Review - Land of the Dead

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I really don't want to write this review, because I don't want to be unfairly harsh on George Romero. The man deserves to make more movies, lots and lots more movies, so my measly gripes should not be given voice. But... well, since I'm not entirely delusional about my voice's reach via this blog, I'll say it anyway, since I doubt this will make its way to George's ear and make him cry at night.

So... Land of the Dead. I was disappointed. I may've had unreasonable expectations. But it left me wanting. I mean, it was beautifully shot and I loved the social commentary and the gore we did see was fantastic... I guess I have two problems. The first being the story just felt way too generic. Without the great little beats of social commentary and gore popping up here and there, the basic framework was sooo done. I loved that, as a reversal of his previous films, it was the zombies now being led by a black man and a blonde woman. But I felt he should've went further... I don't know how you could make a story from the zombie's point of view, but I would've loved to have seen him try. It seems inevitable that that would be where to go next.

This was the equalizing film, where the humans and the zombies became relatively indistinguishable. I suppose maybe, if he makes a fifth film he'll go there. But I was ready for it now, especially given the humans we were dealing with. I was bored bored bored by Simon Baker and his whole character, he was the guy trying to get out but being pulled in for one last job that we've seen more times than I can count. Any of the other characters would've been a better choice for main character, I think. Charlie, the borderline retarded character, or John Leguizamo's character... they would've made the film even more about the line being blurred between human and zombie. But instead we get Simon Baker's story, with it's HOPEFUL ending and he remains a good man. That is not what I want from a Romero film! Hopeful??? No!

My other issue was the gore. I'd already heard from reviews that it was toned down for wide release, and that they'd put digital figures that'd walk past scenes of excessive gore, but from what I'd read it wasn't distracting and you still get to see plenty. LIES! It was distracting, but maybe just because I knew they were doing it. I hated the figures passing by the good stuff! I know this'll be removed for the DVD release, so I know this gripe will disappear then, but for now it bothered me. Don't get me wrong, we do still see lots of gore... but there are a lot of what I could tell would be spectacular gore shots that we get denied, and I want all the guts, George!

There are a lot of things about the film I loved, and I know I'll like it more with subsequent viewings. Lots of great violence jokes (the bellybutton ring removal, the barely connected swing-up head, the man falling on his own hand holding a grenade). And, as usual, Romero gets his socail criticism just right. Even though it stopped the film dead every time, I loved all the moments of Dennis Hopper - ruminating about the class wars, their social structure, the terorism angle... all very smart and adding that extra oomph you expect from Romero.

So... I complain because I love, George! And I'll be there the day the DVD's released to snatch up the unrated version. Just, next time... I want it to hurt more. I like it when you make me hurt.