*the* most inconsistent movie ever made

Rating: 7/10 (27 September 2004)

OK - first off, American here, though I LOVE British humor.
Shaun of the Dead has to be THE most inconsistent move I've ever seen. Its low points were so low, and so bad, that I actually mulled getting up and walking out of the theater, something I've never done, or even felt during a movie before. Its high points, however, were so funny, that they rank among the top ten of the funniest scenes/lines I've EVER seen in a movie.
HUH?!
Without giving anything away, I can say that Shaun of the Dead starts slowly. PAINFULLY slowly, as if nobody would notice if they didn't really have an intro. The filler scenes which depict the theme of the movie were WAY too forced, as if the director and writer were making the movie for cretins. And then - the zombies start coming out, and there are some of the best scenes I've ever seen (in terms of humor, NOT horror) in a movie.
Then... it died. And died horribly. The movie, throughout its length, is part real zombie film, part spoof, part comedy, part British-situational/occupational-comedy, and the problem is that the parts not only didn't mesh, but as single units, they were awful. There were attempted jokes, most of them incredibly poor, and attempted British situational humor, the type of which nobody outside Britain would find funny. (and I LOVE British humor!)
And then... it resurrected itself! The ending was brilliant. Again, some of the funniest scenes I've ever seen in a film. Just... stunning.
Shaun of the Dead is two movies, one with a rating of 5, and one with a rating of 10, violently fused together. It should not be missed, nor should it be watched, as a whole.