Dawn of the Dead awakening is a hit

Rating: 8/10 (26 August 2013)

Remakes are becoming a bit of trend these days but very few manage to live up to the original. This is one of those few exceptions as Zack Snyder manages to stay faithful to the original while putting a few of his own ideas into the mix.
When Fort Pastor, Milwaukee is hit with a vast spreading virus the majority of the population are converted into zombies. A group of survivors are forced to take refuge in a shopping mall.
The film is let down by providing us with too many characters but some merely make up the numbers and don't get much screen time. A stand out performance comes from Ving Rhames who plays Kenneth, a cop mad with authority but has a good heart and Sarah Polley who plays Ana, a nurse whose a tough women under the circumstances. Snyder makes you really care about these characters, including a dog called chips.
Just to up the game a bit Snyder's zombies can run. It makes you wonder how this move might affect the way zombies are portrayed in the future. There is much gore but it is not used to often and relies on the story as much as the action. The suspense is just as thrilling as some of the attacks.
Snyder's Dawn of he Dead can sit along side the original without shame and has the potential to be the start of a franchise.