JonOfTheShred
21-Oct-2010, 06:27 AM
So I cracked, and decided to watch the Walking Dead. Actually, who am I kidding, I've been waiting for a leak to finally check this show out! This will be pretty spoiler heavy, as I'm gonna do a play-by-play review and mark observations as I watch, so be advised before reading forward.
Loved the first scene; a great introduction to the series. An abandoned camp that no doubt was overrun or fled, a big sign that says "NO GAS," a suitably grim looking landscape. The zombie girl moves pretty swift, I must say. Not sure if she was a tab bit too fast. Love the brutal head shot going right into the main credits, and love all the things shown in the credits that are like little nods to fans of the comic. (Specifically, Dales RV, which will obviously be a big part of the plot.)
They changed up the chase a bit, eh? A bit more cops AND robbers. They kinda trick you with Rick, him getting shot in the vest and getting up fine, then turning around to talk to Shane as a third, unmentioned assailant exits the criminals vehicle. On the police scanner, they mentioned 2 assailants, not 3, so it took them all by surprise. Love that attention to detail: this was an unknown target that has a reason to take them by surprise.
I like the flowers given to Rick while he was still in his coma / daze, and him waking up to find them dead...much like the rest of the world. That not so subtle symbolism clues those new to the Walking Dead in on how fucked up everything went while Rick was out. Hell, the vase might as well have had "Society" scrawled across it, because the world Rick wakes up in is a tastefully done apocalyptic wasteland. Great job on the sets, his whole introduction to this world completely pissed all over the intro of 28 Days Later. (Not saying either one copied the other, just saying TWD >>>>> 28 Days Later)
So Rick is going down the stairs, and I noticed another subtle little thing I rather liked. He lights a match to go down the stairs, and it goes out, at which point he lights another. Not many movies would put the time in for something that small yet realistic. Most movies have guns that don't run out of ammo. This is just another, real small example of the realism conveyed. (Well, besides the whole zombie plague.)
I REALLY like how you can see how bright the outside world is when Rick finally finds an exit. Don't think I've ever seen that in a movie either. Kinda puts you in his shoes, and leaves one unsettled and wondering if something is there in plain sight that you might not get to see before your eyes adjust and its already taking a bite out of your face.
The reveal of the hundreds of body bags was EPIC. Gotta mention again how epic these sets are. I'm digging the score that goes along with it too. (Although I really wish I could've got the job: would love to be making the music to this! Go listen to the Horde Awaits and tell me it wouldn't be an epic ending theme song to play: www.wix.com/jonoftheshred/home)
A few zombie kills in, and one may notice the blood is CGI...but hell, it actually looks pretty damn good. As it pours out of the wounds from headshots, it looks right, as opposed to the horrible CGI blood work in, say, Survival of the Dead. Not to mention the zombies themselves. The work done on these zombies is the best since Day of the Dead. In fact, I like these zombies even more than the ones in Day of the Dead; Bicycle zombies is the new Dr Tongue! (I always liked Dr Tongue more than Bub, btw, so that is saying a lot.)
I'm surprised all the gore they're gonna allow to air on TV. This will be the most brutal show ever. But it is done...artfully. Its very tasteful and CREEPY, as opposed to gratuitous and cheesy.
Glad they decided to add a lot to Morgan. Being the first people Rick encounters, its only fair they get a bit of time getting to know (and trust) each other. Its quite brief in the comic, I'm sure to keep things moving, but this show is gonna have ample opportunity to expand on the Walking Dead universe and the history of its characters.
Right, so the car alarm going off right when you're getting into these characters interacting...its pretty startling. This show is sucking me right in. Once again, another subtle thing not many filmmakers would think to put in a zombie movie. Simple, yet effective. Very creepy and unsettling.
After ransacking the police station and the both of them driving off in separate ways, I noticed the front door to the police station slowly open. Another subtle nod to the apocalyptic wasteland Rick is no living in.
I got too enthralled at this point to do a play-by-play, as things got real intense. The farmhouse was quite reminiscent of Night of the Living Dead; the excessive amount of porches, the truck in the front yard that kinda looked like Bens, the dude that commit suicide looking like the big fat zombie in the NOTLD remake.
The entire ending was epic. He sees the chopper and rides his horse almost directly into one of the biggest zombie hordes I've ever seen on film. The entire action sequence at that point was pretty ridiculous and intense. Its not like I didn't think Rick was gonna survive, more like thinking HOW? Especially under the tank. At that point, I was curious how they were gonna get him out of that mess, only to find out he actually enters the tank from the BOTTOM. Very clever commercials, everyone is probably gonna expect him to go in through the top.
Loved two things about the ending: the "SHOCKER" type ending (not the hand gesture ;) ) that fit very much into the same style of Kirkmans in the comic. (Glenn coming through the speaker with the first comic relief of the entire, grim, bleak episode: "Hey. Hey dumbass." Awesome.) And then they followed that up with the typical ending of a Romero flick: the huge scene of gore, followed by the awesome zoom out to reveal hundreds of zombies.
This show is gonna rock. This will be my new favorite show, and I have high hopes for it. I really hope it maintains this feel, and I also really hope the Lost crowd gets sucked right in as others have mentioned, and it gets excellent ratings and renewed several times over. This show has serious potential to be the greatest zombie story ever put to film, much like its comic predecessor is the ultimate zombie story put into print.
And who else that has already watched this think Romero SHOULD direct an episode? Because I'm thinking it'd lead him in the right direction to making classics again instead of mediocres and stinkers.
Loved the first scene; a great introduction to the series. An abandoned camp that no doubt was overrun or fled, a big sign that says "NO GAS," a suitably grim looking landscape. The zombie girl moves pretty swift, I must say. Not sure if she was a tab bit too fast. Love the brutal head shot going right into the main credits, and love all the things shown in the credits that are like little nods to fans of the comic. (Specifically, Dales RV, which will obviously be a big part of the plot.)
They changed up the chase a bit, eh? A bit more cops AND robbers. They kinda trick you with Rick, him getting shot in the vest and getting up fine, then turning around to talk to Shane as a third, unmentioned assailant exits the criminals vehicle. On the police scanner, they mentioned 2 assailants, not 3, so it took them all by surprise. Love that attention to detail: this was an unknown target that has a reason to take them by surprise.
I like the flowers given to Rick while he was still in his coma / daze, and him waking up to find them dead...much like the rest of the world. That not so subtle symbolism clues those new to the Walking Dead in on how fucked up everything went while Rick was out. Hell, the vase might as well have had "Society" scrawled across it, because the world Rick wakes up in is a tastefully done apocalyptic wasteland. Great job on the sets, his whole introduction to this world completely pissed all over the intro of 28 Days Later. (Not saying either one copied the other, just saying TWD >>>>> 28 Days Later)
So Rick is going down the stairs, and I noticed another subtle little thing I rather liked. He lights a match to go down the stairs, and it goes out, at which point he lights another. Not many movies would put the time in for something that small yet realistic. Most movies have guns that don't run out of ammo. This is just another, real small example of the realism conveyed. (Well, besides the whole zombie plague.)
I REALLY like how you can see how bright the outside world is when Rick finally finds an exit. Don't think I've ever seen that in a movie either. Kinda puts you in his shoes, and leaves one unsettled and wondering if something is there in plain sight that you might not get to see before your eyes adjust and its already taking a bite out of your face.
The reveal of the hundreds of body bags was EPIC. Gotta mention again how epic these sets are. I'm digging the score that goes along with it too. (Although I really wish I could've got the job: would love to be making the music to this! Go listen to the Horde Awaits and tell me it wouldn't be an epic ending theme song to play: www.wix.com/jonoftheshred/home)
A few zombie kills in, and one may notice the blood is CGI...but hell, it actually looks pretty damn good. As it pours out of the wounds from headshots, it looks right, as opposed to the horrible CGI blood work in, say, Survival of the Dead. Not to mention the zombies themselves. The work done on these zombies is the best since Day of the Dead. In fact, I like these zombies even more than the ones in Day of the Dead; Bicycle zombies is the new Dr Tongue! (I always liked Dr Tongue more than Bub, btw, so that is saying a lot.)
I'm surprised all the gore they're gonna allow to air on TV. This will be the most brutal show ever. But it is done...artfully. Its very tasteful and CREEPY, as opposed to gratuitous and cheesy.
Glad they decided to add a lot to Morgan. Being the first people Rick encounters, its only fair they get a bit of time getting to know (and trust) each other. Its quite brief in the comic, I'm sure to keep things moving, but this show is gonna have ample opportunity to expand on the Walking Dead universe and the history of its characters.
Right, so the car alarm going off right when you're getting into these characters interacting...its pretty startling. This show is sucking me right in. Once again, another subtle thing not many filmmakers would think to put in a zombie movie. Simple, yet effective. Very creepy and unsettling.
After ransacking the police station and the both of them driving off in separate ways, I noticed the front door to the police station slowly open. Another subtle nod to the apocalyptic wasteland Rick is no living in.
I got too enthralled at this point to do a play-by-play, as things got real intense. The farmhouse was quite reminiscent of Night of the Living Dead; the excessive amount of porches, the truck in the front yard that kinda looked like Bens, the dude that commit suicide looking like the big fat zombie in the NOTLD remake.
The entire ending was epic. He sees the chopper and rides his horse almost directly into one of the biggest zombie hordes I've ever seen on film. The entire action sequence at that point was pretty ridiculous and intense. Its not like I didn't think Rick was gonna survive, more like thinking HOW? Especially under the tank. At that point, I was curious how they were gonna get him out of that mess, only to find out he actually enters the tank from the BOTTOM. Very clever commercials, everyone is probably gonna expect him to go in through the top.
Loved two things about the ending: the "SHOCKER" type ending (not the hand gesture ;) ) that fit very much into the same style of Kirkmans in the comic. (Glenn coming through the speaker with the first comic relief of the entire, grim, bleak episode: "Hey. Hey dumbass." Awesome.) And then they followed that up with the typical ending of a Romero flick: the huge scene of gore, followed by the awesome zoom out to reveal hundreds of zombies.
This show is gonna rock. This will be my new favorite show, and I have high hopes for it. I really hope it maintains this feel, and I also really hope the Lost crowd gets sucked right in as others have mentioned, and it gets excellent ratings and renewed several times over. This show has serious potential to be the greatest zombie story ever put to film, much like its comic predecessor is the ultimate zombie story put into print.
And who else that has already watched this think Romero SHOULD direct an episode? Because I'm thinking it'd lead him in the right direction to making classics again instead of mediocres and stinkers.