Army Of The Dead’s Opening Homages Zombieland More Than Watchmen

Army of the Dead‘s opening credits sequence has more in common with those of the Zombieland movies than Watchmen. Zack Snyder’s Las Vegas-based zombie-heist movie is finally beginning its limited run in theaters this weekend, with its proper Netflix debut following on May 21st. With the movie seeing Snyder return to the zombie genre after 2004’s Dawn of the Dead, viewers eager to see what he has in store were recently treated to a look at the movie’s first fifteen minutes, which includes its opening credits montage.

With the zombie outbreak being successfully contained in Las Vegas, the opening credits provide a great set of cliffnotes to get viewers up to speed on the status quo in Army of the Dead. With the supreme Alpha zombie Zeus unleashed from government captivity, his first few human victims set off a huge zombie outbreak that culminates in Las Vegas being sealed off when efforts to eliminate the zombies prove unsuccessful. Though the opening credits montage has been likened by many to that of Snyder’s 2009 superhero movie Watchmen, it’s actually more stylistically in-sync with the intros to the Zombieland films.

Set to Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changin’, Watchmen‘s opening credits serve the same function as Army of the Dead‘s in giving viewers a general rundown of events preceding the story and establishing the overall tone of the movie. However, whereas Watchmen‘s was a mix of tragedy and memories both good and bad, Army of the Dead is much more in the territory of black comedy. Set to a cover of Elvis Presley’s Viva Las Vegas, the opening credits contrast the limelight associated with the casino-laden city to the carnage unfolding in the zombie outbreak. When it comes to the overall feel of their openings, the Zombieland movies are on the same wavelength.

The first Zombieland set its opening credits to Metallica’s For Whom The Bell Tolls, with the opening of the sequel Zombieland: Double Tap set to the band’s Master of Puppets. Like Army of the Dead‘s opening, the slo-mo intro contrasts gruesome zombie rampages and slayings with a darkly humorous tone. The Zombieland films are both outright comedies, so that’s to be expected from them, but with how Snyder has positioned Army of the Dead, it’s that much more surprising, and fittingly unsettling, for the the movie’s intro to display an almost Robocop-esque sense of dark humor from the opening set piece.

On a deeper level, Army of the Dead‘s opening is closer to Zombieland‘s by both their shared genre, along with the exact events on-screen in each. Both Zombieland movies show the world being overrun by the undead, with Jesse Eisenberg’s Columbus redubbing America “The United States of Zombieland.” While the rise of zombies in Army of the Dead is localized to Las Vegas when the city is sealed, the Vegas strip itself goes through a similar transformation, also becoming a “Zombieland” before the viewer’s eyes.

That’s not to say that Watchmen and Army of the Dead‘s openings have nothing in common, both taking place in slow motion and set to a soundtrack that’s both fitting and contrarian to the events on-screen. Nevertheless, as Army of the Dead begins its rollout, its opening credits show that the Zombieland movies are their true spiritual cousin.

About The Author

Brad Curran
(721 Articles Published)

Growing up, Brad developed an innate love of movies and storytelling, and was instantly enamored with the world of adventure while following the exploits of Indiana Jones, Japanese kaiju, and superheroes. Today, Brad channels his thoughts on all manner of movies, from comic book films, sci-fi thrillers, comedies, and everything in between through his writings on Screen Rant. Brad also offers philosophical musings on martial arts and the filmographies of everyone from Jackie Chan to Donnie Yen on Kung Fu Kingdom, where he’s also had the privilege of interviewing many of the world’s great stunt professionals, and hearing plenty of gripping stories on injuries incurred in their line of work and the intricacies of designing the acts of death defiance he first thrilled to as a youngster. When he’s not writing, Brad enjoys going on a ride with the latest action hit or Netflix original, though he’s also known to just pop in “The Room” from time to time. Follow Brad on Twitter @BradCurran.

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