One of the most exciting entertainment releases on a streaming service in the last few months is Army of the Dead, which has just dropped on Netflix. This is the latest in a line of blockbuster releases on the streaming service, and another from a critically acclaimed director. Zack Snyder’s work in the past has often been highly influential, and his recent move to making more content for streaming services could persuade other directors to do the same. But in terms of entertainment value, how does the latest release stack up against the rest of Snyder’s work?
A picture of a camera lens. Source: Pixabay
Army of the Dead Recently Dropped on Netflix
The first thing that viewers will notice about Army of the Dead is its runtime of 148 minutes. Anyone who watched Zack Snyder’s Justice League, which came in at around 4 hours, will find this manageable. However, it could be enough to put a lot of viewers off and it has been criticized for its length.
Army of the Dead has been met with mixed reviews, with some publications praising it and others viewing it as a slight letdown. It has a score of 71% on Rotten Tomatoes, with many people approving of the unique hybrid idea of the movie. The Guardian, on the other hand, spoke of how the film started off in an extremely promising way and then gradually faded as it progressed through its drawn-out runtime.
What most viewers agree on is that this is a highly original work that could shake up the zombie genre. That’s because the film is a mashup between a zombie offering and a heist movie. It has just enough gore to appease die hard zombie fans, but it comes with comedy and a great cast of interesting characters. Dave Bautista plays the lead role as the head of a mercenary group called Las Vengeance. He is accompanied by an impressive array of established and up-and-coming actors including Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera, and Theo Rossi.
Snyder’s Work Has Been Hugely Influential
There is a high chance that this latest film could lead to a vast number of related media. It may also inspire spin-offs and similar offerings. This is because Snyder’s past work has also been highly influential. This was seen initially with his directorial debut, Dawn of the Dead. The 2004 film was a remake of the classic 1978 horror from George A. Romero. It served to revitalize the zombie genre and potentially could have led to series like The Walking Dead as a result of that.
300 is arguably Snyder’s most influential and memorable film. The historical epic featured Gerard Butler as the leader of an elite unit of Spartan Warriors. Due to the success and the cult status of that movie, there were a number of spinoffs in popular culture. For instance, Sparta: War of Empires is one of the most played MMO games for mobile. There are quite a few Vegas slots that have used this theme as well. These include Age of Spartans from Saucify, Almighty Sparta from Endorphina, Fortunes of Sparta from Blueprint Gaming, and Sparta’s legacy from GamingSoft. These games appeal to slots players’ love of history and battle themes. On top of all the Sparta-related games out there, there was also a 300 sequel called 300: Rise of an Empire. However, Snyder did not direct the 2014 title.
Will More Directors be Persuaded to Make Content for Streaming Services?
This is the second film in a matter of months that Snyder has released onto a streaming platform. Zack Snyder’s cut of Justice League was released on HBO Max in March this year. While some directors have expressed their distaste with this form of filmmaking, it seems that a greater number of heavyweights in the industry are coming around to streaming as the future of film.
Releasing content for streaming services can allow directors to do things they never would have been able to before in some circumstances. A good example of this was when Martin Scorsese released The Irishman in 2019. The picture was the most expensive film of the legendary director’s career, with a production budget somewhere between $159 and $250 million. It was also extremely long with a running time of 209 minutes.
These factors made it difficult for Hollywood production companies to pick it up, as they would have been worried about the potential returns. This was a picture that Scorsese had wanted to make for a long time, and he was finally able to follow through with it thanks to Netflix. For this reason, other directors may be tempted to move to streaming services to pursue their passion projects.
Snyder’s new offering is certainly an exciting picture that is worth checking out. Whether it will be quite as influential as his other works remains to be seen. It will be hard to top the impact that 300 has had on popular culture.
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