DOTD and Zombie Theory (not really a spoiler)

Rating: 9/10 (29 November 2005)

Not really any big or important spoilers in this article...
As a big fan of zombie movies (for some strange reason, I am somewhat senselessly entranced by zombie theory), I would have to say that this is one of the finer zombie films I've ever seen. Although some viewers might call it campy or spoofy even (due to some of the very well-placed comic relief), I believe it was a great effort on the part of Zack Snyder (never heard of Zack Snyder before this movie?--me neither). Some of the DVD extras are a testament to the attention-to-detail that was given to this treatment of the old Romero flick.
Plot: The plot is roughly based on the original Romero film (so I won't elaborate much here), but it has a pretty hard edge (not to mention improved zombie theory). The story follows survivors in a Wisconsin burb (yeah, it's a REAL Wisconsin Death Trip!) that's suddenly ravaged by zombie hordes. Note: If you watch the extra materials, you find that the incident happens on a global scale. Incidentally, the production company seems to be called "Strike", but the first few times I watched the movie, I wondered if the word "Strike" being shown in the opening sequence was significant of the incident(s) being an intentional terrorist "strike". My guess now is not, but I wondered if anyone else thought that.
Characters: The characters are believable (all but the kid in the begging sequence). I mean, who doesn't like a Ving Rhames joint? I think the other relatively unknown actors do a pretty great job, too. Not-to-mention the zombies: The thought that went into creating anatomically correct zombies at various stages of decomposition was apparently immense. I especially liked the Andy character, a personality close to my heart, in a situation like that ;) Interesting features: I was excited to see that this treatment incorporated the 'fast-moving' zombie mobility. 28 Days Later was (to my knowledge) the first realistic movie to theorize that zombies could be more than lumbering sub-human blobs. The idea that your first encounter with a situation like this would give you very little reaction time, is pretty scary to think about (if you allow yourself a little right-brain indulgence to really imagine it). In contrast, I'd have to say slow-moving blobs would be much easier to deal with. Which scenario (slow-movers vs. fast-movers) might be closer to a realistic possibility? You'd have to read my Zombie Theory to find out what I think (coming soon). I enjoyed the placement and appropriateness of both versions of Disturbed's Down With the Sickness.
Negative/detracting features: The girl in the opening scenes (her locomotion and biting 'bit' seemed a little cartoonish. The zombie birthing/baby scene was unnecessarily stupid (reminiscent of a Chucky movie--blech). The head and spinal column still 'alive' in the fishing boat's cooler. I didn't like what happened in the very end scenes (embedded in the credits--you missed it if you left the theater early). The ending before that would have been fine, IMO.
In conclusion, I am a big fan of this production of Romero's Dawn of the Dead. I honestly feel that this film would have been much better received by audiences had it not been a "remake". It would have been going a little further out on a limb, but what went into this film could have produced an extremely good original movie. I guess Zack Snyder (or someone at Strike, etc.) had to make the decision early on to go with a "remake" for the famesake/namesake, or something potentially better (or at least as good) that would be original and not connected to the Romero film. I enjoyed the film in the theater and at home, and it is a thought-provoking inspiration to my Zombie Theory.