Now that was fun!

Rating: 10/10 (27 March 2005)

It seems most comments are coming from horror aficionados who have seen the original. I'm not one of them. I have neither the time nor the inclination to watch a movie more than once... Indeed I rarely watch a movie in its entirety unless it is really compelling.
I didn't expect this one would hold my attention longer than a heartbeat. To date, I've seen it three times. It's a fun escape.
At 40 I'm at the tail end of the baby boom. A lot of consumer goods and services are targeted at us boomers; it's a big demographic. This includes movies. As I've gotten older, my tastes have changed - mindless gore no longer cuts it. A lot of idealistic, corny, social commentary makes me roll my cynical eyes dismissively. And blaringly, loud, shock scenes are just annoying.
Dawn of the Dead 2004 seems to have been made for boomers. The vicarious experience was just right. The non-zombie characters could be my friends or co-workers. The story doesn't stretch reality to the point of being silly; you only have to suspend your belief where necessary (vis-a-vis zombies). At the same time, it doesn't attempt to be too serious either. To put it in some perspective, the Die Hard films don't use a supernatural element, but are they really any more probable?
***Potential spoiler ahead*** I enjoy pondering what I would have done differently had I been there. The mall was a good idea though an airport might have been better. I think that Andy would have had a hunting bow and could have shot an arrow trailing a fishing line across to the mall roof. With that they could have passed a rope across allowing weapons, food, and even Andy himself to get over.
Anyway, enough said. See the movie.