Rating: 
Summary: Apocalypse Revisited - The new Dawn of the Dead
Review: Remakes of modern classics are inevitable, so this new version of George A. Romero's apocalyptic masterpiece "Dawn of the Dead" was about due, more than 25 years after the original was released. What surprised me is how much I enjoyed this remake, in the same way I enjoyed Tom Savini's underrated 1990 remake of "Night of the Living Dead", as an updated version that serves more as a tribute rather than a derivative knockoff. This remake only resembles the original in setting and premise. The zombie pandemic sweeps over civilization overnight, causing widespread chaos from which few have survived. Seven survivors find each other and set up camp in a deserted shopping mall, which is convenient and protected. The survivors are a solid mix: A young sympathetic nurse (Sarah Polley), a grizzled cop (Ving Rhames), a level-headed Joe Everyman (Jake Weber), a young black professional (Mekhi Phifer), his pregnant Russian bride (Inna Korobkina, who has about two lines in the entire movie), and three loud mouthed security guards who cause the required tension. Unlike in the original, the mall itself is merely a setting, a place for survival. There are no satirical stabs at mindless consumerism that the original had, this is strictly a horror movie with a couple choice moments of humor thrown in. Don't expect to see zombies trying on hats or playing in the fountains. Which brings us to the main attraction - the zombies. "Dawn of the Dead" will inevitably draw comparisons to "28 Days Later" for the fact that these zombies are a far cry from the slow, lurching zombies of George Romero's movies. These zombies will run up to you and rip you to pieces before you can look twice. They have no interest in the mall itself, just the people within. They only have one purpose - human flesh, and they are ravenous for it! The big kudos goes to the makeup effects people, who did a wonderful job making these zombies as nasty as possible. Aside from that, this new version has it's share of dramatic moments. Like the original, people bitten by the zombies invariably become zombies themselves, so the survivors have to make tough decisions when one of their own is bitten. The one element that is downplayed slightly is the apocalyptic subtext, where they could conceivably be the only people left in the world. The emotion associated with that kind of reality is not really expressed here. Instead, the filmmakers have focused on the character tension, the death scenes, and those wonderful fright gags that make up jump 10 inches off your chair. Be ready for them. It would be too obvious to say that this remake is not as good as the original, because you simply cannot top a masterpiece, but the remake exceeded all my expectations. The style of filming, the acting (which is for the most part pretty good), and the Romero homages (which any fan will easily spot) make this a fun ride for horror fans, as well as a good introduction for people new to the genre. This will be a welcome addition to my horror collection when it comes out on DVD.
Rating:
Summary: The dead walk
Review: So, it's the end of the world, zombies have eaten everyone, what do you do? Go to the mall! That's where the survivors of the apocalypse are heading. The survivors are led by Sarah Polley, Ving Rhams, and Mekhi Phifer. This movie is enevidably going to be compared to the original 1979 Goerge Romero classic (though I didn't care for it much myself). That isn't fair. This movie should and dose stand on it's own two feet. Like the remake of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", 2004's "Dawn" is more an action movie than actually horror minded. But that's alright. But for a zombie movie, there are more bullets flying than arms bitten off. That is bad. There are many scenes that are very well constructed. The part of the where Ving Rhams is communicating with a man at the store on the other side of the road. It is sort of like an e-mail pen pal. The other great scene is where Phifer's son is born, that was a genuine horror momment in honor of Remero. The end was a little silly, kind of like a throw back to the "A-Team". I must say, do not leave as soon as the credits start rolling, there is more during the credits. Ving Rhams is pretty good as the police sergeant, just not up to his usual snuff. Sarah Polley is alright, but not the strong leader the group needs. Jake Weber's Michael is that strong leader who has to make the tough choices of who lives and who dies. He is far and away my favorite character. All you die hard "Dawn" fans, give this one a chance. It isn't perfect, but it is really good.
Rating:
Summary: A New Dawn
Review: The bare-bones of George Romero's original script for his 1978 'Dawn' remains somewhat visible in this glitzy remake, but the undertow of anti-capitalism and cynicism doesn't make it through. Unlike in the original, in this remake the zombies pose the true threat rather than the humans. They can run (like their '28 Days Later' counterparts) and they growl like panthers (like their... well... why do they sound like panthers again?). The shock value of zombies everywhere preying upon humanity proves fun and fast paced, but unlike Romero's films, remains mostly 'brain'-free. A zombie film for today's modern zombie movie-goer, perhaps.
Some noteworthy moments include a wonderful framing credit sequence, in which the hopeless ending of the original is expanded upon... rather hopelessly, and some really cool arsenal buses (made in a few hours) that will probably star in the next Mad Max film: "The Passion of the Max'. Other noteworthy moments do NOT include Mekhi Phifer's unconvincing relationship with a pregnant Russian woman and his love for their not-so-stillborn child. Regardless, the zombie genre has a much better film to add to its oeuvre with this one than it has in the past several years.
Rating:
Summary: A remake that actually bothers to add its own flavour
Review: The last remake of a classic horror film that i saw was the remake of Hitchcock's Psycho, and after that terrible, piece of garbage scene-for-scene remake, i was afraid of just how bad Snyder's Dawn of the Dead might be. But to my surprise, this film was competent in just about every area, and best of all it added its own flavour. This time around, the zombies are faster and Snyder removes the absurdist feel of Romero's original, along with all the humorous metaphors regarding capitalism. Snyder is a great director in this film-he makes it compelling, adds his own humorous touches and the cast are all above average. If I had one criticism of the film, it is perhaps of the end credits, where the film goes a little overboard, adding a rather grusome and silly epilogue to the story, told in almost subliminal flashes.
Rating: 
Summary: The Best Zombie Horror movie I have ever seen.
Review: This movie is about a town that becomes infested with zombies. It is never specified in the movie how it happened or what caused it. A group of survivors imprison themselves in the local mall, as it seems to be the safest spot. People come and go on the way. This is the first zombie movie I have seen in a long time that is more horror than it is action. If you are a horror fan, you will enjoy this movie very much.
A 5...out of 5
Rating:
Summary: Solid zombie genre movie
Review: This movie will get your attention. More gotchas than you could ask for and a truly believable armageddon settings and theme. Having watched the original Dawn of the Dead I thought I knew what to expect in this movie. However, other than the fact that there are zombies and the character are hiding out in a shopping mall, there are no other similarities to the original. Another major difference is that the zombies aren't slow lumbering corpses, they are fast, very fast (IE 28 Days Later).
Naturally just like any zombie movie and especially any George Romero themed one this movie has an adundance of gore. Those with squemish constitutions need not apply. The special effects in the movie are solid, the plot is fairly straightforward and all of the characters are well rounded. Of course just as with any horror movie and especially any zombie movie the characters have their moments where you wonder what the hell they were thinking, but this doesn't happen often enough that it annoys the viewer.
Just as with any George Romero type movie the focus isn't neccessarily the zombies and killing, it is the character development. Unlike the Romero classics this movie does up the action a bit more and cut back a little bit on the character focus. Some might argue that this is a travesty, but I think that the new balance was very well managed and fitting for today's audiences. Don't get me wrong, I loved the originals for the excessive amount of time spent on getting to know the characters, but this movie proves that there can be some successful middle ground. Don't be mistaken though, this movie wouldn't be as good as it is if they hadn't taken at least some time to focus on the characters.
In conclusion, this is a great zombie movie which took some intelligent notes from the formula of 28 Days Later and the George Romero classics. There is good character development. Plenty of shocking imagery and character interaction to please just about any crowd. The critics love it, the fans love it and you'll love it. Best zombie flick since 28 Days Later.
Rating: 
Summary: This "Dawn" Seems Like Yester"Days"
Review: This remake to the George Romero 1978 follow up of "Night of the Living Dead" is decent a horrorfest, but, seems to stroll down familiar territory old, as well as, new. With the night of the living dead fading in the new morning light, a nurse awakens in her home, and experienes the dawn of the dead as she fends off her husband and daughter, after both have changed unexplainablly into blood thirsty, flesh eating, monsters. It seems that overnight a virus has been unleashed in the small Milwaukee town where the nurse lives and basically its every man, woman, and child for themselves, turning the average citizen into a flesh eating killer (once bitten by another zombie,that is). The nurse hooks up with a cop, and a small gaggle of survivors and decide to wait it out in the town mall until, hopefully, help arrives (but, don't hold your breath, though, this is a zombie movie). The film is a bit disturbing (there are images of families killing one another, a school bus full of kids eating each other, suburban chaos, etc.). These zombies aren't accustomed to do the "Curly Shuffle" as traditionally in Romero's "Dead" films. These zombies haul serious ass! The makeup is disturbing, with graying skin, and icy glazed eyes. The SFX are updated and tight. Especially, when the survivors make a break from there mall prison (makes you feel sorry for Custer when he had his last stand!). The film does have some faults. The film isn't groundbreaking or, for me, personally, scary. "Universal Pictures" and "USA Cable Network" preveiwed the first ten minutes of "Dawn of the Dead" the Monday before its release in theatres, on "USA". It killed the opening of the film for me (the most suspenseful scene of the movie was in its opening moments and it was ruined for me, because I watched it before hand, and on T.V. no less, dimininshing the shock value). The film is to reminiscent of "28 Days Later" (the sprinting zombies are a bit more frightening here, but, don't underestimate the monsters in "Dawn", either). It makes me wonder if "Universal" didn't green light this film, in hopes of riding on "Days" coattails. "28 Days Later is a British film that was released in the fall of 2002 with a, surprisingly, auspicious American debut in June of 2003. Usually, American studios don't sit well with a foreign blockbuster that does big box-office in the states and spawns a serious cult following (case in point "Le Femme Nikita"). All in all, "Dawn of the Dead" is like a trip to "McDonalds". You know what your going to get even before the first reel of the film reflects off the screen. Fast food film at it's finest.
Rating:
Summary: Worthy Remake, Okay Extras
Review: To start this off, I'm an incredibly huge fan of GR,s original, and yes, like most fans of the original, I was weary of a remake. Luckily it doesn't disappoint. Yeah it's different, but that's what makes it good. If I wanted to watch the same movie again, I would've stuck with the original. I'd rather watch something fresh and new, with only the premise of the original. Dawn of the Dead delivers that. The social commentary of the original doesn't have the same impact today, and the writer wisely moved away from that. Instead the focus is on the action, characters and creepy factor. The movie serves up laughs, biting sarcasm and some great zombie killing, which any fan of zombie films would rejoice in. Yeah the zombies run instead of walk, but that's just a differnt kind of scare from GR's excellent zombie trilogy. The only reason I didn't give this movie a five star rating is because of the DVD extras. The splitting headaches and attack of the living dead documentaries are great, but the two mini-movies that continue the story from the film are two of the worst DVD extras every featured. They're horribly written, horribly acted and during both I found myself laughing and cringing, wondering why I was even wasting my time. Worthy remake, okay extras.
Rating:
Summary: JUST SAW IT!!! IT WAS INCREDIBLE!!!!!!
Review: To start, I am a huge fan of the original DOTD and I can not stomache today's lack or originality and quality in movies, television and films. At the same time, I'm not a snobbish film geek or crazed horror purist either. I was looking forward to this movie and not only was I NOT disappointed, but I LOVED every moment of it. It was from start to finish INCREDIBLE! I can't remember the last time I saw a well-written movie with even remotely decent acting (House of The Dead, for example,) and with what happened with the total piece of s#@t they dared called The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I was, like all of you, very worried with what would happen here. Apparently, if a movie today isn't written and directed for the SOLE PURPOSE of winning the entire cast and crew a meaningless little trophey at a God-awful awards ceremony, it cannot take a second to allow an actor a subtle momentary pause to reflect on what is happening around them. Some people think that being that passionate about a movie, especially a zombie movie (Snicker! Snicker!) is weird, and yeah, it is a little. But we have seen the results of what happens when creative people are pushed aside for "Career-Entertainers" who came into any aspect of this industry because they couldn't keep a job at Burger King and their high school counselor put in their head that "You can be anything you want to be." Sorry, but at some point in history, talent WAS a factor. The fact that "Survivor" is and ever was a hit TV series, Avril Lavene has a record contract and Hilary Duff has a film career is what makes this new "Dawn" a breathe of fresh air. MAYBE..... and that's a big maybe, there is hope left. And the new "Dawn" definately follows in the footsteps of the original in the fact that it recognizes and voices many of today's social commentaries. Gun-weilding mall cops? Brilliant. Whether the messages are obvious or not, this movie is as honest and real a look at what we've become and where we could be headed as anything I've ever seen. I really hope George likes it. What I also like is the subtle differences between the youngest characters, the 20-30ish characters, and the older characters. Their innocence, self-righteousness and wisdom, respectively, and the tension between them, are what drives this movie. And again, it's what gives you a glint of hope that MAYBE the next generation coming up will have more to offer than mine (I'm 27) ever had. However, there was a trailer for something called "The Mean Girls" starring one of those Hillary Duff people before the movie began. So that, too, is a big maybe. As far as the "Old Coke" vs. "New Coke" argument? There isn't one. This story stands on it's own and in no way takes away from the original's impact. Alot of fan's shuddered at the thought of James Gunn penning this movie; apparently no one liked Scooby Doo (and you can burn in hell on that count). But I thought he did an excellent job and wrote a damn fine story. As a matter of fact, I would really be surprised if George Romero isn't delighted with this movie in the fact that some of the ideas we've heard him mention for his ORIGINAL vision of the Dead series come to life here. I don't see a competition, and neither should you. The new "Dawn", to me, can stand proudley next to the original without stepping on it's toes. The stories, as well, could have easily have taken place in the same time frame. (Well, aside from some of the OBVIOUS differences- the clothes, hair styles and "What is it?" "One of those new indoor malls.") The cameo appearances by Tom Savini, Ken Foree, and Scott Reiniger put a smile on my face and showed the RESPECT the producer's obviously have for the original. OH yeah!!!!, the soundtrack was PERFECT. You'll seen what I mean. I think what put the biggest smile on my face wasn't a scene in the actual movie, however. At the end of the film you are tricked a little and there is some fun stuff during the credits. By that time most of the audience had crambled for the doors, eerily reminiscent of the scenes we had just witnessed, when they all just stopped dead to see what was happening. I was still in my seat. Well, there were a few pretty cool "money shots" shown, and these two 16 year old Barbie-twin twits standing in the aisle go, "This movie was like, terrible. It was so.... ewww, just...yucky. Who wrote this? (air-headed laughter). They must have been, like, snorting crack or something." Those two girls will have never paid a higher compliment.
Rating: 
Summary: zero stars
Review: worst movie ever if your going to buy this dont get it . get 28 days later the guy who made this film is an dumb ass dogs can turn into zombies look at resident evil even if this is a remake it sux i was hopeing it would be like the arcade game were its scary and the guy who loved his wife and she was a zombie and she was about to have a kid was the dumbest idea this movie sucked dont get it
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