Not a terrible film, but different.

Rating: 8/10 (9 August 2006)

I've been a George A. Romero fan for years now. When I first heard Zack Snyder was remaking Dawn of the Dead back in 2004, I was skeptical but excited. His film disappointed me a bit, but only because I was holding it to the standard George Romero created with his 1978 film. The main thing to remember is: Zack Snyder and George Romero are two different people, and the 1978 and 2004 versions of Dawn of the Dead are two different films.
Basically the premise is the same. In fleeing from the zombie-creating plague, a group of people takes refuge in a shopping center.
For me, personally, the worst thing about the entire film was the character development -- or lack thereof. In Romero's version, there were four main characters: Peter, Fran, Stephen, and Roger. With a low amount of characters, it's easy for a viewer to relate to them, to learn along with them.
In Snyder's version, there are over a dozen: Ana, Michael, Kenneth, Andre, Luda, CJ, Terry, Bart, Norma, Tucker, Frank, Nicole, Monica, Steve, Glen, and Andy. With such a large number of characters, it becomes more difficult for the filmmaker to give any of them significant depth. No one in the movie has any sort of revealed "past", except for Ana's, whose past is limited to the first 20 minutes of the film, and Michael, whose past is limited to the few statements he makes in one scene about being a great father and terrible husband.
For all it's worth, the greatest showing of any kind of human bonding was between Kenneth and the owner of the gun store across the street, Andy. The director's cut includes a bonus feature which details Andy's last few days -- This lent a comparatively large amount of depth to his character -- But only when compared to the small amount of development the others received.
The film DID hold something for fans of zombie flicks -- The zombies. They look better now, owing to the differences in special effects between 1978 and 2004. None of the zombies holds any real significance, however, except for Luda when she turns. Romero's zombies were always more pitied, more sad -- Stuck in that miserable existence. They were still only "motorized instinct", but they seemed to have more depth. Maybe it's just me, but depth means a lot to me in a movie, and especially a remake of one of my favorites.
Snyder's Dawn is worth watching for fans of zombie films, but don't expect George Romero, because that's not what you get with Snyder.