I know that this movie has received plenty of exposure already on this board, but I just want to add my two cents worth after recently watching this on DVD.
A friend of mine had provided me with a copy of Land of the Dead on DVD for Christmas; yes, it took me this long to watch it. Having been sorely disappointed with Romero's last outing in the Dead series, Day of the Dead, I was hesitant to watch this film. What I discovered was quite a pleasant surprise.
The thought of zombies communicating with each other originally did not sit well with me; I don't care for talking zombies in movies (I will not get into a discussion about how a corpse which does not breathe is able to form sounds) as they remind me of singing animals in Disney films. The approach Romero takes with the zombies developing a form of communication in this new entry is, however, more subdued that his previous effort with Zombie Bub and works well by adding a new element to the story rather than repeating a now well worn story line.
Land of the Dead does not, however, follow well with the rest of the series; taking into consideration that Day of the Dead is still considered part of the series instead of just a bad idea. Land of the Dead fits better as a follow up to Dawn of the Dead, and we can just treat Day as a bad dream somebody had. Land of the Dead also, like Night and Dawn, works well on its own without having to depend on the previous films to understand the plot.
One of the strengths of Land of the Dead is in the characters Romero has given us for the story. Unlike Day and other poor efforts at zombie movies, you have characters you can actually give a damn about, rather than just hoping the zombies rip them to shreads.
Another strength which Land of the Dead has going for it is in its pacing, which is supercharged compared to Romero's usual storytelling approach. This, however, is also its weakness, as, unlike Night and Dawn, it lacks the social depth often associated with a Romero film and much of the character development.
Even though Land of the Dead did not provide the memorable experience that I took with me after watching Dawn of the Dead, it is, however, a very enjoyable and well done zombie movie that was a welcome surprise for me, being a zombie movie lover (ya never would have guessed that, huh), after so many disappointments of bad zombie movie after bad zombie movie. It is also good to see a classic zombie movie approach get a big budget treatment and not be drowned by it; it is glossy, energetic, and still Romero at heart.
The remake of DAWN OF THE DEAD is much better than LAND OF THE DEAD. We have had a good Zombie movie Resurgence during the past 5 years.
Dawn of the Dead
Land of the Dead
Resident Evil
Resident Evil II
Shaun of the Dead
28 Days Later
Undead
and a few straight to DVD
I didn't like the remake of Dawn of the Dead as much as Land of the Dead. Though the Dawn remake works well as its own movie, it is difficult, for me anyway, to watch it without comparing it to the original and it pales in comparison. One of the primary elements which makes the Dawn remake less effective for me is an absolute lack of character development and lack of social commentary which was such an important part of the original. I think the new Dawn works better for those not familiar with the original as it is an effective film on its own.
Where Land of the Dead works for me is in being a classic zombie movie type but with an updated style. Although Land of the Dead does not compare to the original Dawn in character development, it is well above the Dawn remake in character development.
I have not seen Undead yet but I am looking forward to catching that one as I have heard good things about it.
Shaun of the Dead was a fun watch; not the great movie I was told it would be, but it was still enjoyable in its own right and I will watch it again.
I did not think that 28 Days Later was as good as it had been made out to be; though I could have just been expecting too much. It was stylish and you could certainly see the influence of Dawn of the Dead in the film. It was well done and entertaining, but it was just not a film that will stick with me after I have seen it.
I have not seen the Resident Evil movies.
What I have seen on straight to video so far has been poorly done video that were mostly done with a camcorder by someone who has no idea what they are doing.
I will, as always, keep watching zombie movies in the hope that a good one will crop up. With the resurgence of recent years, we will hopefully see some more good one come along.
Menard, no doubt 28 DAYS LATER and UNDEAD (not as good as some have said) are the lesser of the bunch.
Your right about DAWN OF THE DEAD remake being good on its own.
Undead's good for what it is, but that's putting it in perspective with the cost of how it was made, and it does have it's poor moments [bad acting being one of them].
I really enjoyed 28 Days Later, but it didn't sit quite as a zombie film for me. Dawn of the Dead remake is pretty fun and I also kind of prefer it than the original, but I'm not too fussed: they're both good.
I actually think Day of the Dead is pretty good: I enjoyed it a heap. I'm not a perfectionist so character development and social commentary isn't high on my list of priorities: entertainment is always the important fact.
Land of the Dead was great fun, but I didn't exactly get blown away by it. I think the 'ivory tower' type social commentary annoyed me a little, but it's still a far cry above the Resident Evil films, so I was very very happy to have zombies be in cinemas. What more can you ask for really...
I enjoyed the Dawn of the Dead remake,simply but not considering it a remake at all,or at least not part of the Romero series.As in the Night of the Living Dead remake(anybody remember that one?) I Havent had a chance to see LAND yet.In fact, I don't really enjoy ANY recent horror films lately....(beyond the DEVILS REJECTS).Rob Zombie is turning into a MASTER. House of 1000 Corpses was too music videoish.But I would LOVE to see Zombie do a...uh...zombie flick! Cronenberg is still alive and kicking....I wish he would come out with a no holds barred horror film.Bad remakes of good Japenese horror films are tiring and senseless...(ie RING). Whatever happened to Argento? Why am I babbling so?
"Land of the dead" is right now my favourite entry in the Romero series of zombies. I'm not saying it's the best of the lot, but given that they all of them provide a social commentary about the time they were produced, I was far more familiar with the ideological background of this one rather than, say, the original "Night of the living dead".
An even if you are not a children of the 90s, there's many things to like here, such as a far more accomplished filmmaking and camerawork. LOTD is far from stylish, but shows what a mature Romero can do with a decent budget. And you have to admire the way he mixes B-movie action with political satire. I was reminded of Carpenter's "Escape" movies a few times, but LOTD always spoke to me in its own voice, something I really enjoyed.
If anything, I disliked how the zombie leader was overused, although some of his scenes were priceless, such as the one where he discobers he can survive under water, and that the "big zombie assault" finale has somehow become a cliche with time.