George A. Romero was, without question, the ultimate zombie filmmaker, with a magic eye for directing features about the walking dead. His zombie epics, including Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead, set the standard for zombie features, influencing other talented filmmakers like Zack Snyder (who directed the 2004 Dawn of the Dead remake and Army of the Dead earlier this year) and Edgar Wright (who made the horror/comedy Shaun of the Dead). They have each brought their own share of drama, humor, parody, and gore in their zombie pictures.
While Land of the Dead lacks the innovative freshness of the first two classics in the Dead series, Romero's 2005 post-apocalyptic horror feature does have some intriguing zombies who are somehow intelligent and adaptable. There are also some familiar but interesting human characters, and the plot surrounding humans vs. zombies is effective in displaying the divisions between the rich and the poor, the haves and the have nots. Not only do humans face zombies, but human characters are also battling each other over how to live (survival of the fittest).
The zombies in Land of the Dead are smarter than the typical zombies featured in other horror features. Of course, spectators would find this absolutely absurd and ask how this is possible since they are brain dead. In this film, zombies are able to learn not only by interacting with each other, but by viewing human behavior, such as how people hold guns, explosives, and other weapons.
The town the zombies are in looks like a ghost town, but the zombies act like they are normal people living normal lives. In the beginning, there are zombies playing instruments, while a couple of others appear to be on a date. There's another zombie who appears to be in charge of a gas station. These moments are parodies for Romero, who understands that he is making fun of his own genre since he's covered this territory before, but also succeeds in humanizing his zombies instead of just making them flesh-eating killers.
Big Daddy is the most appealing zombie because he becomes the leader of a majority of the zombie population. He influences other zombies, and relies on hand gestures and grunts in order to effectively communicate with his fellow dead. He is also the first one to grab a gun, and learns how to use it, influencing other zombies to use guns as well. Big Daddy also displays emotional resonance and yells whenever other zombies are killed, or when he has to take down zombies who are wounded and/or suffering.
There's also an effective scene in which zombies are distracted by the fireworks coming from the tank truck named "Dead Reckoning," which is commandeered by human survivors Riley (Simon Baker) and Cholo (John Leguizamo). However, once Big Daddy realizes that the fireworks are just a distraction so the humans are able to gather supplies from the town, the other zombies begin to learn and go after humans who are a threat to them.
The human characters, Riley and Cholo, are both tough, skilled fighters who operate differently. Riley saves lives, fights to protect his friends, and helps gather resources for those in need. Cholo is the opposite since he mostly gathers booze and other materials he needs for himself and his teammates.
While Riley intends to retire from fighting zombies by getting his car ready for a trip to Canada, Cholo intends to get a spot at a fancy residence called Fiddler's Green, run by the rich, greedy, and power-hungry manager Kaufman (portrayed by the late great Dennis Hopper, who was always charismatic, even in villainous roles). Kaufman rejects Cholo's request to stay at his precious hotel, even after all the fighting he's done, and attempts to have Cholo killed quietly (which ends up being unsuccessful). This causes Cholo to go against Kaufman, forcing the rich manager to pay him a lot of money or he's gonna go after him and destroy his residency.
While the human characters have their own set of conflicts in terms of survival and control, the zombies have their own agenda. They plan on leaving their lonely town and cross the river to head to Fiddler's Green, in order to cover more ground. Just like Riley and the human survivors, the zombies are just looking for a place to go.
The climax is also very poignant because Kaufman and Cholo (at this point a zombie) go at it, trying to shoot each other, while Big Daddy is the zombie who leaves the gas open near Kaufman's car, and throws a bomb, killing both villains, and Kaufman's cash is left up in the air. Big Daddy's victory over Kaufman and Cholo is retribution for all his fellow zombies who's blood was spilled by their hands. This also shows the suffering and oppressed triumphing over the rich and greedy.
While Riley and his team manage to take down several zombies, Riley decides to spare Big Daddy and his group. Even in the end, Riley recognizes that Big Daddy (despite being a zombie) is also a survivor, like him, who has been constantly fighting for freedom and has suffered tremendous losses. What makes Land of the Dead a unique zombie picture is that there is conflict revealed on both sides: the zombies and the human survivors. This film, like Romero's previous zombie epics, reflect on the good and bad nature of humans and monsters, and that sometimes there needs to be a compromise between enemies because many individual beings go through the same obstacles of everyday life, and are each seeking their own salvation.