Battle of the Damned

Battle of the Damned has a great idea going for it. A somewhat unique premise in the execution but its all hampered down by a small budget. Don't get me wrong their is some fun to be had with this movie plus it doesn't try to be anything that its not. Dolph Lundgren is a soldier for hire who gets employed by an individual who wants him to go into a quarantined city of infected people and rescue his daughter. Sure you can call them infected or zombies but essentially they are like the infected in 28 Days Later as in they are fast moving and are more prone to bite and tear than eat. So Lundgren's crew doesn't last long and its up to him and only him to find the target and get her out. Along the way he finds some survivors that are led by one who is addicted to his position and they end up clashing. Also while trapped in the city Dolph and his fellow survivors come across Robots that happen to have wondered into the city fresh off of malfunctioning and killing people from another movie called Robotropolis. So how to get out of the city alive? Reprogram the robots and let them pave a way. I'll admit its a good idea but the acting is uneven, Dolph is showing his age and the budget isn't high enough to properly execute this idea. With that said its entertaining and has a good idea going for it. Sure its not for everybody but its fairly good in the end for what they had to work with.

Zombie movie with robots? Sure? Why not? But it is not necessarily a great combination.

"Battle of the Damned" basically have the most simple story lines of all times. A city in Asia has become afflicted with a virus that turns people into crazed killers. And corporate CEO hires military expert Max (played by Dolph Lundgren) to infiltrate the infected quarantine zone and bring back his daughter.

That was basically the storyline. And you get what you pay for here, a shallow storyline that is driven by the action alone. The story is not overly interesting or deep. It works for what it is intended to do though, and the movie is entertaining enough in itself.

As for the infected, or zombies, well first of all they were hyper-mobile and agile, running around and making odd bestial growling sounds. Two things that doesn't sit well with me, and that was a factor that pulled the movie down in my opinion. There isn't really any gore or mayhem here, as the infected are basically just Asian people covered in dirt, soot and wear torn and shredded clothing.

Action-wise, then "Battle of the Damned" is alright. Not super great, but it is enjoyable, and well worth watching a single time.

With the people hired for the various characters and roles, you know what you are getting for your money's worth, so don't expect Oscar winning performances here.

If you enjoy Dolph Lundgren's movies, then I am sure you will find some enjoyment in "Battle of the Damned". If you are watching the movie out of your love for zombies, as I did, then this movie doesn't really impress.

There was some sketchy dialog particularly noticeable when Dolph's character max was speaking with his fellow soldier while they were walking on the bridge early in the movie, and some of the acting was stilted, but I loved that the zombies moved quickly and the robots were fun. The Dolphster is getting old, you could tell by his movements, especially when he runs, but he is in excellent shape. Dolph plays the part of the stoic unwilling hero well. The CGI was not Lucas film quality but it was not distracting. The main characters had clear personalities and weren't all generic. I only wish the end wasn't so predictable as to who would survive.

This movie does what I have always wished zombie movies would do. Make the men fighting the zombies competent but not superhuman. The "good guys" shoot with accuracy and don't waste ammo. They also don't just stand still and let the zombies eat them - they fight like their lives depend on it! When they do die the soldiers/mercs die because even though they fought well they were simply over run by superior numbers not because of total complete incompetence which is the standard for 99% of zombie flicks.

Most movies like this have some sort of special forces or organized shock troops that go into battle against the zombies and then just slowly take random unaimed volleys into the zombie crowds with little or no effect and then die pointlessly- their entire lives full of training and discipline completely forgotten and unused- VERY unrealistic. This movie doesn't do that- it is the complete 180 degree opposite and makes you like the characters and want them to live! Fun movie for action and sci-fi fans.

After a zombie outbreak in Asia, the mercenary Major Max Gatling (Dolph Lundgren) is hired by a wealthy industrialist that was the responsible for the pandemic to rescue his daughter Jude (Melanie Zanetti) with his team from a city. Max loses his group that is killed by the zombies and stays alone to accomplish his assignment. He finds Jude and learns that there are other survivors; Duke (David Field), Reese (Matt Doran), Elvis (Jen Sung), Lynn (Lydia Look) and Anna (Oda Maria). She refuses to flee alone without the others and Duke and Elvis handcuff Max on a power pole to die. However, when Reese discovers that Jude is pregnant and the city will be firebombed, he rescues Max to save Jude. Then they find a group of robots killing zombies and Max reprograms them to help the survivors to escape. Will the group succeed to escape?

"Battle of the Damned" is a laughable movie with Dolph Lundgren in the lead role. The idea of zombies and robots is original but the execution is very poor: terrible screenplay and dialogs are terrible; and the camera work in the mayhem of zombies is awful. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Zumbis e Robôs" ("Zombies and Robots")