Where to watch The Walking Dead
1 1/2 Stars
In 1972 Vietnam, a group of United States Marines are sent in to rescue several POW officers. The Landing Zone (LZ) which should have been “cold” actually turns out to indeed be very “hot” (characterized by violent and forceful activity or movement ; very intense). Soon, after a short fight, only four of the soldiers are left alive. Later, the platoon which they were to meet the next day is entirely wiped out with the exception of one nut-case. The small group then arrives at the conclusion that they are all expendable decoys. Between all of the walking, talking, arguing and assaulting between the four soldiers, there are flashbacks to all of their contrite lives before serving in the Corps.
The 1990s was a boom for both independently produced movies and films authored by black filmmakers. Spike Lee, John Singleton, The Hughes Brothers, and Mario Van Peebles were responsible for some of the era’s most impactful cinematic experiences. It also interested financiers in producing the next “black” movie. While this resulted in fun B-movies like Def by Temptation and Tales from the Hood, it also meant we had to suffer through Original Gangsters and Belly. And now we can add The Walking Dead to the unflattering list of failed attempts at “urbanized” historical retellings. Unlike Posse, Panther, and Malcolm X, The Walking Dead is a cheaply looking movie featuring characters that are either cliched or outright unbearable.
The narrative for the picture is structured so that every ten minutes, a flashback sequence fills in the backstory of the five men in this particular Vietnam platoon. These passages and the film are pedestrian and not worthy of being told. Early on, the squad is left for dead when they have to cover a great distance to avoid an incoming missile. These men have been set up and left for dead by their superiors. Then they traverse, apparently, dangerous enemy territory with ease in minutes, and the double-cross is never mentioned again. The story’s central villain isn’t the Vietnamese Army; instead, it is the psychotic, and only Caucasian, member of the team, and this ends in a scene that is startlingly similar to the opening of Universal Soldiers. That’s not a great comparison when the apparent intent was to make a serious movie about the African American experience of the war. The Walking Dead is a total failure, with only the steadfast work from Joe Morton and, to a lesser extent, Allen Payne saving it from being a total time waster.
Directed by: Preston A. Whitmore II
Written by: Preston A. Whitmore II
Starring: Allen Payne, Eddie Griffin, Joe Morton