|
Directed by: Zack Snyder Starring: Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Jake Weber Much like the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, when I first heard they were remaking Romero's Dawn of the Dead, I rolled my eyes. Though unlike TCM, I was never a huge fan of the original Dawn. But despite my feelings for the original, I knew that horror remakes rarely work, so I was less than excited. In fact the only ones I can think of that have been anywhere close to the originals are The Thing, The Fly, and The Ring. But surprisingly, Dawn of the Dead can be added to that list. It was fantastic. The movie succeeded where so many horror movies fail. The acting was decent, the characters weren't total idiots (though I doubt any of them were members of MENSA), and the plot kept me guessing. While it may have been fairly obvious which characters would live and which would die, the ultimate fate of the heroes could have gone either way. And I must say, the ending was a breath of fresh air. But what made the movie so great for me was the pure fun I had watching it. Sometimes I will watch a movie and then analyze its strengths and weaknesses for the next few hours/days to decide if I ultimately liked it or not, but then there are movies like Dawn of the Dead where my opinion is clear in my mind from the moment the credits roll. If a movie is entertaining enough, nothing else really matters. This is the case with Dawn. I had a blast, and when it comes to campy zombie movies, that's all that matters. Few horror remakes are good enough to come out from the shadow of their predecessor and stand on their own merits, but Dawn of the Dead 2004 is one of them. It was gory, intense, funny, and it had zombies being cut up by a chainsaw. What else could you want? 4.5 PROS: Fun, gory and intense. It did its own thing and didn't simply try to repeat what made the original good. CONS: Not enough chainsaw ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0363547/
|
#
?
May 3, 2004 23:13
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 13:14 |
|
|
Agreed. The movie was a blast. Very entertaining, always held the viewer's interest and over all was an extremely fun movie. One thing I really enjoyed was the choice of music for the soundtrack. From Johnny Cash during the opening credits (a brillant touch) to 'Down with the Sickness' at the end. (Like or love it, the song fit the movie perfectly) I can't wait till this comes out on DVD.
|
|
#
?
May 3, 2004 23:16
|
|
|
I enjoyed this movie as well. It was a pleasant surprise, considering that I naturally assumed it would suck. I wish the movie was more like the beginning though, I'm a big fan of the "largest scenes of chaos and apocolypse" cinematography.
|
|
#
?
May 3, 2004 23:18
|
|
|
It's very true to the original Romero formula, but it's updated in a very stylish way. One of my favorite movies of the year so far. The ending was perfect I thought.
|
|
#
?
May 3, 2004 23:18
|
|
|
I thought it was paced better than the original, though I wish it had spent a little more time showing the decline before the characters got to the mall. The scene with the girl going after the dog was somewhat groan inducing, but the circumstances around her character kept it from being quite as lovely and forced as that sort of scene usually is. I'd say it delivered on it's premise better than 28 Days Later, at least.
|
|
#
?
May 3, 2004 23:21
|
|
|
Easily one of the best horror movies that I have seen this year. It was much faster paced than most Zombie movies, literally, because these zombies defy "normal" zombie physiology. But the kickass music more than made up for that. I would strongly recommend it to all horror fans. 4.5/5
|
|
#
?
May 3, 2004 23:30
|
|
|
Extremely entertaining for a horror film, which is more than I could ask for in the current state of mainstream horror. Besides, it gets a 4 automatically for the intro sequence. *drools* 4/5
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2004 00:11
|
|
|
a remarkably well done remake of a classic. the only real weaknesses are that it abandons Romero's commentary and it has a couple too many support characters we don't end up caring about. apart from that, a really loving good zombie film. 4.5/5.
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2004 00:27
|
|
|
I went into this movie with below average expectations, but it was both exciting and cool. The concept alone is just awesome.
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2004 00:40
|
|
|
I felt that flesh eating track runners weren't exactly true to the original. But for what is it worth, an above average movie.
WorkinClassZero fucked around with this message at 01:09 on May 4, 2004 |
|
#
?
May 4, 2004 01:06
|
|
|
I held off from seeing this movie because I heard negative things from a lot of people, and the fact that I usually hate horror movies. I wound up liking it a lot. 4.5/5
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2004 01:32
|
|
|
This movie should have been titled something other than Dawn Of The Dead, it's a hell of a lot more fun than Romero's originals. Fast zombies, lots of gore and an annoying yuppie getting his wife naked. The best movie of a craptacular year so far. Five.
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2004 02:14
|
|
|
I think this film stands on its own without reference to the 1970's classic. Really you cannot comvey social messages over time periods without somehow loving it up. I'm glad they didn't keep it the same and I dont know why anybody would say otherwise.
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2004 02:17
|
|
|
I thought it was very good. I saw it as nothing more than an action movie, as there were obviously many plot holes. If I were to choose one reason why I didn't like it, it would be the Chainsaw scene. I saw it coming from a mile away (when he first showed the chainsaw, I thought "man, that's going to backfire"), but I had no idea it would be so gruesome... I'm not used to too much gore in movies, so it almost made me throw up  Voted 4/5
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2004 02:40
|
|
|
4/5 It was a good movie. Enjoyable, fun to watch, but not terribly deep and didn't really accomplish anything or tell a story. It was just a good zombie movie. A must-see if you like zombies, though.
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2004 19:57
|
|
|
It should also be noted that the screenplay was written by James Gunn, whose first screenplay was Tromeo and Juliet.
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2004 20:56
|
|
|
This movie kicked my rear end from the first part with her husband becoming a zombie and her fleeing outside to total carnage and as it progressed and they defended the mall and the character depth was looked at for the characters they knew people would care about, and then each character had their hardships before the [spoiler]escape from the mall[/escape]. It was very well done. It had it's share of mad-cap humour (the target practice, the role reversal with the mall security) to spine-tingling terror (the part where they sent buddy some food) to classic zombie gore (the trucks, the sewers, the exploding gas tanks) and then amazing cinematography was added (the end, the "TV footage" parts, the beginning when main charactr leaves her house). I thought it was just really well done, and a LOT of thought went into not only remaking it, but remaking it in a way different than other remakes, in a way that stays true to the original while also becoming a modern horror movie. 4.5 for this (so far) movie of the year.
|
|
#
?
May 5, 2004 02:33
|
|
|
i, like many, was very apprehensive about a movie that i thought would suck, as it wasn't even as Romero-affiliated as the Night remake. but despite the fact that fast zombies are overrated (and will probably be overused in a year or two), this remake was actually pretty drat good. there was nothing i could really bitch about, and it managed to have some quality creepy zombie moments. plus, it had a dog. all movies get extra points with me when they have a dog. 4.5.
|
|
#
?
May 5, 2004 06:55
|
|
|
I'm annoyed by the fact that Hollywood always has to make two of everything. Inevitably the less fantastic of the two would be good if they didn't have the other one to live up to. Sixth Sense vs. Stir of Echoes. Armageddon vs. Deep Impact. 28 Days Later vs. Dawn of the Dead. I would have enjoyed this movie more if 28 Days Later hadn't been a little bit better. I've never seen the original, so this could mean that my gripes are the fault of the original movie makers, not the re-makers. The stereotypical array of characters had me rolling my eyes through the entire film. There's the dumb girl who won't go on without her poor little doggie, there's the rear end in a top hat skeptic, there's the girl who refuses to listen to reason and would rather get eaten alive by zombies than kill someone who is clearly infected, there's the pregnant couple who had everything to live for, and of course, what would a movie be without a power-weilding security guard flanked by his two bumbling assistants. My favorite character was the guy across the street at the gun shop, because he's the only one who didn't consistently make an rear end out of himself. I'm also annoyed that the characters are so SO stupid. If your only escape is a vehicle, DRIVE IT CAREFULLY. Slow down on turns, for crying out loud.
|
|
#
?
May 5, 2004 21:00
|
|
|
Dawn of the Dead thankfully doesn't try to explain why things are happening, which can often drag a movie like this down. There's no scientist character researching the zombies, or some bullshit explaination, which is a welcome change from action/horror movies that try to be too smart. My favorite parts about movies like these are the large-scale disaster scenes, like where there's a parking lot full of zombies and an entire city over-run. I wish Dawn of the Dead had spent a little more time showing stuff from all over the world, and giving us a sense of just how widespread the damage is. A quick news report saying "the entire east coast is under zombie rule" or something would've been really cool. It would've been nice if they spent a little more time prior to getting to the mall... sort of a 28 Days Later portion of the movie where the individual characters wander around a burned city. Anyways, it has anything you could ask of a zombie flick, but expect a few lulls in the action for some minor character development and drama. It's never long until the action starts up again, though. The unrated version is deliciously gorey, there's quite a few shots that will make you cringe. This movie is definitely better than 28 Days Later, which undid all the coolness of its first half with its crappy 2nd portion. Though there's definitely some cool stuff in the first half of 28 Days Later, Dawn of the Dead manages to stay good for the entire time it's on the screen, and 28 Days Later lost its appeal very quickly for me. The characters fall into all the usual traps of a horror movie, but how good would a zombie movie be if people weren't getting seperated, leaving their post, and doing other stupid stuff? I didn't find the characters in DOTD to be all that ridiculously stupid, in fact I could probably say for most of the movie: "That's what I would've done". I'd also second pony nugget deux's comment about there being a few too many supporting characters... the majority of whom all join the movie at the same time. They could easily lose 2-3 and not impact the movie all that much, since we have no real connection to them (or knowledge of their personalities) when most of them die. 4.5 Bloated Pussy fucked around with this message at 05:40 on Aug 8, 2004 |
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2004 05:31
|
|
|
I'm a big fan of the zombie-horror genre and Romero in particular. In my opinion, many lesser zombie-flics are too heavy on the comedy, and generally don't get the suspension of disbelief right, which makes them not scary enough. This movie, however, hits a home-run in almost every department. Not much character development, but enough, and you can't really expect a lot of that. Action sequences very well done. Scary parts were genuinely scary. Loved the make-up. Some comic relief sprinkled here and there, but most of all, 100% pure entertainment throughout the movie. A worthy tribute to the original dawn. Nice to see the genre hasn't turned into the living dead, and is alive and kicking some serious rear end  . Voted 5.5 At the beginning I was annoyed for a while that they would put a pregnant woman in it. After 5 minutes it hit me though: "Hey what if she... Holy poo poo!" I cackled with glee when my prediction came true One thing that I don't understand though is that they showed the cop getting nicked on his arm, and then get dunked in the water with a bleeding zombie. I was expecting that he'd become a zombie because of that. After all, why show it if it was inconsequential? Another thing that didn't register was their sudden ability to radio the guy from across the parking lot, after spending days signaling with hand-drawn signs.
|
|
#
?
Aug 8, 2004 23:07
|
|
|
Cool and fun movie but there's certain parts where it just makes you want to scream at the characters for being so stupid in their planning etc. To the above poster, I think the reason they showed the cop falling into the water with the cut on his arm was to show that the 'virus' could only be contracted by a bite. I assume. Oh and the stuff shown in the credits was questionable as to whether it should have put in. I mean, the surviving characters go through all this poo poo to get away from the mall etc and escape by boat, only to be mauled by a barrage of zombies as soon as they touch land.
|
|
#
?
Aug 9, 2004 13:26
|
|
|
Before this was released I said I would see the first ten minutes of it and if it didn't capture the same feeling of panic and chaos as the original, I would leave and get my money back. It turns out I didn't need to, both because they showed the first ten minutes on television in a special advertisement and it was the cinematic equivalent of Mongolians smashing your bedroom door to wake you with a kick to the balls. Very fast, very gory, and very good. I loved the choice of music in the movie, from Johnny Cash's "When the Man Comes Around" in the opening credits to "Down with the Sickness" on the closing credits (perfect symmetry to Richard Cheese's lounge cover in the middle of the film). 4.5/5 quote:Captain Corny came out of the closet to say:
|
|
#
?
Aug 9, 2004 20:13
|
|
|
Enjoyed the movie and it was as good as the original, except with Ray Lewis zombies. Loved Andy's role in the movie as the entertainment as the resident sniper. All in all, 4/5.
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2004 03:05
|
|
|
A surprisingly well-made remake of the original. I was amazed at its ability to juggle numerous balls in the air at once, whether it wanted to portray itself as a gritty and realistic horror film or a Hollywood action movie. My only complaint was the film's tendency to switch between sentimental and gore-fest a bit too quickly, like when the father dies, which is a somber moment, and seconds later happy music is playing and everybody is getting on with their lives. Nonetheless, the fact that a gory Hollywood horror film was able to make me feel any sympathy for the characters is a feat in itself. 5/5
|
|
#
?
Aug 10, 2004 08:16
|
|
|
I went into the theater ready to hate this movie. First time director and written by the guy that "wrote" Scooby Doo? A remake of my favorite movie? It HAS to suck, right? WRONG! I dug the hell out of it. A top- notch zombie action movie that I rate higher than 28 Days Later. Some obvious character development issues, but hey, I'm very forgiving to zombie movies. I give the theatrical release a 4/5 and the uncut version 4.5. I definitely recommend finding the uncut version. It's just a few minutes longer, but the extra bits of gore and characterization do help.
|
|
#
?
Aug 11, 2004 19:28
|
|
|
Not as great as everyone has been saying, but fun nonetheless. 4/5
|
|
#
?
Aug 12, 2004 06:57
|
|
|
The idea of fast zombies seems a little strange to me, but I quickly got into this movie. The "fat zombie" scene stuck in my head for a couple of days. I like my horror to be memorable. 4/5
|
|
#
?
Aug 12, 2004 08:09
|
|
|
I had no idea there was an original until after I saw it. This was a great movie that was fun as hell. I love the opening scene, but I wish there had been more scenes with the city faling into chaos. It would have been cool to see how the army base was overrun. 4
|
|
#
?
Aug 12, 2004 21:30
|
|
|
I thought it was pretty good. These movies always leave me wondering what will happen to the world. Will the zombies eventually rot away until they can't move anymore? Will mankind ever survive or will it be totally wiped out? The opening scene was pretty cool and chillingly done. I find that random people getting torn apart is scarier than it happening to the main characters. Oh, and the main girl pissed me off when she kept refusing to believe that people who were bitten were already dead and were disgusted by the other's pragmatism.
|
|
#
?
Aug 12, 2004 23:22
|
|
|
This movie was great, and I liked the unrated version even better. I have seen this movie 4 times, and I still dont get one part... Why did the helicopter just go past them in the beginning..and never come back? Also, did anyone notice that the helicopter in the beginning is the same one from the end of the original, and the company on the side of the truck was the same on on the trucks in the original, cool little things I think.
|
|
#
?
Aug 13, 2004 07:48
|
|
|
It's a great movie and turned out to pass all of my expetations. 5/5 quote:PlasticSpoon came out of the closet to say: I always percieved it as being an escort chopper for someone important. Remember in the beginning when those zombies attack the First Lady and those soldiers guarding her
|
|
#
?
Aug 13, 2004 08:45
|
|
|
quote:Erotic Hamster came out of the closet to say: I figured it was just another way of showing that civilization has completely declined into "every man for himself" chopper pilot included I watched this movie again last night, and I really love it. I was a huge fan of the original Dawn of the Dead, and while it still stands on it's own merits as a social commentary, consumerism, etc, I think that as a horror movie the new one blows it away. From the very beginning cinematography with the buildings burning in the distance, accidents happening, it really draws you in and makes you feel what it would be like if this actually happened. Little things like 911 having all circuits busy when Anna tries to call, to the little radio clips when she's flipping stations in the car on the way home add to the movie. The cameos by the original actors were cool, well done and appropriate Peter giving the "No more room in hell" talk. I agree with the above posters that the soundtrack is perfect. Johnny Cash's opening could not have been better, and the lounge version of Down With the Sickness was placed perfectly. It was similar to the original, showing that [/spoiler]even with the tragedy that they have to deal with, like Matt Frewer having to be shot[/spoiler], they have to go on. Only major gripes I have were: When the girl runs across to the gun store. I understand why she did it, she lost her father, brothers, and mother and the dog was 'all she has left'. However, the others understand the risk involved with EVERYTHING they do, I don't think they realistically would have done what should have been a suicide mission. I definitely reccomend the extended version as well: Michael works for Best Buy! Hah I knew I could relate to him somehow..., which has quite a few little additions that don't really change the plot, but expand it. At the end, seeing Michael actually putting the gun to his head made me cry.  I am glad they didn't show the head exploding though.One of my favorite horror movies of all time, can't wait til the DVD comes out. 5/5 - I think the shortcomings are more than made up for by the movies strengths.
|
|
#
?
Aug 13, 2004 18:26
|
|
|
quote:Grimmels came out of the closet to say:
|
|
#
?
Aug 13, 2004 23:00
|
|
|
Awesome movie, just like 24 days later!
|
|
#
?
Aug 14, 2004 00:09
|
|
|
Just watched it today. Truely great film. I'm not a huge Horror fan but I do watch the occasional. It's usually action etc with me, but this really tickled my tastebuds. I especially liked the end, just because it's so different to others I've seen where somehow they end up defeating them or running it out until all the zombies/monsters die. 5/5
|
|
#
?
Aug 14, 2004 00:22
|
|
|
can't wait for the dvd This movie exceeded any expectations I had for it initially. Well done to the Director for not messing this one up. 5/5
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2004 03:55
|
|
|
When I saw it at the movies I was perhaps expecting a little more than what the movie was. I've never seen the original (and wasn't aware there was one before seeing it) so can't relate to it. There were some things that happened in the course of the movie which I did not agree with and became frustrated with the characters apparent supidity like when the girl goes after her dog and they decide to all risk their lives and save the girl. I found the ending to be totally unexpected though, which is always good in a film. I must admit this movie certainly is up there in the horror category. Lots of gore, lots of action.
|
|
#
?
Aug 19, 2004 11:34
|
|
|
One of the best films of the year right up next to its UK zombie companion "Shaun of the Dead." The opening scene was jaw-droppingly well exectued. The Johnny Cash "Man Comes Around" titles were spectacular. I loved every bit about the way this movie stylized itself without ever letting the audience feel safe. For me, the fact that they resisted repeating Romero's same gags on consumerism in such a blatantly cynical and dark movie shows a lot of restraint. They went for gritty intensity and a real sense of flavor. It works almost to the point where you're afraid to keep watching because the world it creates feels a bit too disturbingly real. Not something you see in most films. 5/5
|
|
#
?
Aug 20, 2004 21:54
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 13:14 |
|
|
Wow I'm speechless... 4/5-5/5 reviews for this?? it was loving trash. Horrible acting, characters and no plot apart from: "OMG A ZOMBIE *BANG* OK ITS DEAD LOL lets uhm like do stuff at the mall ok". One very stupid film. '28 Days Later' is much, much better than this. Zero
|
|
#
?
Aug 21, 2004 02:16
|
|