It just... lacked something?

Rating: 7/10 (4 January 2008)

It's easy to push this film off as a bad version of what we've already seen before, but it really did lack something special... At the same time though, it gave something I wasn't expecting.
I was impressed with the emotional depth of the film, but left cringing at the appalling (and cheesy) CGI. The way the zombies move, act and look is laughable. They are not scary, visually or emotionally. The other disappointment is that nothing really happens throughout. There is only one scene that I thoroughly enjoyed and I think that was a personal thing anyway.
It just isn't what you expect from zombie movie, I guess. But saying that when was it ever marketed as one? It lacked the excitement expected of it and I can't work out what made it a 15. And the majority of the audience, at least at the little cinema in London I work at, seems to feel the same. Older viewers with broader taste seem to enjoy it, but the younger one's are confused.
Will Smith's performance is always good, but I think his partner deserves just as much credit in this movie. You will fall in love with Samantha and be disappointed with her human replacement towards the end of the film.
I think people who don't usually like monster horror films will be pleasantly surprised to see a film with such emotional depth. People keep harping on about the religious undertone and whilst even for an atheist it was touching, there is far more to this film to appreciate on that same level. But if you're expecting an exciting movie, you might be a lit- really disappointed.