Jokes have been made about the acting ability of Arnold
Schwarzenegger since his first film was released. They focused on the fact that
his claim to fame was his body and that his acting ability was non-existent. I
always found that to be a bit biased from those who would make such a claim,
their opinions based on years of stereotyping rather than on his performances.
The fact that he’s gone from action hero to comedic performances to heavy drama
has shown he can indeed act. With MAGGIE he tries to go for even more drama.
The movie takes place in a world where the zombie apocalypse
has finally happened. While the zombie theme is due to run its course any day
now the take here is different from most. This is not a world where zombies run
amok and terrified hordes flea in fear. This is a world where the zombie
outbreak has for the most part been contained. If you have been bitten, the
change takes time and before it happens you are to submit yourself for
containment.
Schwarzenegger stars as Wade Vogel, a Midwestern farmer
whose daughter Maggie (Abigail Breslin) has been bitten while she was visiting
in the city. The change is slow for Maggie and before it kicks in Doctor
Kaplan, a friend of Wade and Maggie, allows her to return to their home for as
long as he can. Wade’s wife Caroline takes their remaining children to his
sister’s house until it is safe to come home. Until then he spends his waking
hours with Maggie, a chance to build memories to hold onto when she is finally
gone.
With each passing day Maggie becomes more and more affected
by the virus, eventually blacking out at times waking to find she’s attacked an
animal or simply collapsed. One scene has her hover over Wade but not making a
feast of him. She continues to talk to her friends, never attacking or feeling
like she might. She and Wade talk about old times, about her real mother as
well as other topics, rarely discussing the inevitable.
The film plays out like we’re watching a young person with a
terminal illness taking the time to say their last goodbyes and make peace with
the people in their life rather than a zombie film. That’s one of the good
things about this movie. The bad side is the fact that for the most part this
makes for a rather boring and slow paced film. I don’t always want to see
screaming flesh eaters running rampant down the street but a little better
interplay between the main characters would have been better. The few times
that Maggie and Wade talk to one another seem short and with more silence than
I would expect.
The fact that this is not just a shoot ‘em up action picture
when this theme is being used sets it apart from most zombie films. In some
ways that’s a good thing. But pacing is everything in a film and this one stays
slow from start to finish. That being said it offers perhaps the best
performance of Schwarzenegger’s career. His stoic head of the family plays out
well as does the burden he faces of having to either take his daughter and
handing her over to those he knows will end her life with a certain amount of
callousness or he can wait until the last moment and do it himself. As a father
that would feel like having the weight of the world on your shoulders and
Schwarzenegger puts that emotion on display in such a subtle manner that he
makes it completely believable.
While the movie may not be for everyone it does offer
something different for zombie fans. The lack of gore and terror might make
this movie unwatchable for most horror fans but those that give it a chance
will find a performance worth sitting through it for. I can’t whole heartedly
recommend this movie for everyone but some might find it worth watching. For
Arnold fans it will be one they’ll want to keep.
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