Hyper-violent action movie with zombies

Rating: 5/10 (11 July 2011)

George Romero's '78 classic "Dawn of the Dead" gets a cosmetic facelift in this über-gory remake from newcomer Zack Snyder. I will say this: it's a terrific movie if you've never seen the original. Snyder put together a pretty good zombie movie. But it's clear that he (and screenwriter James Gunn) wanted no part of the satirical humor of the original. Snyder just set out to make a kickass zombie movie, while at the same time upping the ante. And in some respects, he succeeded.
The action this time around takes place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The pandemic (like the original) springs from out of nowhere, taking the country by surprise. A group of survivors bands together and seeks refuge in an abandoned shopping mall while they formulate an escape plan. All the while, zombie hordes gather on the outside of the mall, looking for a way in.
The most noticeable change is in the zombies, themselves. No longer do they shuffle around like geriatrics. Snyder turns it up a notch with running, leaping and screaming. His zombies are indeed much more of a threat (not to mention terrifying). But the makeup here (compared with Romero's original) is on a whole different level. The pallid complexions of 1978 give way to bloody, decaying pieces of meat (nothing like a zombie with half a mouth!).
What's interesting about Snyder's version is that it's almost more action movie than horror. Here, running and gun-play are just as important as blood-spatter and severed limbs. It makes for a lean, mean zombie flick, and in that regard, I think it works. I tend to wonder if the powers-that-be should've just concentrated on upping-the-ante with the zombie movie, but not even associate it with "Dawn of the Dead" (1978), which is why I was ultimately disappointed. It's as if Snyder & Co. made this movie because they found the original "too boring", and felt it needed to be faster, bloodier, etc. Lost in that update is the sense of fun inherent in the original. The remake also eschews the social commentary of the zombies being attracted to a shopping mall (mindless consumers), in favor of the shopping mall just being a place to convene in relative safety. In that respect, it seems rather arbitrary to set the movie in a shopping mall in the first place.
It's clear they used the same title for brand-recognition, but it should've been its own thing; Snyder's throwing down the gauntlet with his own movie, not a remake.
5/10