An absolute blast for action/comedy/fantasy fans.

Rating: Null/10 (12 July 2003)

*** out of **** (theatrical release)

** 1/2 (director's cut)
Proving you can't keep a good deadite slayer down, Army of Darkness marks the return of Ash in the third film of the highly popular Evil Dead trilogy. Ash (Bruce Campbell) is no longer confined to the isolated cabin in the woods, now that he's been transported to the 14th century (don't ask), apparently somewhere in England. He's seen as an enemy by the local Lord Arthur, but quickly becomes hero and savior to the people when he kills a couple of deadites. Consequently, and in order to return to his time, he's sent on a quest to retrieve the Necronomicon, the Book of the Dead. What should be a simple task results in the creation of the army of darkness, which Ash must battle to keep evil from spreading throughout the land.
Army of Darkness' plot is pure nonsense, sort of a mix of Monty Python and just about every fantasy movie you may have seen. The entire movie's success is based on humor, and it delivers with consistent comic ingenuity. All traces of horror its predecessors had is all but gone here, those expecting to experience terror with their mirth will be sorely disappointed. Army of Darkness is a silly comedy from beginning to end, and it revels in its silliness.
Easily the movie's anchor and probably the only reason I couldn't stop giggling for all 81 minutes is cult fave and comic genius Bruce Campbell. Roles of this kind are perfectly suited for him, and he doesn't disappoint. Whether it's his sharp one-liners, priceless facial reactions, or general good-nature about making a complete fool of himself, Campbell is hilarious as Ash. This is undoubtedly my favorite performance of his, period.
Director Sam Raimi shows off his usual kinetic style, delivering plenty of zooms and swirling camera movements. Most of the action sequences (and there are a LOT of them) are played equally for laughs and thrills, but probably succeed at the former slightly more successfully than the latter. The only movie I can think of that managed to keep its action completely thrilling while consistently mingled with silly physical humor is Stephen Sommers' The Mummy (which obviously gained inspiration from this movie).
As much as I enjoyed Army of Darkness, it's not as if though the movie couldn't have been improved. Some jokes fall flat and the concept of Ash fighting his evil twin hardly lives up to its full potential. While the intentionally cheesy and fun special effects and make-up effects are perfectly suited for the film, I would have preferred more sets. Most of the movie is based around one castle (albeit a very large one), without even a small village surrounding it; kind of gives off that low-budget vibe (though it's easily the most expensive of the Evil Dead series).
The director's cut attaches another fifteen minutes to the movie, most of which neither hampers the movie nor enhances its enjoyment. In fact, I would have welcomed this 96-minute cut if not for the alternate ending, which may be more in tone with the trilogy, but doesn't measure up to the hilarious S-Mart finale of the theatrical cut. As far as comparison with its predecessors, it's different enough in tone to not warrant any comparisons, but what the hell, I'll give one, anyway. Army of Darkness is more consistently enjoyable than Evil Dead 2 (which wasn't scary and only sporadically funny), but not up to par with the original The Evil Dead (which remains one of the most frightening films I've ever seen).