After being out of the limelight for a few years, Zack Snyder is taking 2021 by storm with the highly anticipated Snyder cut of Justice League and the return to his zombie flick roots with Netflix’s Army of the Dead. Penned by Snyder himself, Army of the Dead is a unique and interesting blend of heist movie and typical zombie fare wrapped in a shiny $90 million bow.

When a crashed government convoy releases a zombie on the edge of the Nevada desert, it’s only a matter of time before humanity begins to crumble. In a bid to get ahead of the curve, the government wall off Las Vegas and surrender the city to the undead. Life is hard for the survivors stuck in quarantine camps with dead-end jobs, fractured relationships and painful memories of loved ones lost to the infection.

Dave Bautista takes the lead as hero-come-burger flipper Scott Ward, a former mercenary who is approached by billionaire Bly Tanaka to complete a mission that will allow him to escape his life for something better. The task? Cross the zombie-run wasteland, break into a vault beneath a casino and retrieve $200 million that Tanaka has stored there. If he succeeds, he will get $50 million to share, however he wishes with the team of his choosing. Easy, right?

I would love to say that Snyder’s Army of the Dead delivers on the expectation but if I’m honest it doesn’t live up to the excitement of the trailer. The film oozes tonnes of style, in true Snyder fashion, but ultimately doesn’t quite deliver on the substance, despite trying very hard.

From sleepers to the far more advanced and unified Alphas, and, of course, the now iconic zombie tiger, the different takes on zombies gave something of a point of difference to a genre that can feel a little samey, although I’m not sure how I feel about the unique little twist surrounding the zombie leader, Zeus, and his bride.

The film’s pacing is inconsistent; rushed in places and moving at a snails pace in others, the runtime is just the wrong side of excessive and the plot itself is crowded and messy. On a slightly more positive note, the soundtrack took the film up an extra level and the characters, whether you like them or loathe them, were well delivered and saved the film from being a complete disaster.

I always seem to forget what a good actor David Bautista is, and once again, he delivers a strong performance, expertly balancing gun-slinging, zombie-slaying action hero with a realistic and relatable two-dimensional father figure. And as a late entry to the line-up (replacing the disgraced Chris D’Elia), Tig Notaro steals the show with her effortless charm and trademark dry wit. The rest of the cast, whilst not terrible, failed to leave any real lasting impression.

Whilst there is some strength in the film visually, ultimately Snyder’s Army of the Dead fails to live up to the $90 million price tag although given the fact that the film has broken streaming records and allowed discussions around an Army of the Dead universe, I may be alone in my disappointment in this latest Netflix offering.

Army of the Dead is now available to stream on Netflix.