Review of Land of the Dead (2005) by Gavin P — 23 May 2012
A B-grade movie inside and out concerning a zombie-ridden planet and how the city of Detroit, now walled, attempts to keep the walking dead outside. Although miles away from the legendary 1978 film "Dawn of the Dead", Romero still gets a lot of things right.
He packs the gore, scares, and dark atmosphere in altogether the way a zombie film should be constructed. The acting is pretty decent as well, especially Simon Baker and John Legizamo as mercenaries leading the way.
Dennis Hopper comes in for about a fifth of the movie and turns a gloriously hammy performance, the way it should be. The story itself is predictable, and Romero breaks some of his own rules by having the zombies adapt and learn on the go, which shouldn't be possible because they are after all completely brain dead and not able to possess any form of creativity outside of walking slowly or pounding on things brainlessly.
Still, fun enough while it lasts, but not worth a full recommendation. Pretty entertaining but certainly missable. Stick to Romero's "Dawn of the Dead" if you want blood and gore combined with a subversive take on society and consumerism.
This review of Land of the Dead (2005) was written by Gavin P on 23 May 2012.
Land of the Dead has generally received positive reviews.
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