Dawn of the Dead (2004)
This is a crisp, muscular remake of George A. Romero’s masterful 1978 zombie epic/sociological treatise. It’s faster-moving and scarier — the zombies, as many have noted, appear to be on steroids — but with mere scraps of the subtext and resonance. Director Zack Snyder gets mostly vague performances out of his actors, save for the always incisive Sarah Polley; Snyder earns my respect for casting this serious, glamour-averse Canadian actor in the lead of a Hollywood zombie picture. Still, he tends to cut away quickly whenever he stumbles upon an honest emotion, or he misses the chance for them when they arise — for instance, he does little to sell the dread encircling Andre (Mekhi Phifer) and his pregnant wife, Luda (Inna Korobkina), as they start to comprehend the consequences of her small zombie bite.
Still, as a straight genre exercise, the new “Dawn of the Dead” is nearly flawless. It moves swiftly and lucidly, and Snyder stages mayhem with vigor and invention. Unlike Romero, he doesn’t have much to say about consumerism, but he puts the resources of a shopping mall, where the bulk of the movie takes place, to exciting use. You’ll be more nourished by the original “Dawn of the Dead” — or, for that matter, by “Shaun of the Dead” — but Snyder, director of the upcoming “300,” is clearly skilled as a craftsman of gory action.