Land of the Dead

George A. Romero’s legacy is one unlikely to be appreciated fully in his lifetime but I expect being given the opportunity to make this film is as close as damnit. It sticks to the format so well and expands expertly on what has gone before. Despite its obviously sizable budget it doesn’t feel like your standard Hollywood fare. The main reason it feels so different is the overt social commentary that was lacking from the recent remake of Dawn of the Dead which watered down that film’s anti-consumerist messages.

With such a high, often hilarious body count and some great make-up you can forgive the stodgy acting even from Dennis Hopper, who should do better. But that’s part of the fun; you don’t go to a zombie movie expecting Laurence Olivier. Relatively unknown actor Baker takes the lead and is a great down to earth engineer come freedom fighter and Leguizamo, recognisable from Spawn and Romeo and Juliet, gives a fine performance as an aspiring malcontent who wants to have his cake and eat it. Asia Argento at first seems like a bit of pointless eye candy but her performance hits home the real fear of the situation and highlights just how hardcore the main zombie killers are as she is thrown into the mix.

This is such a fresh film when compared with the literally mindless popcorn zombie films of late such as Resident Evil and proves Romero has lost none of his edge. The pace is vastly different from most Hollywood narratives but the shuffling pace is set by the directorial decision to follow a zombie that is beginning to change. This is a development of what we saw in Day of the Dead, the last in the series directed by Romero released in 1985. All in all an excellent zombie film and a great action film in its own right. There’s great gore and comedy in here matched with political satire harsh enough to make Michael Moore blush.

Alastair Binnie