Unnecessary use of CGI.

Rating: 3/10 (4 March 2008)

I haven't read the book or seen any of the earlier movies based on it, so I didn't really know what to expect when I first sat down to watch this. The only thing I knew was what had been hinted in the trailers.
The first half of the movie is pretty good. The decaying city is beautifully visualized and it works great as kind of a supporting actor, in a movie that has very few. I'm a huge fan of post apocalyptic sci-fi stories, and because of that I do recommend anyone to watch the first half of this film solely because of the city.
The second half, on the other hand, is what makes this nothing but another ridiculous Hollywood-effect-shitfest.
As soon as the infected "monsters" show up in all their CGI glory, ALL the tension and suspense which has been greatly built up until this point, is immediately flushed down the drain.
WHY did they use CGI to create these creatures??
I can't help to imagine what this movie would have been like if they would have used real actors and makeup instead of these ridiculous computer generated humans. THAT would have been scary. The way they look now is just incredibly stupid and laughable, and it truly makes it difficult to take this film serious.
It's pretty obvious that Hollywood is under the impression that they can't sell a big movie without CGI. This is just stupid!! The way it is used to create the deserted city is exactly how it's supposed to be used. To create things/images that otherwise couldn't be created. But WHY, WHY, WHY would anyone choose to create CGI humans in a world full of actors and makeup artists!!?? Is it because it looks cooler/scarier? Well, it doesn't! It looks stupid!
As far as story goes, I would have wanted/needed at least another hour to feel even slightly satisfied. It feels as if they rushed the story and/or left things out in favor of action and effect shots.
Overall this movie had a lot of potential but sadly blew it big time.