Faithful to the original classic, but there's no need to bring 28 Days Later into this.

Rating: 7/10 (24 February 2008)

George A. Romero's "Dawn of the Dead" back in 1978 was a masterpiece in horror cinema that not only did I say it is the best horror movie of it's kind, but I ranked it on my top ten list of best films of all time.
Just like many movie studios, everybody wants to remake classic films to give them a little edge. Some of them worked from Martin Scorsese's Cape Fear (1991) to Peter Jackson's King Kong (2005) where it was about different points of view and trying so hard to be faithful to their counterparts. Other remakes never fulfilled like Gus Van Sant's Psycho (1998) where it felt like I was watching the film but in color with goofier content.
Here in the remake of DOTD, Zack Synder, who would later direct 300, paces up to speed where after watching 28 Days Later...(2002), he wants his zombies in America to run faster compared to the slow and smart zombies in Romero's movies. The film starts with Ana (Sarah Polley) coming home from the late shift at a hospital where she falls to bed with her husband before seeing a little girl filled with blood in her mouth approaching the married couple where Ana's husband is attacked and turned into a wild and venomous monster within seconds and after her flesh. She flees her home and sees hell breaking out from car crashes, people begging to be safe from the creatures; some are even being devoured by the cannibals in front of her eyes. She meets up with survivors Kenneth (Ving Rhames), a cop with a shotgun; Andre (Mekhi Phifer) a thug who has his Russian pregnant wife; and then there's Michael (Jake Weber) a TV salesman. The five of them head for the mall where they noticed that they're not alone with three security guards and other people getting involved where they witness that an epidemic has hit the scale with people turning into these creatures. The mall is filled with ravenous zombies but not before they make their hideout their sweat haven.
The film also makes references to the original masterpiece where the stores are named after actors from the 1978 movie to even cameo appearances from Ken Foree, Tom Savini and Scott Reinger.
I liked the film. It was a little edgier and much, much more violent and graphic than the original. But somehow there wasn't much to think about when watching this movie except waiting to see who would die next.
Bigger does not mean better in a remake.