After a long search for his daughter, Maggie, Wade finds her in the quarantine wing of a hospital. Maggie has been infected by an outbreak that transforms the victim into a zombie. Wade's friend Dr. Kaplan assesses, and then discharges Maggie to spend her last days with Wade and her family. Her step-mother Caroline asks Wade to take their other children to her sister's house to keep them safe, while Maggie is slowly transforming.Wade stays by her side, giving her constant reassurance, but Dr. Vern warns him that the moment that he will have to take an ultimate decision is drawing <more> closer and closer.......Who would have thought that, what fundamentally is, a Zombie movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, could turn out to not just one of the years best movies, but also, a serious contender of being in my all time top 25.And thank heavens it was made at this time in his career, and not twenty years ago, as you could well imagine. If it were made in 1995, no doubt it would have been one of the biggest releases of the years, and would have catered for the popcorn friendly, pyrotechnic loving audiences who prefer Michael Bay and one liners to subtlety.This has to be Arnold's finest performance in a movie where he hasn't played a cyborg, and without being disrespectful to the actor, it's because he has very little to say I the film, and relies on facial expressions, and the bond he has with his on screen daughter.His Wade is a world weary person in this, and he looks like he has the world on his shoulders. After all,his daughter is perishing in front of him, causing his nuclear family to fall apart, and all the while, him knowing that he will have to do the most unthinkable act that anyone could possibly do, kill your own offspring.The punishment in his face is almost unbearable at times, and when he is reassuring his daughter, she is ultimately giving him reassurance back, so in turn, their bond is becoming stronger and stronger, the weaker Maggie becomes due to her 'illness'.Having a daughter of a certain age may have made me baits to the film, but there were times when I had great empathy for Wade, especially when Dr. Kaplan gives him advice on certain methods. You ask yourself, would you let her turn, so your not killing your 'daughter', but let her go through a great ordeal of pain and suffering to get there? Or would you do the deed before, knowing full well that your daughter is fully copus mentus when it happens?Schwarzenegger and Breslin have a wonderful chemistry together, you could almost believe that they are father and daughter, every ounce of Maggies pain is shared in Wades eyes, and due to the slow burning nature of the film, it's all the more agonising for the viewer.The first chance you get to see this film, don't hesitate, it's nothing like you would think it would be, and I never thought I'd say this...........................but Schwarzenegger is a revelation.Destined for greatness. <less> |