32 - Shaun of the Dead

     Frustrated Shaun and his slacker friend deal with a zombie outbreak by holing up in their favorite pub.
     I've seen this many times, and it hasn't aged as well as Hot Fuzz.  I think that Hot Fuzz is more compact, and the pacing is a bit better, but there's still a certain amount of heart to Shaun.  What pleases me most about it is how well it fits thematically with Fuzz and The World's End.  Even more remarkable is how well it fits with Pegg's role in Run, Fatboy, Run.
     The key difference in the character is that Shaun doesn't seem to be choosing to avoid taking action.  He's avoiding action in order to keep his friend.  It's more about the bad influence that a stunted friend can have.
      There are two complaints that I have from this viewing.  First, Shaun's girlfriend, Liz, doesn't seem like as much of a character.  On the other hand, she does have an arc; she does move toward being supportive of Shaun, which is an effective development.  The second complaint is that I would love to see more of the counterpart group.  This is one of the strangest gags in the movie, but I can't help but wish they had explored the idea - or at least given more information about what happens to that group.