Review of Land of the Dead

I've been eagerly waiting to see Land of the Dead for a couple of years now, ever since I first heard about the project. (That was back when George Romero had a different name for the project; I think Dead Reckoning and Twilight of the Dead were two of the titles under consideration.) Having finally seen it on DVD tonight, I have to report that it was a major disappointment.

I loved all of Romero's other zombie movies, but this one lacked charm. More importantly, it also lacked any kind of emotional punch. The situations were so predictable and cliched, and the characters were so predictable and cliched, that it was just plain hard to care about what happened.

Dennis Hopper has never phoned in a role to the extent that he did in this movie. It was like he wasn't acting at all, just reading his lines. It's a shame too, because I like Hopper quite a bit. But I could have portrayed that role more convincingly myself.

If you like zombie movies, check out the remake of Dawn of the Dead or watch Shaun of the Dead instead of Land of the Dead. You'll have a better time, and you'll enjoy the characters more. Heck, you might even care about what happens in the movie.