good stuff here and there, but could beat the original

Rating: 8/10 (19 April 2004)

I watched it in Vancouver, Canada (it was not open in japan yet, so I took advantage of my biz trip:-).
It is very good to see good horror films coming up last and this year (texas chainsaw, DotD, Undead and other films).
If I do not see this movie as a remake, I consider it a good horror/action movie. Many funny moments, scary scenes and combat scenes (i liked a scene when the street is filled with thousands of zombie). Good character development for main casts (some of sidekicks are not developed well enough).
However, if I see it as a remake, I do not really like it. The remake stole the "shopping mall" concept and hacked it up with chainsaw.
overall - i guess i will purchase DVD for sure. 7/10. *** possible spoiler below ***

(1) zombie should not run! they're scary not because they are berserk, they are scary because they were DEAD and CAME BACK TO LIFE! they are ROTTEN DEAD TISSUE and there's no way they can run fast like that! (2) i don't understand why they chose becoming-a-zombie to be an "infection" - if you die for natural reason (like being shot), you don't become a zombie. maybe the screenplay author watched "28 days later" to study, not the original? (3) if it is an infection, why noone becomes a zombie after washing injured hands/arms in the fountain? water in the fountain should contain lots of viruses (or whatever makes you zombie). i really waited to see people becoming zombie because of the fountain water.