Army of the Dead early reactions call the film a zombie epic with maximum Zack Snyder style

Posted on May 11, 2021

4 min read

Zack Snyder is arguably more popular than he has ever been thanks to the hype of his recut Justice League film. As popular as the director is now though, his films have attracted criticism for being pretty to look at but often feel overstuffed, and tend to meander. For Snyder’s next big Netflix film, he’s returning to the genre that kickstarted his career: A new take on the zombie apocalypse in Army of the Dead.

Will this film continue to showcase Snyder’s remarkable strengths as a visual storyteller and provide us with fantastic zombie action or will it be stuffed with indulgent slow-motion shots that drag the story on and ruin the pace of the movie? We have some early reactions to the movie, and it looks like the answer to those questions are a resounding “yes”:

Army of The Dead is a violent, gory, and bloody blast. Zack Snyder’s latest is a ridiculously fun and over the top genre bending zombie film. While the entire cast is great, Matthias Schweighöfer steals every scene. Oh, and the opening credits are absolutely epic. #ArmyoftheDead pic.twitter.com/6Seg3l1AFG
— Scott Menzel (@ScottDMenzel) May 10, 2021

#ArmyOfTheDead is bloody fun! Has great zombie action, character banter & killer music. Also, quite funny. Loved the world created by @ZackSnyder & that every character has a moment to shine. His style matches perfectly with the zombie genre. Opening credits are ?#ZombieVerse pic.twitter.com/vhbaKjX8KV
— Fico (@FicoCangiano) May 10, 2021

I saw #ArmyoftheDead and I’m all-in on this world.

Pretty sure Zack Snyder just beat WB to the punch and made his own Suicide Squad movie, but with zombies. How about that. pic.twitter.com/xUb0lnylTs
— Kirsten (@KirstenAcuna) May 10, 2021

#ArmyOfTheDead’s opening credits sequence is delicious, pure camp. While the rest of the film doesn’t sustain that tone (& meanders), there are lots of wild, deftly executed concepts & scenes centered on the heist. Even more audacious is there’s an unexpected infusion of heart. pic.twitter.com/TPGFC2nG2I
— Courtney Howard (@Lulamaybelle) May 10, 2021

I found myself wanting more from #ArmyOfTheDead overall. It's well cast and often funny. But despite blending the heist/zombie genres, there's not much newness added to either. One or two fresh setpieces amid familiar blood n gore, but outside of that, you've seen it more or less pic.twitter.com/u4Bd0Ra5Ap
— Brandon Katz (@Great_Katzby) May 10, 2021

@ZackSnyder "Army of the Dead" was a helluva ride!

Scary, action-packed & fun!

A wildly entertaining firepower zombie flick that features some of the best death scenes ever!

Viva Las Vegas, baby!#ZackSnyder #ArmyOfTheDead #ArmyOfTheDeadNetflix #Netflix @netflix @NetflixFilm pic.twitter.com/E2WS5ti2vJ
— Rama’s Screen (@RamasScreen) May 10, 2021

Army of the Dead: Zack Snyder is having an absolute blast, delivering a jaw dropping/jaw-removing) amount of slo-mo bloodshed. The gore and mayhem on display is lovingly captured and, more importantly, gleefully faceted within the film. #ArmyOfTheDead
— Phil Nobile Jr. (@PhilNobileJr) May 10, 2021

#ArmyOfTheDead is Snyder’s best since Watchmen. His efforts to keep visuals interesting (he’s his own DP for this one) plays well with the “big dumb fun” energy that holds throughout, with the added bonus of a few characters playing better than they are written due to the cast.
— Aaron Neuwirth (@AaronsPS4) May 10, 2021

#ArmyoftheDead is a fucking blast. Like most Snyder films, it's about 20 minutes too long, but that doesn't matter when you're having so much fun.

World-building is intriguing, evolution of the zombie genre is fitting. Watch this movie with as many people as possible.

8/10 pic.twitter.com/IgzN4mHp9T
— Eric Italiano (@ericitaIiano) May 10, 2021

#ArmyOfTheDead was VERY much my kind of thing. As hoped, the setting + Zack Snyder's eye = a downright stunning display of zombie mayhem and carnage. Fell mighty hard for the whole ensemble, but I might need a 2.5 hour movie about just these two … pic.twitter.com/j6daBtuCOL
— Perri Nemiroff (@PNemiroff) May 10, 2021

Army of the Dead certainly sounds like a stunning film from a visual perspective. There’s plenty of praise for its action sequences and wonderful world-building, and apparently, there’s a truly amazing opening credits scene that needs to be seen. In fact, it might be worth the watch just for those credits alone and then you can move on elsewhere, based on how amazingly these people describe it. A lot of other Snyder touches like the over-use of slow-motion and it being far longer than it needs to also apparently permeate this movie.

It all sounds pure Zack Snyder which means if you are a big fan of his, you will love this and if not, well then you might get some enjoyment, but probably will not be too enamoured by it. With comments saying that this it is his best film since Watchmen, that is indeed high praise. It is perhaps worth reminding that these are just early reactions and not official reviews, so there are probably many details that we will only know more of in time.

Thankfully though the movie’s release is only 10 days out with Army of the Dead arriving on Netflix on May 21.

Last Updated: May 11, 2021