Oh, Zack Snyder doing another zombie movie? Count me in. I thought to myself. Man usually likes to throw in some possible philosophical or mythological references or metaphors here and there in his movies. Oh main bad guy zombie is a character called Zeus. And he lives in a hotel called Olympus. If I didn’t know any better, that sounds like sorta a reference or metaphor going here. And later on, during the spoiler section, I will complete this Zeus narrative with a plot spoiler. Anyways, other than that, it is quite the generic action ride. Nothing that was done was new, and everything was spotted a mile away – I say, as I turned to my brother, and told him each time, “watch, so and so is gonna happen.” He hated knowing what was gonna happen.
Emotionally, the movie tried to tug at your heart but the glaring plot holes, and obvious next choice of action prevented that. As soon as the main character’s daughter showed up, in a horror survival movie, for some reason, these movies always have it end one way. Like that meme with Squidward, daring today, aren’t we? There was only one moment of genuine horror and that was the glowstick hallway scene. Everything else is a snooze. It also suffers from oh this actor, wanna bet you’re gonna end up ‘x’ and oh look ‘x’ it is. The other thing I do give Snyder credit for is having the zombies be tied into UFOs – not a spoiler, it’s in the first 10 minutes (look in the skies during a truck sequence). As for the acting, it was enjoyable and some of the characters stood out from the rest. Coyote, and the safecracker in particular. The former had the most interesting lore there that I wish could have been explored further, and the latter is just pure enjoyment as his reactions are the most relatable.
Spoilers ahead
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Spoiler time
So we got a zombie called Zeus that lives in Olympus and he kidnaps women to turn them into alphas and also impregnate them to try and raise a child. The strongest opponents or revengeful, he turns into alphas as well. Every other zombie, besides Zeus and alphas, are slow and called “shamblers.” There is a hierarchy and again, Zeus impregnating women against their will. Hmm. Hmm. Nah, definitely no connection to ancient Greek mythology. Absolutely none. That bit aside, main character’s daughter goes into zombie infested town to save a mother of two children stuck in her UN camp. Said mother gets eventually rescued but helicopter carrying everyone crashes. No mention of her whatsoever again. Ending that always happens, happens. Oh no, parental figure must be killed by the child to ensure survival. How about we stop with this diabolic peddling, and, you know, not sacrifice the parent so the child may live? I know, quite the revolutionary plot twist. Oh, a dude survives at the very end and *gasp*, is infected? Wow, how original! Somehow this man escapes from a locked casino vault which required a safecracker to open it, and coincidentally there’s zero debris blocking his exit onto the surface which was just devastated by a tactical yield bomb?
Spoilers End
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Overall, it was enjoyable if you just shut off your brain. Nothing new here, nothing groundbreaking. Snyder had no studio intervention here, like he has in previous movies, yet his plot was as bland and generic as a studio made film. Watch it if you’re curious or want another zombie movie to fill your zombie itch, or if you have nothing better to do.
Bogdan's Review Blog 