The plot is...interesting, this is the forth installment of Romero's Living Dead franchise, and as is expected by this point humanity has gotten a system down. There is a walled off community that is protected by a river on two sides, and a two mile fence on the other. There is a hierarchy, and because of the limited space and the large survivor population, some people get to live in luxury condos, and many end up homeless. Our hero in this movie is named Riley, played by Simon Baker. Riley is one of the people who's job is to leave the comfort of the city and gather supplies. Another one of these runners is named Cholo who is played by John Leguizamo. Riley has been saving up his money so that he could one day buy his way into the wealthy building. When he finally accomplishes this he is rejected by his boss who does not want his kind in the building. So angered Cholo decides to steal the armored assault Vehicle "Dead Reckoning" and hold the city hostage for $5 million. Because of this our hero is then tasked with stopping Cholo and in return he will be given a car and the chance to leave the city to live on his own. Did I forget something?...Oh right, THE ZOMBIES, in this film the zombies are starting to regain their basic brain functions...that's right, smart zombies. And are trying to find a way into the city. Strangely they take a back seat and don't really do anything until the end of the movie when they do find a way into the city and begin eating the survivors who have pinned themselves inside the fortress city they built to protect them...irony thy name is safety. In the end our hero and a small group survive the attack and take Dead Reckoning North to Canada.
The problems starts in the beginning. There is an opening bring viewers up to speed on what happened since the first movie in 1968, which is creepy and pretty cool. The we are introduced to the zombies for this film, the camera pans through a park full of them as a tuba plays, originally I though it was part of the soundtrack. However as the camera pans zombies can be seen holding objects, and then you see a ZOMBIE playing the tuba...WTF? We then meet the hero who is observing the zombies. He points out that the zombies are evolving and are now able to use tools and communicate. Throughout the movie we see zombies wield cleavers, jackhammers, axes, IEDs, and even machine guns...again...WTF?
Then there are the characters, the only likable one we are told is a villain. The hero has redeemable qualities, but he doesn't seem to care about anyone else most of the time, so when he decides to save people it is out of character. His sidekick is a mentally handicapped sharp shooter who everyone makes fun of, yet he is one of the most useful members of their society. Then there is the love interest, who was raised to become a soldier, but later on the powers that be thought she would make a better prostitute. She is constantly proving herself to the group, and is the only person in the movie willing to kill someone who's been bitten, rather than wait for them to turn. Next is Cholo, my favorite character, he worked hard and risked his life to scrape together enough money to join the high society, then he is denied because he doesn't fit the image of the socialites. His motives make sense and I often found myself rooting for him. The man in charge of everything is kind of a dick, and his only personality trait is that he's a dick. He has no redeeming qualities and kills off his own board members so he doesn't have to worry about them messing with his escape. Then there is the zombie leader, that's right the zombies have a leader in this movie. He commands them like an army, teaches them how to use weapons, and even makes a bomb out of a propane tank. He makes no sense and is the downfall of this movie.
For a large part of this movie I was laughing and asking myself "Why" to many aspects. The humans bet on zombie fights, use them as roadside attractions, and really the zombies seem to just be in the background of this movie. In fact at the end of the movie after the zombies kill most of the inhabitants of the city, the hero has the chance to kill them all, but refuses because they simply are "Looking for a place to belong"...Seriously movie?And don't get me started on the zombie tuba player, this movie simply fails at zombies, which is odd considering who directed it.
In an age where zombies are becoming more and more popular, it is just weird to see a movie from the man who started it all, as part of his zombie franchise that simply has the feel of a second rate horror film. Sure its a fun movie, but all the expectations I had were destroyed in the opening scene with a tuba playing zombie.
My final verdict is if you want to see the traditional zombie horror type film, watch the original. If you want an action movie that happens to have zombies in it, then watch this one. If your looking for a more contemporary classic zombie film, I recommend Zombieland, and if you have multiple hours to kill, I'm a huge fan of AMC's The Walking Dead. But in this case the movie is getting a C-.
If you disagree with me, or simply have a comment, feel free to post it below.
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