Year of Release: 2021
Director: Zack Snyder
Starring: Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera, Nora Arnezeder, Garret Dillahunt, Tig Notaro, Theo Rossi, Matthias Schweighofer, Hiroyuki Sanada, Raul Castillo, Huma Qureshi, Samantha Win, Richard Cetrone, Michael Cassidy
Genre: Action, Horror
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 4
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Synopsis and Review:
Director Zack Snyder is back, following his period of adapting comic book characters for DC films (which included "Man of Steel" and "Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice"). The film follows a group of individuals who are assembled together under the guise of a heist proposal. The herculean challenge is not only getting through the vault and getting the money out, but primarily surviving the conditions and the city where that vault lies: Las Vegas. Vegas has been overrun by zombies, some of which are fast, tribal and with a strategy of their own. The group is led by Scott Ward, a former mercenary, and the proposal for the heist comes from Bly Tanaka, a Casino owner, who informs them those vaults have 200 million dollars, some of which they can keep for themselves. As Scott assembles his team, he is joined by his estranged daughter, whom he has a strained relationship with. As they venture into a destroyed Las Vegas, the group relies on their skills and experience to overcome the unexpected zombie scenario.
Zack Snyder tackled zombie films previously, with his feature directorial debut, the remake of George A. Romero's "Dawn of the Dead". Unlike that film, this one sprinkles some additional dimension to the humans who are dealing with the zombie outbreak, in the shape of Scott's fractured relationships with both his daughter, and a former lover he has on his team. It also spins a "Ocean's Eleven" type of heist, only this time around, with the challenges coming in the shape of a destroyed city overrun with fast thinking zombies. All of these elements could have worked together efficiently, but once again there's a lack of understanding in how to showcase characters and their inner challenges, without resorting to cliches or being somewhat overly sentimental. This film could have benefited from a more straightforward approach to character definition, particularly given the eclectic aspect of the group that is put together, but sadly there isn't much to any of them, whereas the zombies, who are somewhat akin to what Francis Lawrence did in "I Am Legend", never feel as truly menacing or numerous as they did on "Dawn of the Dead" for instance. The cast tries their best to bring life to these characters, particularly Dave Bautista who is playing more of a straightforward role this time around, with good support from Tig Notaro and Garret Dillahunt, sadly it's simply not enough to make this film as exciting and gripping as it should be. It's a minor feature in the zombie genre.
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