Great movie!!

Rating: 8/10 (22 March 2004)

This movie was almost as good as the first one which is a complement since the first film is a classic. There are many movie remakes these days which try to show an updated version and usually ends up being very "cheesey". While there are a few things I would have not done with this film it is VERY entertaining. While the main idea of the movie is here and has many parallels to the original there are many differences as well.
Some of the similarities are the zombies of course, once you get bitten you turn into one. Shoot them in the head and they die. The few survivors take refuge in a mall.
The differences are the speed of the zombies. The origional had them walk slowly towards you which, in my opinion, makes it more suspenseful and makes the zombies look more ... well dead I guess you can say. The fast moving zombies in this version is exciting as well but just gives it a very different feel. More of an adrenaline rush then a scared feeling. There is no biker gang in this one which was a really nice touch in the first. And in this movie seemed more of a stand-alone film while the original was obviously a sequel where everyone knew about the zombies from the beginning, again in my opinion was a little better since we already know what the zombie problem is about.
Some of the things I found to be kind of stupid in this movie (and there are only a few) is when ***SPOILER ALERT*** Nicole (the young girl in the movie) went out in a truck to save the dog. And she actually made it. Give me a break... If it was that easy to get food to the guy in the other building they should have done so earlier... Another thing is the way they hooked up the trucks... reminded me too much of the old show the A-Team... and why did they put bobwire on the tops of the trucks... they are zombies who do not feel pain. Why put them on there. Also there were many zombies in the parking garage where the trucks were? And lastly... I wish we got to know the characters better... they all seemed a little flat.... and they should have shown Mekhi's character going a little nuts to explain better why he acted the way he did..... other then these few things I thought this move was perfect...
Hopefully this helps some. I think everyone who loves horror, action and black humor would enjoy this film. Hopefully this movie will pave the way for more zombie movies and may have George Romero make a fourth installment to his living dead movies.