New DAWN will Have it's Day!

Rating: 10/10 (12 March 2004)

DAWN OF THE DEAD (2004) Sarah Polley Ving Rhames Mekhi Phifer Jake Weber Rated R Running Time 100 mins Universal Studios

I recently watched Dawn of the Dead at the world premiere in Los Angeles California. If you don't already know, Dawn of the Dead is a remake of the 1978 George A. Romero Classic of the same name. Well this dawn is more of a Re-Envisioning, than a remake.
This new Dawn of the Dead is more supercharged than the film that inspired it. Award winning Commercial Director Zach Snyder, making his feature Debut here, brings back the Dead in this update of the Romero Classic. The story is not a shot for shot remake, but rather a totally new story using elements from the Original film. James Gunn (Scooby Doo, Tromeo & Juliet) scripted the new Dawn and has endure some harsh criticism from fans of the original film. This update brings a more fierce zombie to the fold....a Relentless killer if you will. Like Romero's Zombies...the new dawn zombies need to feed on Human Flesh. However the difference between Zombies of the original and the new are the zombies characteristics. Romero's were Slow...Zack's are Fast.
SPOILER ALERT
The New Dawn uses the same elements of the original while telling a different story. We have zombies, Survivor's, & a Mall. The story picks up the day before a large Wisconsin Town gets blasted by the zombie plauge which is sweeping the nation. Our main character is Ana (Sarah Polley) a nurse and loving wife whom we see finishing up her day at work so she can get home to her husband for "DATE" night, During Date Night They miss the special news Bulletin on TV explaining how dire the situation is becoming. After a Night of passion with her hubby we find them in bed the next morning. Soon Ana will witness the carnage about to overtake the earth. A neighorhood girl has gotten into the home and attacked Ana's husband as Ana tries to help him she finds out the world is falling apart and when her Husband returns from the dead Ana has to escape. During Ana's Escape we see her neighborhood in ruins, the city she lives in, in total Chaos.
The Film has different characters from diferent social Situations. We have millionaire playboy Steve Markus (TY BURRELL), Stoic police officer Kenneth (Ving Rhames), Street wise Husband and soon to be father Andre (Mekhi Phifer) his wife Luda (Inna Korobkina) Tough as Nails Security guard Cj (Michael Kelley) and Newly Hired Security Guard Terry (Kevin Zegers). Some of the best performances in the film don't come from the Top Billed stars but yet the supporting cast. TY BURRELL's Character Steve markus is a real treat in this film. TY really stole the show. his character is the typical don't lift a finger , but make a comment on everything decision the group makes. You are supposed to hate this guy, but you end up liking him just because of how cynical he is, TY is great addition to the cast.
Michael Kelley who plays CJ, also another great member of the cast, Here is someone your supposed to hate and you do, you really really do. However unlike TY's character Michael comes around towards the end of the film and begins to work with group when it comes time to leave the safe confines of the mall.
Mekhi Phifer, Usually type cast as a street tough thug turns in a great performance as a streetwise husband who is now thinking about Heaven and Hell, and wonders where his place will be at the end of the situation the survivor's are faced with. Mekhi could have really shined...but some poor editing choices more or less neutralized his performance, it didn't hurt it, but it did take way from it.
one of the Performances I was looking forward too was that of VING RHAMES. Ving's character, Kenneth, A police officer who is trying his best to get to the local military base to find his brother was not what I expected. I really enjoy Ving Rhames's work in film...however the feel of someone longing to get to his brother didn't hit me, I didn't feel his pain. It really wasn't a believable performance. Now, Ving's character really shines when introduced to another survivor whom is across the mall parking lot, ANDY, the owner of Andy's gun shop and great marksman finds himself communication back and forth with the mall citizens Via Binoculars and dry erase boards. The exchanges between Andy and Kenneth are some of the best moments in the film. Those scenes really highlight Ving's character.
The Zombies.....Well what can ya say about zombies. One quote would be "yeah they're dead...they're.... all messed up". taken from the screenplay of the original Night of the living Dead. These Zombies are not your normal Slow moving dead things. The New Zombies are Supercharged and come off more like the infected from 28 days later. This new breed of zombie is scary, but they don't have their own characteristics...they are just Zombies whom move really fast. I wish the production would have done the zombies more like Dan O'Bannon's Zombies from the original Return of the living Dead, but they chose the 28 days later style and that is ok...The supercharged zombie is the new zombie monster of the new millenium. In this case...i like the original George A. Romero Zombies...Slow movers.
The camera work and story move fast...some of the story gets lost in the process but hey, this isn't Oscar worthy material anyway. This is supposed to be a Fun Horror/Popcorn Movie and it is, lets just see how it holds up against time.
Although Flawed by Poor Editing...The new Dawn of the Dead is Enjoyable on many levels. This Dawn will have a place in Horror film history.
my Grade B-