same time.

There seems to be nowhere near enough poster artists in Hollywood now, and an awful lot of photoshop users instead.

[shootemindehead]

Movie artwork today is absolute shite.

[JDP]

You just don't see movie posters like these anymore:

https://ih1.redbubble.net/image.578465161.4514/flat,750x,075,f-pad,750x1000,f8f8f8.u4.jpg

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81iOhoTaZ1L._AC_SL1500_.jpg

https://image.invaluable.com/housePhotos/Antikbar/83/626483/H20672-L146134666.jpg

Come to think of it, you just don't see movies like that anymore either!

[EvilNed]

He’s remade Dawn, followed by remaking Land. Someone get Phillyswat in here, he’s got new ammunition for his Land-before-Day argument! :p

https://media.tenor.com/images/0178484f7307a1cb146250c6c83df003/tenor.gif

[MinionZombie]

tI1JGPhYBS8

Latest trailer.

Big Daddy and his basic gathering, march, and then attack on Fiddler's Green I was on board with.

This, though, just feels like one of those dime-a-dozen zombie videogames with the same 'class system' of zombie types. That bit where the one zombie is dodging all of Bautista's attacks? Oh boy... :rockbrow:

The 'smoking while pouring petrol' shot annoyed me too. I mean, really? "Ooh, I'm so cool I do stupid shit like smoke around petrol." Jog on with that shit.

On the other hand - Garrett Dillahunt.

I'll certainly watch this, but it does feel too much just 'cool looking shit happening'. I do hope they have a proper reason for staging that heist, as well (e.g. they're starting a post-apocalypse city and they're going to set up a mini economy, perhaps with other established survivor cities ... ... i.e. just ripping off Land of the Dead). Because if the only reason is, essentially, "this'll be cool", then fuck that.

[paranoid101]

tI1JGPhYBS8

Latest trailer.

Big Daddy and his basic gathering, march, and then attack on Fiddler's Green I was on board with.

This, though, just feels like one of those dime-a-dozen zombie videogames with the same 'class system' of zombie types. That bit where the one zombie is dodging all of Bautista's attacks? Oh boy... :rockbrow:

The 'smoking while pouring petrol' shot annoyed me too. I mean, really? "Ooh, I'm so cool I do stupid shit like smoke around petrol." Jog on with that shit.

On the other hand - Garrett Dillahunt.

I'll certainly watch this, but it does feel too much just 'cool looking shit happening'. I do hope they have a proper reason for staging that heist, as well (e.g. they're starting a post-apocalypse city and they're going to set up a mini economy, perhaps with other established survivor cities ... ... i.e. just ripping off Land of the Dead). Because if the only reason is, essentially, "this'll be cool", then fuck that.

I'm still a big fan of Dawn 2004 but that trailer made me go "oh Dear".

Will watch it but hmm......

[MagicMoonMonkey]

Gutted. I was hoping for something decent. This has almost every shite idea that the visionaries at Torus Entertainment stuck into all their crap Day of the Dead reboots in one trailer. I am going to pass on it.

[Neil]

tI1JGPhYBS8

Latest trailer.

Big Daddy and his basic gathering, march, and then attack on Fiddler's Green I was on board with.

This, though, just feels like one of those dime-a-dozen zombie videogames with the same 'class system' of zombie types. That bit where the one zombie is dodging all of Bautista's attacks? Oh boy... :rockbrow:

The 'smoking while pouring petrol' shot annoyed me too. I mean, really? "Ooh, I'm so cool I do stupid shit like smoke around petrol." Jog on with that shit.

On the other hand - Garrett Dillahunt.

I'll certainly watch this, but it does feel too much just 'cool looking shit happening'. I do hope they have a proper reason for staging that heist, as well (e.g. they're starting a post-apocalypse city and they're going to set up a mini economy, perhaps with other established survivor cities ... ... i.e. just ripping off Land of the Dead). Because if the only reason is, essentially, "this'll be cool", then fuck that.

Oh

Dear

!



"I do hope they have a proper reason for staging that heist" - I get the impression it's just Vegas that's zombified? So the $ is worth $?

ps: I'll end up watchin it too :)

[Moon Knight]

I’ll give it a chance.

[kidgloves]

Me like. Looking forward to it

[EvilNed]

Fuck it, I'll watch it.
Looks dumb but I doubt it takes itself seriously.

[Daoyinyang]

I used to find Chris D'elia terribly obnoxious and I never liked his comedy. For a long time I ignored him because he also genuinely creeped me out. Years later, I found a dude who kind of looked like him and he was my College science partner. he was a complete asshat who did nothing and would be mad that I couldn't just do everything.

I hated that kid and told him to buzz off and he threw a fit like a child and then said he's going to ask the professor to get him a new partner because I was bad. Two weeks later he dropped that class.
Anyways, it fueled my personal vendetta against Chris D'elia even more and when I found out there were allegations against him, and then Zack Snyder dropped him. It was the most satisfying thing ever.

[Skinrash]

Runners again I see. And they are making those dumb raptor noises or whatever again to. Zach hasn't changed a bit, aside from making them intelligent. Pass. Also looks very derivative of the comic "Remains" by Steve Niles.

[Neil]

s3ZPgYdWhAc

[EvilNed]

Connecting with fans is heartwarming but it's kinda weird that of all films they chose this trailer to remake.

[bassman]

Snyder was recently on the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast to promote Justice League and he touched upon Army of the Dead and the money issue I’ve seen raised here. I don’t have the direct quote, but from what I gathered, the plot is that the government has walled-off Vegas and kept it contained as a hot zone. So apparently the outbreak is somewhat contained. Bautista and his crew are then hired to go into Vegas to retrieve the money from the vaults, but they’re under a strict time limit, as the government will be dropping a nuke on the desert city in X-amount of time.

So the dead have been mostly contained to certain areas, the feds are going to nuke said areas, but they want that Vegas money first. I feel like that works well enough. Has a nice 70’s/80’s vibe to it. I believe he also mentioned Escape From New York as an influence on the plot. Just ya know...with zombies.

[MinionZombie]

Ah, so there's somewhat of a reason for this set-up.

Mind you ... ... couldn't the government just, you know, print new money to replace the nuked stuff? :shifty: Or have the printing presses been swarmed with zeds, too? :D

I'll check it out when it premieres on Netflix, trying to just go in expecting videogamey style nonsense and veloci-zombies etc.

[Neil]

Snyder was recently on the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast to promote Justice League and he touched upon Army of the Dead and the money issue I’ve seen raised here. I don’t have the direct quote, but from what I gathered, the plot is that the government has walled-off Vegas and kept it contained as a hot zone. So apparently the outbreak is somewhat contained. Bautista and his crew are then hired to go into Vegas to retrieve the money from the vaults, but they’re under a strict time limit, as the government will be dropping a nuke on the desert city in X-amount of time.

So the dead have been mostly contained to certain areas, the feds are going to nuke said areas, but they want that Vegas money first. I feel like that works well enough. Has a nice 70’s/80’s vibe to it. I believe he also mentioned Escape From New York as an influence on the plot. Just ya know...with zombies.

Ah, so as I suggested a while back :)

[Moon Knight]

As a fan of Snyder’s Dawn, I’m excited for this nonsense!

[Neil]

As a fan of Snyder’s Dawn, I’m excited for this nonsense!

Lol! Nicely put :) That's probably just the right attitude to approach it with...

[MinionZombie]

I just read in Total Film and answered my own question - it's money and jewels etc owned by Vegas 'businessmen' and so on - so not government at all. If their riches are nuked they'll be wiped out, and the government doesn't give a shit about that understandably, but they want their greenbacks and diamonds back.

So the heist makes sense now - finally! :)


As a fan of Snyder’s Dawn, I’m excited for this nonsense!

First part: no. Second part: yeah. :D

There's pieces of the Dawn remake I enjoy, but there's so much where I was just like "oh, fuck you".

Still, even with the dodgy raptor zombies and what on earth the Snyder version of 'smart' zombies is gonna be, and with this one kinda distinct from Dawn 04 (which was a dirty rotten remake at thr end of the day :lol: ), I'm looking forward to checking it out. It's gonna have style for days, and I hope the above mentioned elements end up working well, but I hope I also connect with the characters and it's not just flashy visuals and nothing else. Hopefully it'll be a solid thrill ride and action spectacle with enjoyable characters - I'm particularly looking forward to Bautista kicking some rotty botty.

[Neil]

I just read in Total Film and answered my own question - it's money and jewels etc owned by Vegas 'businessmen' and so on - so not government at all. If their riches are nuked they'll be wiped out, and the government doesn't give a shit about that understandably, but they want their greenbacks and diamonds back.

So the heist makes sense now - finally! :)
Yeh, that's sounding better!

[kidgloves]

First 15 mins


https://youtu.be/g_srUoXqYrg

[JDP]

Why do some of the zombies only seem to walk while others can run?

[Moon Knight]

WWE promotes Army of the Dead and we get a zombie lumberjack match.

UFC promotes Army of the Dead and we get this.

TpbfhS3qoY4

[MinionZombie]

haha, fuckin' ay! Dig that cameo! :thumbsup: :cool:

[Neil]

I'm confused, a human is fighting a zombie WWE style? Huh? As an advert for WWE or is it a scene from the film?

Is Ken Foree in the film, or just in this advert?

Huh?

[kidgloves]

Btw there are some fantastic kills in that 1st 15 mins.
I'm hyped :elol:

[Neil]

Review - Average...

NZG7wRNEZ2k

[MinionZombie]

I'm confused, a human is fighting a zombie WWE style? Huh? As an advert for WWE or is it a scene from the film?

Is Ken Foree in the film, or just in this advert?

Huh?

I think it's just an advert, dude. "Synergy" - advertise a movie, but also advertise your own business (in this case UFC or WWE etc) at the same time.

[Neil]

Snyder's best movie yet? - https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/army-of-the-dead-on-netflix-is-zack-snyders-best-movie-yet

[Moon Knight]

haha, fuckin' ay! Dig that cameo! :thumbsup: :cool:

Lmao that’s the best part! I legit got hyped!:hyper:

- - - Updated - - -

For those wondering how WWE was used to promote Army of the Dead.


https://youtu.be/PczNypJLnhA

:confused:

[Neil]

Lmao that’s the best part! I legit got hyped!:hyper:

- - - Updated - - -

For those wondering how WWE was used to promote Army of the Dead.


https://youtu.be/PczNypJLnhA

:confused:More believable than normal wrestling...

[MinionZombie]

IGN's reviews aren't exactly consistently good quality and are often meme-worthy for their silly ... quirks ... and curious logic.

Mind you, it's entirely believable that the 'border wall commentary' could be sledgehammer cringe and that it ultimately descends into lots of action and surface level characterisation. Snyder has rarely ever been good at detailed character work.

Speaking of that review ... that clip of Tig Notaro ... ... wtf is with the dialogue? Over-written, much? Or was that improv? What is this American obsession with bluntly over-stating things in a super literal way? It's not funny. Indeed, it's pretty grating.

- - - Updated - - -

NKLN2Cw-0OI

Mark Kermode's review ... summed up, he literally says at one point:

https://www.meme-arsenal.com/memes/8583c302a064bd354dfa73ca3fd9df0f.jpg

[Neil]

Oh dear...

...from insta dyno roar vocal cords, to a daughter selfishly f***ing everyone over, even under the threat of just tens of minutes until a nuclear bomb. To robocop face mask syndrome where not a single bullet can hit an eye socket or mouth. To characters just generally not giving much of a f*** about their existance.

Just too much lazy/shallow writing imho.

5.5/10

[JDP]

Oh dear...

...from insta dyno roar vocal cords, to a daughter selfishly f***ing everyone over, even under the threat of just tens of minutes until a nuclear bomb. To robocop face mask syndrome where not a single bullet can hit an eye socket or mouth. To characters just generally not giving much of a f*** about their existance.

Just too much lazy/shallow writing imho.

5.5/10

Any explanation for the apparent inconsistency in how the zombies move? The preview clip showed some of them like marathon runners, while others just walked, even when pursuing humans.

[MinionZombie]

I didn't get as much 'dumb fun' out of this movie as I was hoping for. There were just too many utterly stupid moments, or parts that lacked any sense of internal logic. It doesn't have to make sense according to real world rules, but it has to make sense in it's own world - yet rarely does.

Also - the zombie apocalypse was caused by ... ... a blowjob? :rockbrow: I mean, essentially, right? That truck would have flattened that shitty old car.

Why have a quarantine camp literally right next door - like right next door - to the Vegas containment area?! And why the total lack of security, it seems? You've got this walled off area filled with beings capable of spreading an extremely deadly virus, and yet the security seems to be ... ... what? All we get is one camp guard who's going around abusing everyone. You would think that you'd want full blown guard towers and CCTV overseeing the entire quarantine zone.

How did they even build that shipping container wall anyway? Just flinging them down with bizarre amounts of accuracy (that last one slides in like a glove). How did they contain a horde that large for long enough to build that wall?

Is this supposed to be an actual sequel to 2004's Dawn of the Dead or not? Because if it is, it doesn't make any sense. There was no distinction between the zombies in the 2004 film - they were all just running raptors - but here we've got super smart ones who are direct descendants from the King zombie, and then you've got shamblers, but you've also got normal runny/jumpy ones zipping around all over the shop? The rules of the game don't make a lot of sense and that was frustrating throughout the film.

You'd get really cool moments - like the zombies getting mulched by a mounted .50 cal, or the big dude with that concrete saw thing absolutely raging and slicing through the dead, or the big scene with the zombie tiger later on, or the large scale shots in the opening credits ... but there were just too many things that made no sense, or lacked internal logic, or were just stupid and irritating.

They generally did a decent job of pasting in Tig Notaro (to replace Chris D'Elia), but certain shots looked terrible, however that character was so annoying - the constant smoking around fuel was intensely moronic. No, it's not 'cool', it's wilfully dangerous and endangers everyone in her vicinity. Also, yep, the dialogue was so overwritten and clunky (e.g. the lame fake-out chopper moment nearer the end).

The whole thing with people going into Vegas to steal from slot machines to earn money to buy their way out of the camp didn't make a whole lotta sense either. Surely you'd have someone who had taken that on as a job, and would be doing it for them - as a trained professional - in exchange for a percentage?

Why were the people being kept in that camp for all that time? They haven't turned into zombies, there's no medical basis for that happening, so why keep them trapped there? Surely, also, they're actual American citizens - so constitutionally, surely, it doesn't make any sense either. Indeed, the whole 'border wall' commentary was scattered and made little impact to the point that I wondered what the point really was. It just sucked up running time - it's 50 minutes before the team even enter the containment zone!!!

There were some pretty sweet gore moments, but weirdly not enough for a movie this friggin' long.

I liked the scale of it, but it was so messy and clunky and ill thought out, and the characters making obviously dumb decisions irritated the hell out of me that it genuinely spoiled the movie for me. Like I say, there were bits that were fun and enjoyable, but there was too much junk in there.

The characterisation was not good either - I can't remember a single name from the movie, and cared very little for anyone in the movie. You get a brisk bit of 'development' and then suddenly they're dead. What? Why should I care?

And what was with those opening titles? The text was awful, like really bad. The font was like some crap a 12 year old would slap on a YouTube video - the text was jagged as hell and looked so amateurish. Bizarre!!!

I had a lot of problems with the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead, but overall I think that's the better movie out of the two! :stunned:

[Neil]

Any explanation for the apparent inconsistency in how the zombies move? The preview clip showed some of them like marathon runners, while others just walked, even when pursuing humans.

Yes.. Sort of...

But no explanation for characters bizarre behaviour. Deadly impending doom is seemingly no reason to simply relax, and not take your continued existence very seriously any more... Couple of times I was literally talking to the telly asking the characters why they were now behaving the way they were? It's dog girl from Dawn of the Dead on steroids!

Worth a watch, has some nice parts, but with VERY LOW expectations...

[Moon Knight]

Definitely has it’s moments, both good and terrible. Like mentioned before, the daughter running off nonsense.

The concept really isn’t that bad, just wish it was handled a bit better. I really did enjoy the zombie clan. However, they should’ve used a different vocal for them. That dinosaur shit should be abolished from cinema.

I dug the king and queen.

No Ken Foree appearance. I’m sad.

[MinionZombie]

Speaking of the King and Queen...

Really - the zombie baby thing again? So these two zombies, at some point, went to the bone zone together and conceived an Alpha Zombie baby?

Sheesh.

Also - yes - the vocals were ridiculous. Infected or not, the human vocal chords aren't capable of those sounds. It was all a mixture of tigers and clucking and all sorts of nonsense. Why the hell do filmmakers persist with this junk? All that screeching and such ... at least Big Daddy in Land of the Dead was what the actor was projecting himself, not some coked-up sound designer's bullshit mish-mash.

There's a half hour making-of for it on Netflix, so I'll have a squizz at that out of interest.

This could have been so much better if it had been leaner and meaner, cut all the stupid shit out, and dropped the half-assed commentary. Romero did commentary and knew what to do with it, even when he got a bit blunt, but at least he knew what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it (and what he said was cogent and considered), whereas Snyder's attempts here show up his screenwriting weaknesses. He's a great visual stylist, which is his strong suit, so he should try and stick with that and let someone who knows what they're doing tackle the screenwriting duties - it's one of the most important aspects, if not the most important.

The attempts at deeper thought were a bit cringe-inducing as well - what was the point in all that silly jibberish with the dead members of a previous team? For one, they were so rotten that it looked like they'd been there for years (despite being in a sealed environment), and the whole thing with them 'possibly being them' was utterly pointless and just confusing as to why it was even included. So you just so happened to have multiple teams with different people wearing the same necklace or hawaiian shirt? What? All that sort of junk should have been thrown out at script stage, because it just dragged the running time.

I mean, really, FIFTY minutes before the team enter Vegas?! At that point you're already at least twenty minutes behind schedule. It was trying to cram too much in - ultimately you don't give a shit about the woman who goes missing in Vegas getting slot machine money so she can escape. She's in like two scenes and then vanishes for almost the rest of the movie, and the daughter ... ... yeah ... ... it's Mr Chips the dog all over again.

A very sloppy mess with woeful characterisation, but a few cool moments and plenty of visual flair.

[Neil]

And then there's the entire premise of the story?

So given the 'queens head would do', why not just leave as soon as you had it? Why risk your life going further and further into Vegas, doing more and more convoluted things, rather than just turning around, and walking out the way you came in, with the head?

[MinionZombie]

And then there's the entire premise of the story?

So given the 'queens head would do', why not just leave as soon as you had it? Why risk your life going further and further into Vegas, doing more and more convoluted things, rather than just turning around, and walking out the way you came in, with the head?

Hmmm...

Well, it's the secret mission of Dillahunt's character, who needs the cover I suppose ... and I'm assuming he wasn't expecting the Queen to just come out into the open like that once let alone twice ... and they'd figure that 'a shitload of money' is enough to convince a bunch of people to raid Vegas (which, evidently, it was, considering how easily all but one single person was convinced to go along) ... so it'd have to be an undercover side mission and I guess any extra cash would be a bonus to the Japanese guy who hired them, although as they said, the head would be worth a lot more than that ... ... so then why not just hire any old no-nonsense mercenaries to specifically go in for the head of the Queen, mercenaries who wouldn't have any qualms about it.

Clearly the whole 'vault heist' was always the cover plan as we saw another failed team down there.

Yeah, it's one of those clunky movies that doesn't hold up to even the lightest scrutiny in terms of it's characterisation or plotting. It's all very surface level. Just think about any one aspect for longer than a minute and it starts crumbling under the weight of its own lack of internal logic. Very irksome!

**ADDTIONAL**

I will say that I did enjoy the 'zombie canary' scene where they sent a shambler towards the vault to trigger the booby traps. That was quite good fun, even though it did sit a bit uneasily with the tone of a lot of the rest of the film. Indeed, the tone was a little awkward. There's serious bits and political bits and goofy bits, but it rarely ever gels - meanwhile, Zombieland managed to craft a world with internal logic that also expertly weaved a narrow path through moments of total comedic chaos and shockingly heartfelt reveals. I remember being stunned how deftly Zombieland was able to navigate those waters. AOTD, on the other hand, flails around like the Kintner boy. :elol:

There were also numerous references to Aliens ... particularly the Vasquez-alike character. Weird, though, that she was only one of two who had never killed a zombie before, and yet she turns into a total headshotting badass almost immediately after also expertly knifing a bunch of shamblers in the head.

Then you've got the annoying daughter - a quarantine camp volunteer who has, presumably, never held a gun before, popping over headshot after headshot after headshot on a bunch of bullet-dodging runners! Eh?!

[paranoid101]

Well that was errrr dumb and way too long, not great not terrible just meh.

Just too many dumb and stupid bits, still it was quite good special effects to fully replace the helicopter pilot in movie, all her scenes were film on a green screen stage and put in later.

Anyone else on here would you have rather watched the rescue mission in the open credits instead?

[EvilNed]

yeah, didn't really like that.

It had both a prologue and an epilogue that could easily have been axed. The setup is dumb enough that I don't need to "see" Las Vegas being zombified. In fact, it kind of detracted. This movie tried to explain way too much but none of the explanations were any good or interesting - so it ends up just being stupid.

Same goes for the villainous characters who constantly blurt out their evil plans as if this was some kind of soap opera.

Man, Snyder's really not that talented.

[MinionZombie]

Anyone else on here would you have rather watched the rescue mission in the open credits instead?

Kinda, yeah.

I would have enjoyed a movie showing how on earth they managed to wall off that many active (and fast) zombies over that large an area, or maybe not a movie, but a short film.

It reminds me of when people comment positively about the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead - they always mention those opening ten minutes, especially the credits, as being the best part of the movie - and yet again here, the opening credits were the best part.

Snyder is great at visuals and bold vignettes, but he needs to step away from the screenwriting side of things and leave it to, frankly, more talented people. Writing your own material isn't the best thing for a lot of directors, and considering the amount of work you have to do as a director, that's probably for the best. There's so much that goes into writing a good script that it really does require a dedicated person for that role - it's one of the most important, if not the most important, aspects of making a movie or TV show. If the script sucks then no amount of flashy visuals will solve those inherent problems.

You can certain direct a good script poorly and make it worse, and you can elevate a mediocre script with very astute direction and re-writing, but it all comes down to the words on the page at the end of the day - you have to get those right - and considering how long this movie was in development, there's really little excuse for it to have this many internal logic problems and surface level clunky characterisation.

I kinda get the feel that this movie kinda wanted to be Zombieland, but failed. It tried to mix comedy and action horror, but cocked it up and could never really settle on the right tone. And let's not forget - Zombieland is a surprisingly short movie, but every second counts and it never once plods - AOTD, on the other hand, has numerous points where you end up thinking "what was the point of that?"

Question:

What happened to the woman the daughter wanted to rescue? Did I miss something? She was on the chopper, which crashed, so did she die? If so - wow, that daughter character is a moron - because she spectacularly failed to do what she naiively intended to do, she got the chopper pilot killed, and she got her own father killed in the process. *slow clap*

[Neil]

Oh the daughter was a total moron no matter what. Risking everyone's lives for some ridiculous cause at the outset, and then with just tens of minutes on a rather important timer, wondering off... Dog girl 2.0 :)

[bassman]

It was pretty much what I expected, really. Lots of flash, cool imagery, but no substance. Going in with those expectations, I was satisfied. I highly doubt I’ll ever see it again, but that initial viewing was entertaining enough. Especially for “free”.

In comparison, Snyder’s Justice League is a masterpiece. Definitely the better of his two streaming releases in the past few months. Watched it a few times and it’s growing on me even more. I don’t see that happening with Army.

Can’t believe Snyder doubled down on the zombie baby thing! :lol:

[Moon Knight]

It was pretty much what I expected, really. Lots of flash, cool imagery, but no substance. Going in with those expectations, I was satisfied. I highly doubt I’ll ever see it again, but that initial viewing was entertaining enough. Especially for “free”.

In comparison, Snyder’s Justice League is a masterpiece. Definitely the better of his two streaming releases in the past few months. Watched it a few times and it’s growing on me even more. I don’t see that happening with Army.

Can’t believe Snyder doubled down on the zombie baby thing! :lol:

Exactly sums up how I feel about it!

[bassman]

Forgot to ask....did anyone else notice the robotic zombies? Glowing blue eyes and robotic entrails when shot. No joke.

UFO’s are also visible at the beginning when the convoy has just left Area 51. Maybe there’s a connection. Wtf is Snyder planning for the potential sequels that he so painstakingly reminds us of throughout this thing??

[paranoid101]

Kinda, yeah.

I would have enjoyed a movie showing how on earth they managed to wall off that many active (and fast) zombies over that large an area, or maybe not a movie, but a short film.

It reminds me of when people comment positively about the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead - they always mention those opening ten minutes, especially the credits, as being the best part of the movie - and yet again here, the opening credits were the best part.

Snyder is great at visuals and bold vignettes, but he needs to step away from the screenwriting side of things and leave it to, frankly, more talented people. Writing your own material isn't the best thing for a lot of directors, and considering the amount of work you have to do as a director, that's probably for the best. There's so much that goes into writing a good script that it really does require a dedicated person for that role - it's one of the most important, if not the most important, aspects of making a movie or TV show. If the script sucks then no amount of flashy visuals will solve those inherent problems.

You can certain direct a good script poorly and make it worse, and you can elevate a mediocre script with very astute direction and re-writing, but it all comes down to the words on the page at the end of the day - you have to get those right - and considering how long this movie was in development, there's really little excuse for it to have this many internal logic problems and surface level clunky characterisation.

I kinda get the feel that this movie kinda wanted to be Zombieland, but failed. It tried to mix comedy and action horror, but cocked it up and could never really settle on the right tone. And let's not forget - Zombieland is a surprisingly short movie, but every second counts and it never once plods - AOTD, on the other hand, has numerous points where you end up thinking "what was the point of that?"

Question:

What happened to the woman the daughter wanted to rescue? Did I miss something? She was on the chopper, which crashed, so did she die? If so - wow, that daughter character is a moron - because she spectacularly failed to do what she naiively intended to do, she got the chopper pilot killed, and she got her own father killed in the process. *slow clap*

I had to rewind it to try and remember if the other woman even got on the chopper lol, last Time I saw her she got into the front seat, Its like the movie forgot about her at the end, guess she wasn't important after all.

As for Zack Snyder his opening credits in his movies most of time they are better than the film that follows lol EG Watchmen and Dawn04, Speaking of Dawn 04 that movie was so much better then this one.

[MinionZombie]

I was wondering about that - a couple of zombie kills appeared as if there were blue/white flashes as they went down, and I thought to myself "was that a robot?" - but it was so dumb at that point that I didn't even bother rewinding to figure it out.

[DjfunkmasterG]

It was pretty much what I expected, really. Lots of flash, cool imagery, but no substance. Going in with those expectations, I was satisfied. I highly doubt I’ll ever see it again, but that initial viewing was entertaining enough. Especially for “free”.

In comparison, Snyder’s Justice League is a masterpiece. Definitely the better of his two streaming releases in the past few months. Watched it a few times and it’s growing on me even more. I don’t see that happening with Army.

Can’t believe Snyder doubled down on the zombie baby thing! :lol:

I admit the zombie baby thing made me LOL.

i was like really??? again??

Starting to think he has an impregnation fetish or something... i mean the motherfucker does have like 8 kids

[bassman]

I was wondering about that - a couple of zombie kills appeared as if there were blue/white flashes as they went down, and I thought to myself "was that a robot?" - but it was so dumb at that point that I didn't even bother rewinding to figure it out.

I did some digging and apparently it’s very much there. Several media sites have stories on it. So then I scanned through the last 20-ish minutes and confirmed it for myself. They make a metallic sound when shot, their eyes glow blue, they spark when shot, and you can plainly see the robotic skulls/parts. Not only that, but when Bautista blows the Alpha’s head apart, there is obvious fluorescent blue fluid mixed in with the regular blood and brain matter. Can’t wait to see where this goes in the next one....


I admit the zombie baby thing made me LOL.

i was like really??? again??

Starting to think he has an impregnation fetish or something... i mean the motherfucker does have like 8 kids


Holy shit, Dj! Good to see you around man!

[DjfunkmasterG]

I did some digging and apparently it’s very much there. Several media sites have stories on it. So then I scanned through the last 20-ish minutes and confirmed it for myself. They make a metallic sound when shot, their eyes glow blue, they spark when shot, and you can plainly see the robotic skulls/parts. Not only that, but when Bautista blows the Alpha’s head apart, there is obvious fluorescent blue fluid mixed in with the regular blood and brain matter. Can’t wait to see where this goes in the next one....




Holy shit, Dj! Good to see you around man!

Hey bassman, still groovin' I hope.

I was telling Minion on FB I think AOTD borrowed a subplot from the Brian Keene book, The Rising. There is a few similarities between that story and this movie, plus I also think they took queues from Body Snatchers as well as a few other Sci-Fi flicks.

It is definitely an all in, including the kitchen sink zombie flick.

I didn't like it on 1st viewing in theaters but watched it again and said ya know this is not horrible, it has its moments. Once you digest it then it becomes a bit more enjoyable. I will clarify by saying this is a typical summer blockbuster popcorn flick, mindless blow shit up fun with zombie thrown in just to say fuck it, we threw in zombies because... well, Netflix gave me(Zack) $90 million to make it and I said ok, Zombies.

I will say the gore and FX were way better than some of the stuff on The Walking Dead or even some of other horror favorites.

I think it was MZ who said they should have made a film about the overtaking of Las Vegas and its eventual fall, now that is a movie I would have loved to watch too.

[Neil]

I was wondering about that - a couple of zombie kills appeared as if there were blue/white flashes as they went down, and I thought to myself "was that a robot?" - but it was so dumb at that point that I didn't even bother rewinding to figure it out.

Yes, I noticed that too...

Get's mentioned in this too... Which also mentions my big issue with the plot (why not just leave with the head immediately)...

TC1LiBBkDdo

[paranoid101]

Yes, I noticed that too...

Get's mentioned in this too... Which also mentions my big issue with the plot (why not just leave with the head immediately)...

TC1LiBBkDdo

Also why was there another team sent in and ended up dead at the bank too, why not hire people to get you the zombie blood you wanted without the bank stuff? I can maybe understand telling Dave Batista group about the money to get them to go in as his lot wouldn't have agreed to getting the blood and his team was useful as they had already survived Las Vegas, but surely you could have hired a group without the bank stuff at all to get you the blood why lie to two teams. Just too much Dumb and stupid stuff to enjoy this at all

[bassman]

Has there been any more news on the previously announced prequel? We know it’s called Army of Thieves and directed by the guy that played the locksmith, but have yet to hear if it’s the fall of Vegas. It would have to be, right? Unless it’s a prequel to a zombie movie that features zero zombies...

[DjfunkmasterG]

Has there been any more news on the previously announced prequel? We know it’s called Army of Thieves and directed by the guy that played the locksmith, but have yet to hear if it’s the fall of Vegas. It would have to be, right? Unless it’s a prequel to a zombie movie that features zero zombies...

Army of Thieves is due out this year. Supposedly in post right now.

BTW, that pitch meeting video was funny but gave me a headache.

:p:p:p:p:D:D:D:D

[MinionZombie]

Hey hey! Dj on HPOTD! :thumbsup:

Boy-oh-boy did this movie not make a lick of sense. :D

[Neil]

Yes, I noticed that too...

Get's mentioned in this too... Which also mentions my big issue with the plot (why not just leave with the head immediately)...

TC1LiBBkDdo
Just watched that again... It's more entertaining than the movie :)

[Moon Knight]

I totally forgot I had noticed the robot zombies! It was definitely there!

Also, good to see DJ back on here!

[DjfunkmasterG]

Hey hey! Dj on HPOTD! :thumbsup:

Boy-oh-boy did this movie not make a lick of sense. :D

You should have known there was no way I was NOT checking in to see what fellow HPOTD-er's were saying.

I am surprised Loucipherr has checked in yet.

:evil::evil:

- - - Updated - - -

I have some questions

the King and Queen zombie couple, we know they had a baby (those of us that watched it). So I am wondering why no zombie Sex Scene, Dead Alive did it!!! Plus I wonder, because the Alphas were highly intelligent for being zombies, did they mate using basic Neanderthal instincts or did he meet her and show her a night on the town through the Vegas ruins and she fell in love and decided to give him some nookie.

this is shit I need to know man!!!

[MinionZombie]

I have some questions

the King and Queen zombie couple, we know they had a baby (those of us that watched it). So I am wondering why no zombie Sex Scene, Dead Alive did it!!! Plus I wonder, because the Alphas were highly intelligent for being zombies, did they mate using basic Neanderthal instincts or did he meet her and show her a night on the town through the Vegas ruins and she fell in love and decided to give him some nookie.

this is shit I need to know man!!!

:lol::lol::lol:

Probably wined and dined her with goblets of blood and a plate full of finger food, then off for a bit of gruff undead rumpy pumpy.

They might have had spectators. They weren't averse to PDAs, after all.

[DjfunkmasterG]

:lol::lol::lol:

Probably wined and dined her with goblets of blood and a plate full of finger food, then off for a bit of gruff undead rumpy pumpy.

They might have had spectators. They weren't averse to PDAs, after all.

This is a simple assumption, I need to know specifics. I am almost 50 I have questions I need to close plot holes.

Buwahahahahahaha

[paranoid101]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKQiJuXN07E

Red Letter Media review.

[beat_truck]

Holy fuck does this movie look and sound like cringe-worthy shit!:barf:

I think I'd honestly rather watch something like Oasis of the Zombies or The Alien Dead. For some reason, I can tolerate old low budget garbage a lot better than I can multi-million dollar budget modern garbage. At least they aren't CGI shit fests and full of modern cliches.

[DjfunkmasterG]

Holy fuck does this movie look and sound like cringe-worthy shit!:barf:

I think I'd honestly rather watch something like Oasis of the Zombies or The Alien Dead. For some reason, I can tolerate old low budget garbage a lot better than I can multi-million dollar budget modern garbage. At least they aren't CGI shit fests and full of modern cliches.

Its not horribly bad it just meanders a lot, Zack could have Trimmed an easy 30-40 minutes out of this film.

I have watched it a few times, it does grow on you as you watch it more. MZ and I were talking about 2 of the characters we liked the most (Vanderohe and Dieter) they kind of save the movie, but yes this thing copied everything from Aliens to Zombie Apocalypse (2011)

[MinionZombie]

Its not horribly bad it just meanders a lot, Zack could have Trimmed an easy 30-40 minutes out of this film.

I have watched it a few times, it does grow on you as you watch it more. MZ and I were talking about 2 of the characters we liked the most (Vanderohe and Dieter) they kind of save the movie, but yes this thing copied everything from Aliens to Zombie Apocalypse (2011)

Well, I wouldn't say those two characters saved the movie - by any means - but certainly out of the scant characterisation we got, they ended up having the most connection and chemistry on-screen.

The characters in the likes of AOTD or Sucker Punch all feel like characters from a 90s videogame character selection screen - they all have a cool look and one short paragraph of backstory and that's your lot, you pick one and have them punch/shoot a load of stuff.

Also, yeah, there was no need for this to be 2 hours 20 minutes by the time the credits roll. The entire subplot about the quarantine camp woman who went missing, for instance, could have been removed entirely considering how bullshit that all was - she just vanished, as far as I could tell, at the end of the movie.

[Neil]

Its not horribly bad it just meanders a lot, Zack could have Trimmed an easy 30-40 minutes out of this film.

I have watched it a few times, it does grow on you as you watch it more. MZ and I were talking about 2 of the characters we liked the most (Vanderohe and Dieter) they kind of save the movie, but yes this thing copied everything from Aliens to Zombie Apocalypse (2011)

There was a far more interesting film somewhere in there, but it feels like it went thru script hell, so what came out was an appalling script...

[MinionZombie]

There was a far more interesting film somewhere in there, but it feels like it went thru script hell, so what came out was an appalling script...

Considering how long it apparently took, there was no excuse for the script to have that many problems. There was all that time to fix all those issues - did they not know how? Did they not care? Did they not see anything wrong with that script? Eesh.

- - - Updated - - -

Also, they opened that vault full of TWO HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS and how were they gonna transport it? Some duffel bags? That's some serious weight - and actual space to be taken up with that cash. How on earth were they ever going to fit $200m PLUS the whole team inside a Huey?!

...

And just watched that "Pitch Meeting" video at last - fuck that was spot-on! :lol:

Seriously. Snyder, dude, HIRE A WRITER WORTH A DAMN!!!

[paranoid101]

I've read a few comment sections on reviews of this movie and it seems to be most people quite enjoyed it, most called it fun and a laugh.

Guessing its quite well liked by a general audience, sadly it was made for them and not us lol.

[beat_truck]

I've read a few comment sections on reviews of this movie and it seems to be most people quite enjoyed it, most called it fun and a laugh.

Guessing its quite well liked by a general audience, sadly it was made for them and not us lol.

For me, that seems to be the case with nearly all modern movies.:(

[bassman]

Seriously. Snyder, dude, HIRE A WRITER WORTH A DAMN!!!

I think it was on the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast Snyder said he tried hiring James Gunn, but he was too busy with Suicide Squad. With that being said, I don’t think Army has been written for years. Speculation here, but I got the impression that Snyder has had this idea ever since he made Dawn04, but it was only just recently fleshed out to a full script. Netflix may have given him the green light on a basic outline because they wanted his name recognition on their service.

[MinionZombie]

I think it was on the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast Snyder said he tried hiring James Gunn, but he was too busy with Suicide Squad. With that being said, I don’t think Army has been written for years. Speculation here, but I got the impression that Snyder has had this idea ever since he made Dawn04, but it was only just recently fleshed out to a full script. Netflix may have given him the green light on a basic outline because they wanted his name recognition on their service.

Interesting.

Well, the next thing would have been to hire, I don't know, another writer is one single writer wasn't available! :lol:

If that was indeed the case, that the idea had been lying around for ages undeveloped, and then it was rushed into a script, it makes even more sense that it turned out like it did. Yowza.

They've got a few bob lying around, Snyder could've hired a writer to flesh out the story and characters properly as a future investment, someone who could then write the actual script once it was greenlit. Snyder was pulling so many duties on this flick, too, that there'd simply not be the time to write it, even with Shay Hatten (John Wick 3) and Joby Harold (King Arthur: Legend of the Sword) helping on script duties as it ended up being.

[MagicMoonMonkey]

I think my expectations were so low for this that when it came to viewing it I was pleasantly surprised. It was wasn't awful and it wasn't good but I watched it and I think I enjoyed it despite all the nonsense going on with regards to the Alpha zombies, robot zombies and off screen kills.

I think the prequel is call Army of Thieves with no zombies, and Snyder is hoping for a live action sequel. I am sure an animated series/sequel is coming.


Next up... SYFY's Day of the Dead... If only there was a definitive version of Day of the Dead lying around in script format that all those with their horribly failed attempts to remake the Romero classic could have made instead.

[Neil]

I think my expectations were so low for this that when it came to viewing it I was pleasantly surprised. It was wasn't awful and it wasn't good but I watched it and I think I enjoyed it despite all the nonsense going on with regards to the Alpha zombies, robot zombies and off screen kills.

I think the prequel is call Army of Thieves with no zombies, and Snyder is hoping for a live action sequel. I am sure an animated series/sequel is coming.


Next up... SYFY's Day of the Dead... If only there was a definitive version of Day of the Dead lying around in script format that all those with their horribly failed attempts to remake the Romero classic could have made instead.

Huh? - https://fiction.homepageofthedead.com/forum.pl?readfiction=1070H

BTW: I'm not a huge fan of the original Day script. Some elements work well. Other's not so well IMHO.

[DjfunkmasterG]

An Easter Egg was found tying Army of the Dead to Dawn of the Dead (2004)

https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2568212/army-of-the-dead-easter-egg-may-have-confirmed-shares-universe-zack-snyder-dawn-of-the-dead

- - - Updated - - -


Interesting.

Well, the next thing would have been to hire, I don't know, another writer is one single writer wasn't available! :lol:

If that was indeed the case, that the idea had been lying around for ages undeveloped, and then it was rushed into a script, it makes even more sense that it turned out like it did. Yowza.

They've got a few bob lying around, Snyder could've hired a writer to flesh out the story and characters properly as a future investment, someone who could then write the actual script once it was greenlit. Snyder was pulling so many duties on this flick, too, that there'd simply not be the time to write it, even with Shay Hatten (John Wick 3) and Joby Harold (King Arthur: Legend of the Sword) helping on script duties as it ended up being.


This I don't get, you're telling me with a $90 million budget they couldn't have gotten the script doctors from Dawn 04 (Scott Frank or Michael Tolkien) considering Zack lifted the IDEA of the fighter jets carpet bombing Vegas from Tolkien's version of DAWN 2004.

Hell, I could have written a better script and my writing sucks ass.

[MinionZombie]

An Easter Egg was found tying Army of the Dead to Dawn of the Dead (2004)

https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2568212/army-of-the-dead-easter-egg-may-have-confirmed-shares-universe-zack-snyder-dawn-of-the-dead

If that blink and you'll miss it easter egg is supposed to genuinely connect the two films, then much like the rest of AOTD it doesn't make a lick of sense - seeing as the 2004 remake depicted a global apocalypse with all the news outlets going dark as the world collapsed.

It'll just be a wink, but even as a wink it doesn't make sense because of the above. :p

[DjfunkmasterG]

If that blink and you'll miss it easter egg is supposed to genuinely connect the two films, then much like the rest of AOTD it doesn't make a lick of sense - seeing as the 2004 remake depicted a global apocalypse with all the news outlets going dark as the world collapsed.

It'll just be a wink, but even as a wink it doesn't make sense because of the above. :p

Well, isn't that purpose of an Easter Egg? To be hidden and hunted down?

[MinionZombie]

Well, isn't that purpose of an Easter Egg? To be hidden and hunted down?

Well, sure, but the point was more to do with the easter egg not actually making sense in AOTD because 'the Milwaukee' thing was actually the zombie apocalypse and the end of civilisation, as a wink sure, but for someone to then link the two? If that's intended by the filmmakers - that these two events are in the same timeline - it makes zero sense. If it is indeed just a wink and nothing more then fine, but then you've got some random misreading it entirely ... and then you've got a load of clickbaity bullshit articles springing up all over.

[Neil]

Trying to make sense of its madness...

ucWbmwPCfj8

[Moon Knight]

I think it’s just more of an Easter Egg than anything else.

[MinionZombie]

That AOTD Explained video was interesting in that it showed some of Snyder's 'answers' - if you can call them that - it seemed to suggest that he doesn't really know himself. Which isn't much cop. If you're writing the damn thing you should know.

AOTD was just slinging everything absolutely every which way for no discernible reason. Some of it, also, just feels like kinda silly bait for the other tagalong material.

The whole thing just felt clunky.

[DjfunkmasterG]

That AOTD Explained video was interesting in that it showed some of Snyder's 'answers' - if you can call them that - it seemed to suggest that he doesn't really know himself. Which isn't much cop. If you're writing the damn thing you should know.

AOTD was just slinging everything absolutely every which way for no discernible reason. Some of it, also, just feels like kinda silly bait for the other tagalong material.

The whole thing just felt clunky.


Well, it is like the first model year of a brand new car, the first version has some bugs that need to be worked out, by the time you get the 2nd model year... things improve.

I am kind of digging on the time loop theory though, as I myself believe in other dimensions and timeloops.

[Neil]

That AOTD Explained video was interesting in that it showed some of Snyder's 'answers' - if you can call them that - it seemed to suggest that he doesn't really know himself. Which isn't much cop. If you're writing the damn thing you should know.

AOTD was just slinging everything absolutely every which way for no discernible reason. Some of it, also, just feels like kinda silly bait for the other tagalong material.

The whole thing just felt clunky.

And there's me thinking a solid script with sensible believable events and characters is what they'd be going for ideally :)

[EvilNed]

Nerds should not write stories, and Zack Snyder is probably a nerd.
He seems more interested in teases and details than with plot or emotion.

[MinionZombie]

OxcrNPqaZuI

[paranoid101]

OxcrNPqaZuI

that was great and pretty much summed it up.

[Skinrash]

Watched the videos posted here and it makes me wonder if Snyder has ever heard of "internal logic"? Zombies reproducing sexually? Robot zombies? Zombies hibernating? WTF?

[beat_truck]

Did they actually show dehydrated zombie bodies and imply that they'd re-revive if they got wet?:duh:

So much fail all in one movie.

I liked this video poking fun at AOTD.:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC1LiBBkDdo

[MinionZombie]

Did they actually show dehydrated zombie bodies and imply that they'd re-revive if they got wet?:duh:

So much fail all in one movie.

One of many things 'set up' and then never referred to ever again in the movie.

Also, considering just how dessicated they are, it doesn't make any shred of sense that they'd be able to come back to life from a bit of rain!

[Daoyinyang]

I am a dumb brain and thought the dialogue between the German and Van was just throwaway dialogue to finally show some character development between the two "friends" but then I rewatched it and noticed there were a lot of weird things happening in the movies that suggests there are probably a lot more things going on than I think.

It might be a stretch but I think AOTD as a universe might somehow come full circle with the '04 Dawn film. I wonder if the time loop theory might include multiverses?

I'm not too sure how successful AOTD is, but I think if they're able to bring in more Triple A actors and actresses, I wouldn't be surprised if we get to see both Ken Foree and Tom Savini in the future films like they did with the '04 dawn remake. What if they're time patrol cops? LOL Anyways im stopping here.




Also Robot zombies.

[Neil]

Did they actually show dehydrated zombie bodies and imply that they'd re-revive if they got wet?:duh:

So much fail all in one movie.

I liked this video poking fun at AOTD.:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC1LiBBkDdo

Yes it is good... *cough* - https://forum.homepageofthedead.com/showthread.php?t=24174&page=10&p=327688&viewfull=1#post327688

[beat_truck]

Yes it is good... *cough* - https://forum.homepageofthedead.com/showthread.php?t=24174&page=10&p=327688&viewfull=1#post327688

Oops. I somehow missed it. Shit happens.

[MinionZombie]

I0iOntpnhIg

[paranoid101]

I0iOntpnhIg

God the more you think about this movie the worse it gets, hell the Resident Evil movies had stories that made more sense than this one, even those after the first two and most of them were awful.

[beat_truck]

They weren't great, but I didn't mind the first two RE movies. The first actually had some good parts. The third was OKish. The fourth sucked. The fifth (last?) was unwatchable. I shut it off within 10 minutes. It was just a bombardment of action and special effects BS with no plot to be found. AOTD looks to be almost as bad. It's plot look like a bunch of shit ideas that were thrown at a wall and half ended up falling off.:D

[Harleydude666]

I was in it just for the Ella Purnell factor. She’s sweeeet

[beat_truck]

I'm not 13 anymore, and won't sit through a shitty movie just because it has a good looking woman in it. If that's what I really wanted to see, porn sites specialize in that sort of thing.;) I didn't see any in this cast that look that great to me, anyhow.

[Harleydude666]

I'm not 13 anymore, and won't sit through a shitty movie just because it has a good looking woman in it. If that's what I really wanted to see, porn sites specialize in that sort of thing.;) I didn't see any in this cast that look that great to me, anyhow.

Geez, take a chill pill, don’t be so hard on yourself

[beat_truck]

Geez, take a chill pill, don’t be so hard on yourself

Huh? I'm not being hard on myself.:rockbrow: Just stating an opinion.

[babomb]

I'm glad someone here besides me likes Dawn '04, despite it's cringe worthy moments. Haven't been around here much but I wanted to weigh in on this like I always did in the past.
I just like Dawn 04 for what it is. A quick and dirty zombie flick that unfortunately used the wrong title. It's nothing approaching a masterpiece like one might expect of a remake of a beloved classic, no argument there.
But if you can look past that there's some decent content there. I saw it in the theater and genuinely enjoyed it. I was pretty stoned and after reading the reviews here at that time I thought maybe that was the only reason I enjoyed it. So I saw it again(not so stoned this time) and I liked it even more the 2nd time. I bought the DVD when it released and still liked it like 5 more times.
I'm definitely not a fan of the Olympic runner zombies and never really will be. But I still like Dawn 04 and anytime it comes on TV I watch it and enjoy it.

That being said, Army Of The Dead was a different animal. I don't even know what it was trying to be. It was too much crap to even try to look for something to appreciate. Hopefully this isn't what we should expect from zombie flicks now.

[Neil]

Haven't been around here much but I wanted to weigh in on this like I always did in the past.
I just like Dawn 04 for what it is. A quick and dirty zombie flick that unfortunately used the wrong title. It's nothing approaching a masterpiece like one might expect of a remake of a beloved classic, no argument there.
But if you can look past that there's some decent content there. I saw it in the theater and genuinely enjoyed it. I was pretty stoned and after reading the reviews here at that time I thought maybe that was the only reason I enjoyed it. So I saw it again(not so stoned this time) and I liked it even more the 2nd time. I bought the DVD when it released and still liked it like 5 more times.
I'm definitely not a fan of the Olympic runner zombies and never really will be. But I still like Dawn 04 and anytime it comes on TV I watch it and enjoy it.

That being said, Army Of The Dead was a different animal. I don't even know what it was trying to be. It was too much crap to even try to look for something to appreciate. Hopefully this isn't what we should expect from zombie flicks now.

Well, Snyder seems to be implying his latest masterpiece is now going to start a whole new series of films set in this Cinematic Universe.

[MinionZombie]

Well, Snyder seems to be implying his latest masterpiece is now going to start a whole new series of films set in this Cinematic Universe.

There's already a prequel and a sequel project underway.

Reminds me of this story about a cart before a horse...

[Neil]

There's already a prequel and a sequel project underway.
Will either of those explain the robo-zombies?

[Moon Knight]

There's already a prequel and a sequel project underway.

Reminds me of this story about a cart before a horse...

Who the f would wanna watch a prequel about the safe guy pre zombie apocalypse? Lol

[beat_truck]

Masterpiece?!? More like masturbation, haha.:D I'm sure plenty of sheeple will enjoy whatever crap he churns out next, though.

[EvilNed]

Well, Snyder seems to be implying his latest masterpiece is now going to start a whole new series of films set in this Cinematic Universe.

Universal implied that The Mummy would start off a Cinematic universe as well.
It's all PR and hype.

Yes, there's another film coming. Already shot. But I doubt this will ever take off as a franchise.

[MinionZombie]

Will either of those explain the robo-zombies?

Possibly.

That whole thing annoyed me, because it's almost not in the movie at all to the point that it might as well not be in the movie! AOTD was littered with 'teasers' (or what Snyder thinks of as teasers), but it was just a tangled mess of loose ends. Sure, you can build upon something in further projects, but you can't just toss in a random idea and leave it at that.


Who the f would wanna watch a prequel about the safe guy pre zombie apocalypse? Lol

I was thinking the same thing. Like - who cares? And if it's before the zombies, how is it really AOTD anyway? It's like, hey, let's do a prequel to Halloween - but it takes place when Michael Myers is a toddler! :lol:


Universal implied that The Mummy would start off a Cinematic universe as well.
It's all PR and hype.

Yes, there's another film coming. Already shot. But I doubt this will ever take off as a franchise.

Oof ... that whole 'Monster Universe' thing was so lame, the way they went about it. And starting off with The Mummy of all things? And turning into basically a Tom Cruise action movie? What were they thinking? It just came across as arrogant. Like - get one movie done, and done well, then build upon ideas you had floating around secretly in the background. I hate all this "universe" talk applied to friggin' everything when it rarely fits anything.

The Invisible Man (2020), in the end, turned out to be a solid flick. The problem was all the press talk about it beforehand which hammered home the 'toxic masculinity' stuff so friggin hard that it was actually quite gross and damaged my opinion of the movie. The actual film, though, wasn't like a sledgehammer with that stuff even though it was a considerable portion of the story. But the media loves to latch onto certain things. I read an article about the movie "Censor" and they made a real point of banging on about 1980s toxic masculinity, as if it was some major point in the movie - when I actually watched it there's almost none of that in there, and it's only confined to one character who's just a typical sleazy producer type. Thankfully the movie itself wasn't all wrapped up in identity politics and just focused on being a good fucking movie.

AOTD had a boatload of hype, but it's also had a boatload of mockery riddling it with bullets made from its own stupidity and complete lack of internal logic. It'll be interesting to see how the spin-off that's already been/being made will fare by comparison.

[paranoid101]

This guys YouTube Channel discusses what could be the real world Biology of fictional Movie/Game Viruses etc and has come up with interpretation of what was caused the blue blood, robot parts and stuff in Zacks Film and I found It quite interesting.

You can Also Skip the Films recap and get to the science part at 16.56.

vPXiGH2kiss

[Daoyinyang]

Do you think Netflix has enough money to keep funding this film for Zack to flesh out his zombie universe?
From what I can tell, I don't think it's a critical success.

[bassman]

Do you think Netflix has enough money to keep funding this film for Zack to flesh out his zombie universe?
From what I can tell, I don't think it's a critical success.

I’m not sure critical success really matters to streamers like Netflix. They have a policy of not revealing their numbers, but if it gets a certain amount of views, you can bet they’ll continue to exploit the property.

Netflix is currently making big moves in order to retain their title as the king of streaming. Spielberg has already signed on with them, and they’re now courting Christopher Nolan after his recent fallout with Warner Brothers.

[EvilNed]

Do you think Netflix has enough money to keep funding this film for Zack to flesh out his zombie universe?
From what I can tell, I don't think it's a critical success.

There are probably more lucrative ventures out there for them. Army of Thieves will probably be the last we'll see of this universe.

It is true though that they don't really care about critics. They care about what the audience thinks. However, this film has not made that big of a splash. Especially not compared to it's price tag.

[MinionZombie]

There are probably more lucrative ventures out there for them. Army of Thieves will probably be the last we'll see of this universe.

It is true though that they don't really care about critics. They care about what the audience thinks. However, this film has not made that big of a splash. Especially not compared to it's price tag.

And there's a lot of audience members who have been slating the flick, as well. Critics is one thing, but viewers is another.

I think there's an animated series or something connected to this "universe" that's coming as well. I don't know how far along that is, but it could well be very much underway as animation needs that lead-in time.

[MinionZombie]

7ULN_uCzfLA

The Critical Drinker's thoughts on the movie.

[Neil]

7ULN_uCzfLA

The Critical Drinker's thoughts on the movie.

I love his reviews etc... And he didn't let me down here. :)

Note: I'd still love to know the thinking behind the UFOs in the distance at 1m44s.

ps: Have you listened to his really early content where he doesn't put on the voice/character? Sounds really odd!

[MinionZombie]

ps: Have you listened to his really early content where he doesn't put on the voice/character? Sounds really odd!

I've not, no.

I've been watching a few of his videos yesterday/today having not really been aware of his output before. The voice is a bit draining after a while - a bit too forced - so it gets a bit tiring to listen to, and the amount of complaining about Captain Marvel type movies (while making quite solid and fair points) does get a bit overwhelming quite quickly to the point that it starts damaging the value of the criticism.

There's quite a lot of good points made, though, in the various videos I've had a rummage through, be they praise or criticism. They just seem a bit too vigorous, so you get a bit tired out watching them, and certain fair points are doubled-down on to such a degree that they risk falling into, or actually fall into, some butthurt cliche zone.

[EvilNed]

Yeah, this is a bad film.
Not sure if I'm gonna give Army of Thieves a watch. But I think so. It may end up better than the film it's supposed to lead up to.

[Neil]

Yeah, this is a bad film.
Not sure if I'm gonna give Army of Thieves a watch. But I think so. It may end up better than the film it's supposed to lead up to.

I want to see the prequel that explains the flying saucers we see in the sky, and the blue eyed robo-zombies.