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Zack Synder's Army of the Dead Review Thread - 78% RT and 57% MC
- Thread starter Star-Lord
- Start date
I was backing you up.
I was interesting in her casting since I thought Tig in a Snyder film would be interesting, especially if she was replacing a character played by Chris D'Elia. She'd have to play something completely out of her wheelhouse. Well, the dialogue 100% match something D'Elia would play but she played it in her usual Tig way, which did not work at all.
Sorry, man. I was digging through the notifications I got, then clicked over here and saw your post without fully reading the conversation in between. Couple of the replies I got were weirdly aggressive so my hackles were raised and I ended up doing the same thing!
This is a very much how I feel about the guy, although I like more of his movies than you do. He still makes films *about* things (unlike say, Paul W.S. Anderson who, hell I've gone to bat for on occasions and would again) but nuance? Subtext? Never. Themes? Sure!
But anyone who thinks (or expects) that he's going to put stuff in his film for any other reason than 'Robot zombies? Cool!' should probably know to steer clear of his films by now.
Watched the last third. It was fine. Overall the last third upgraded it from a 4 to a 5 out of 10
I still feel robbed after the trailer, and all the best bits ended up being just a quick montage at the start. The actual movie had felt like a throwaway sequel to this imaginary, original, good movie referenced in the montage. Weird.
I still feel robbed after the trailer, and all the best bits ended up being just a quick montage at the start. The actual movie had felt like a throwaway sequel to this imaginary, original, good movie referenced in the montage. Weird.
it's a message board...people are going to be insufferably dense to get over a point they want to take issue with...anyone with half a brain can see the point you're making...I mean, so long as it's half a zombie brain in a Romero-esque sense...oh shit, now I've done it
That was shit.
I mean it was sort of fun for the most part but so much of it just makes no sense it spoils the ride. There are a million plot holes and idiotic contrivances and "Why didn't they just do X?" moments. Tonally it was a bit all over the place, the script was stupid, it's riddled with tropes and trite emotional moments that never land, it's overly long, etc etc.
Also the DoF effect was aggressively overused.
And where the fuck is Gita. And Dieter. And Coyote had the worst 'plan' in the world. And Burt Chance got his face eaten off so that's sad.
I mean it was sort of fun for the most part but so much of it just makes no sense it spoils the ride. There are a million plot holes and idiotic contrivances and "Why didn't they just do X?" moments. Tonally it was a bit all over the place, the script was stupid, it's riddled with tropes and trite emotional moments that never land, it's overly long, etc etc.
Also the DoF effect was aggressively overused.
And where the fuck is Gita. And Dieter. And Coyote had the worst 'plan' in the world. And Burt Chance got his face eaten off so that's sad.
How is this the same guy that made that fun as f*ck Dawn of the Dead remake ? This movie is awful.
The more creative control he has, the worse his projects get seemingly. AKA don't let Zack write.
that was alright
the writing was pretty awful for the most part but I got some enjoyment out of that one
it was pretty hype when Bautista equipped the drum clip for his gun lol (speaking of him I thought he was okay considering how bad the script is)
I like the actress but good god the daughter character was bad. Ultimately this movie just felt like it was in development hell for a long time.
the writing was pretty awful for the most part but I got some enjoyment out of that one
it was pretty hype when Bautista equipped the drum clip for his gun lol (speaking of him I thought he was okay considering how bad the script is)
I like the actress but good god the daughter character was bad. Ultimately this movie just felt like it was in development hell for a long time.
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Yeah, this is true. Snyder is IMO the perfect 'vulgar author'. His movies are generally bad-to-terrible, but they are always unmistakenly his and while his ideas almost never work out, he's always got these absolutely bonkers ideas in his movies visually and thematically that nobody else would ever think of including in a film. For example, I fucking despise Sucker Punch, but I would definitely say it's a one of a kind movie that's Zack Snyder through and through and literally nobody else would've made a movie like that.
Even his superhero movies are these bizarre epics that try to go way too big for what is needed or even wanted. I'd say the only movies of his that don't do this are Dawn of the Dead (considering it's his first movie) and Legend of the Guardians (because it's an animated kids movie and Snyder's most bonkers ideas usually fall on the R-rated side of the spectrum). Though even Legend of the Guardians has some absolutely insane scenes and ideas behind it.
I wouldn't go as far as to say that I 'kind of admire him', though. I am kinda impressed, however, by his ability to keep scoring big movies, despite his movies generally being despised by critics and occassionally audiences. I mean, he followed up the massive commercial and critical flop called Sucker Punch by getting the reigns of DC's new cinematic universe. How the fuck does that happen?
This movie started off good but ended up being the same old shit.
Very overhyped and I can't believe how such average movies like this and 'Nobody' get such great reviews. I love Bautista so he kept me entertained and the stuff with Tig Notaro being edited in after initial shooting was a complete surprise to me as it felt very seamless.
They all went in there and died for nothing, bunch of idiots. As usual the brat was the sole survivor which is a trope I hate.
I think nobody fancied Man of Steel or at least in the short time frame wanted and as you say he does have ideas that can impress, Nolan recommended him maybe. Think Man of Steel performed fine and he does things on time and on budget with mad work effort. Sort of makes sense they gave him the keys.
Has anyone ever done a Martial Arts Zombie movie? There was one scene I was like wtf 😂.
It's definitely one of Snyde's better movies which is saying something, but the problem isn't that it's dumb - dumb is fine if it's fun dumb. The problem here is that over half of the movie is not fun dumb. It's boring dumb. After the initial montage, there's a solid 40 minutes of just poorly written dialogue between limp characters before we actually get to Vegas. The pacing is just so bad - even though there are definitely fun elements and fun parts.
Expected more from the trailer but it was okay. Still a tiny bit disappointed.
Also don't tell me any sane government wouldn't instantly carpet bomb/nuke this place zo rubble since you never know if some zombie isn't going to climb or crawl under some tunnel/rubble and reinfect large parts of the population again.
Also don't tell me any sane government wouldn't instantly carpet bomb/nuke this place zo rubble since you never know if some zombie isn't going to climb or crawl under some tunnel/rubble and reinfect large parts of the population again.
HOOOOLLLYY SHIT, don't tell me the Pixels are from the movie. I thought my kid fucked it up since it threw pens on my Q70R. Even used a dead Pixel repair vid on YouTube although i was wondering why they weren't consistent.
Wtttffffffff
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lol there was even an OT thread about someone freaking out about it
Seeing hot pixels on my Sony X900E (backlit LED) when watching HDR content via Netflix app on XSX
For the last few months I have noticed this on varying Netflix HDR content. A few key aspects: I had not witnessed this last year's content. Not noticed in games in HDR. The hot pixels tend change position and in number from one cut to another and disappear in other shots (saw this happen while...
www.resetera.com
After finishing the film (and thinking back about how boring it was), I came up with a premise that would have made it waaaaaay more interesting:
This way you get all the wacky, fun, and weird moments from the early montage at the beginning, but for the whole movie. And you cut out all the boring, dull, and meaningless alpha zombie crap that made this movie a total slog.
OK, so it ain't perfect, but I thought of this in a few minutes. Hasn't Synder been working on this for YEARS? Yikes.
- Ocean's 11 meets Dawn of the Dead
This way you get all the wacky, fun, and weird moments from the early montage at the beginning, but for the whole movie. And you cut out all the boring, dull, and meaningless alpha zombie crap that made this movie a total slog.
OK, so it ain't perfect, but I thought of this in a few minutes. Hasn't Synder been working on this for YEARS? Yikes.
In my head, I picture him going into the studio and just bouncing off the walls, like a bundle of pure childlike enthusiasm, and throwing ideas at them until they relented. I've never met the man, but based on his films I think it's fair to say he probably brings a lot of (highly dubious) energy to his pitches.
That's the only explanation I can think of for how he keeps landing such high-profile work.
Zack didn't write that movie. So the moral is, don't give him creative control for things like plot, dialogue or cinematography.
I was entertained. But I like some of the negative exaggeration in this thread or movie in general.
However I too think that the story would have been a blast if they would have went down that time loop route. When he explained his theory in the movie that made me really really curious.
However I too think that the story would have been a blast if they would have went down that time loop route. When he explained his theory in the movie that made me really really curious.
Yeah, agree the opening scenes and montage was basically the best part of the film, the rest felt unfortunately very generic whilst still fun enough to keep the attention. Just feels disappointing because of the potential to do something way more interesting.
Presume it has been mentioned, but wasn't a huge fan of the weird intelligence/sentience of the zombies either. Fine with them being fast/smart even, but it was much more than that. Just complicates matters without any addressing of it. I understand there are sequel/prequels in mind, so maybe it's to give them more to work with there.
Presume it has been mentioned, but wasn't a huge fan of the weird intelligence/sentience of the zombies either. Fine with them being fast/smart even, but it was much more than that. Just complicates matters without any addressing of it. I understand there are sequel/prequels in mind, so maybe it's to give them more to work with there.
Snyder bought film lenses on eBay and some were broken it seems lol
Holy shit yeah, basically everything that comes to mind.
Didn't even notice the missing woman after the crash (the one the daughter wanted to rescue)
This started bad, then got legitimately good with concerns. And then it was terrible and a dumpster fire. I felt angry at how bad everything is resolved after actually getting invested in some of the characters. Waste of 2 hours of my life.
I guess that would be 'better', but the underlying stupidity behind the heist plot is that half a dozen people( or whatever the number was) physically cannot move literal tons of cash. Everyone was written dumb so of course nobody in- movie questions the logistics behind the plan. Having the team go after the Zombie King/Queen head would have just made infinitely more sense for the main baddie, because you'd have multiple people going after what you really wanted instead of a wild goose chase, but Zack tried to make the film deeper than it needed to be introducing a 'this is the REAL plan' swerve with a character that everyone in the film and the viewer knew was suspect. Cue the Patrick Stewart 'mild shock' gif on that one.
They could have made the movie 90 minutes of what we got in the opening montage, which almost feels like an entirely different movie, and it would have been much better IMO. Even the Vegas backdrop didn't serve the narrative in any meaningful way, you could have put the events of this film anywhere.
“I Know Exactly Where the Story Goes”: Zack Snyder Hopes to Make an ‘Army of the Dead’ Sequel
This article contains Army of the Dead spoilers. Zack Snyder never did get a chance to make a sequel to his remake of George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead, but his return to zombie world with the new Netflix movie Army of the Dead is going to afford him the opportunity to create a whole […]
bloody-disgusting.com
Yeah, they're in the movie.
‘Army of the Dead’ Viewers Question Dead Pixels on Screens
Netflix viewers watching 'Army of the Dead' are questioning why there are noticeable dead pixels onscreen.
variety.com
“I Know Exactly Where the Story Goes”: Zack Snyder Hopes to Make an ‘Army of the Dead’ Sequel
This article contains Army of the Dead spoilers. Zack Snyder never did get a chance to make a sequel to his remake of George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead, but his return to zombie world with the new Netflix movie Army of the Dead is going to afford him the opportunity to create a whole […]
A sequel?!? Fuck this. Still just upset at how bad this was despite not having any expectations. The Kate character is horrible and I'm so tired of seeing this trope; selfish/entitled brat comes along on adventure, is a giant pain, doesn't follow advice/instructions, gets everyone or most of group dead through stupidity/arrogance, and then ends up being the sole survivor.
OMG, I'm so glad I watched the Red Letter Media review, as I was depressed and going crazy last night thinking my new TV had dead pixels. Inexcusable for them to release the film with that defect.
IT was bad.... like really bad....0 likeable character, they are all stupid, make stupid decision, nothing make any sense in this world... it was a waste of time. I cannot believe that RT pourcentage, this is bullshit.
nailed it. wow that movie is so badly writen...
nailed it. wow that movie is so badly writen...
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That's what I found so deeply unsatisfying about the conclusion. The daughter didn't deserve to make it out, considering she was directly responsible for the last few deaths. The kind of people you're actually rooting for, like Chambers, were unceremoniously offed early on.
Flashback to when the social media embargo lifted:
:lol :lol :lol
One would hope that people in 2021 are media savvy enough to not believe any of those, but the studios keep paying for shills so I don't fucking know.
Wait, people think Dieter is still alive? We have Vanderohe not get bitten and shoved in a vault and closed by Dieter as he is being attacked by the Alpha Crow. Then a nuke goes off and Vanderohe was magically bitten. Dieter died from the Alpha attack and would've died from the nuke.
Flashback to when the social media embargo lifted:
In retrospect the "suicide squad" reference was a hint that this movie trying to be "the dirty dozen" with zombies and not at all "oceans 11".
Yeah, this was really annoying too. Especially that Bautista let his daughter come in wearing a t-shirt with no combat training and armed with just a pistol. As a couple of other people have mentioned, letting the wilful or stroppy child go into a really dangerous place is a trope I hate.
Flashback to when the social media embargo lifted:
It feels like critics have been oddly kind to this film. Even MovieBob , who I was expecting to hate it, kind of quickly glosses over its obvious pacing and dialogue issues and gave it 7/10.
The lack of mention of dead pixels and out of focus shots in many of the RT reviews reminds me of video game reviews where the reviewers fail to mention horrendous FPS or game-breaking bugs lol.
Yeah, I've gone and read some of the reviews and it is bewildering. I recently read A.A. Dowd's review and it seems impossible to reconcile what he says with what was on screen:
- "This is a new kind of Snyder cut: fleet and almost breezy, even at a characteristically extended 2 1/2 hours."
- "This is a long movie, but it doesn't feel long. It moves"
- "It's almost always striking. Occasionally, it achieves a Grand Guignol grandeur"
- "But the stacked cast (led by Bautista, that slab of empathetic strong-man sensitivity) underscores the uncommon humanity of the material this time around. The personalities may be shopworn, but they're personalities all the same, funny and engaging."
- "That the film doesn't belabor or over-stress its political conscience is vintage Romero, in the best sense."
What film was he watching?
I tried to watch this in the background while I was cleaning/making dinner and it was even disappointing as white noise...
that RLM review was pretty choice though - I missed the dead pixels, personally :-D LoL
that RLM review was pretty choice though - I missed the dead pixels, personally :-D LoL