Dawn of the Dead 2004

   Okay, here's the deal, I was one of those people that signed an online petition to not have this movie made.  I felt that George A. Romero has been railroaded for years, and for them to deny him his visions, yet live off of his visions makes me outraged.  I knew it was going to get made anyway, and what I am hoping for, of course, is that it may open up a new genre of fans to his work as well, for as anyone knows, when there is a remake sales and rentals of the original go up.  Needless to say, I read many articles by the filmmaker of the remake and had some hope.  He did genuinely seem a fan of Romero's work, and Richard Rubenstein felt the filmmakers vision warranted his backing ($cha-ching$ Rubenstein).  The commercials did make it look like a pretty good film, so a group of us went.
    I had heard everywhere prior to seeing the film that the first 20 minutes were killer.  And it seemed so from the trailers.  However, I was a little let down by the first 20 minutes.  It was good, but not as good as I had expected.  As with all of my impending reviews, as far as spoilers go I will save them for the bottom of the page, so they may seem out of place when you get to them, but I am sure I am not the only person who hates it when I accidentally read a spoiler.
    First off, my favorite characters/performances were Ving Rhames and Jake Weber.  I feel most of the other characters could have been played by others.  I liked some of the new ideas like Andy on the roof and the family, etc.  Matt Frewer was a welcome surprise, as I did not even expect he was in it.  The cameos by Tom Savini, Scott Reineger and Ken Foree were handled decently, however it seemed they were just sort of rushed on and off as they all appeared within minutes of each.  Also, I would like to know if it is just me or did the opening credits just shoot George Romero's name on and off in under a blink of an eye to anyone else that was watching?  Maybe it was my bias, hmmm.
    The biggest thing I have a problem with is the ridiculous speed of the zombies.  They shoot around like little Flash Gordon's on crack making silly cougar-like noises.  The only time I ever liked fast zombies was Return of the Living Dead, and that is where they belong.  The zombies in this Dawn are so lifted from 28 Days Later, it is hysterical.  I saw some still pictures of the gorgeous effects work on the zombies, and they moved so fast you could barely see them which is such a shame.  I also do not like the idea of the dog.
   What I did like was the general atmosphere, the story, believe it or not, the writing (just may have used some better actors for it), and some genuinely creepy and graphic scenes.  While the fast zombies made for a couple of good tense moment, I would have traded those moments for the slow seemingly harmless zombies of yester-year.  Word to the wise, watch the credits, there is an epilogue!  Spoiler section below bones.

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*SPOILERS*

    "The Zombie Baby"-  I was really wary of this, and thought it would completely ridiculous.  It probably would have had they not shown a very quick shot of it.  I liked the whole idea however, of the man desperate to keep his family intact going so far as to tie up his pregnant and zombie infected wife/girlfriend (not sure) as she is giving birth and keeping the fact hidden from the rest of the survivors.

   "The Dog"- I hated the fact that they threw a dog in this.  I really can't stand to watch animals in horror movies, I don't know why, I always think something is going to happen to them.  Nothing happened in Dawn, but I couldn't stand the scene with them lowering the dog into the pit of zombies to bring food to Andy.  I just refuse to believe that they could not think of another way to get food to him. They are in a mall with sporting goods stores and toy stores; with all those people they could have most definitely gotten something to Andy.  However, for some reason, the single most disturbing and nightmarish image for me that keeps sticking in my mind is the epilogue in the credits when the dog runs off real fast when they reach the island.  I don't know why, it is just such a feeling of dread that came over me, and it seemed so real, and of course the feeling of dread was warranted by the fact that zombies did indeed inhabit the island aplenty.

   "Survivors"-  The second bout of survivors that show up at the mall seemed like a rushed decision to throw a bunch of un-important potential victims into the mix.  There was no real getting to know them at all.  With the exception of Max Headrom's daughter and Steve, I can barely remember their faces.

   "Andy on the Roof"-  Probably one of my more favorite changes, I really loved the fact that they communicated with this guy.  It was inevitable of course that he wouldn't end up making it, because when does that type of character ever make it?

   "Michael's Bite"-  I know it is sad that he was bitten and chose to be left behind, but I really thin it would have been so much cooler if Ana had been the one, and would have been a great shocker in the end.