Snyder's Army of the Dead (Netflix 2021)

[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.

[JDP]

[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.

[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.

[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. 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