World War Z

Starring: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz, James Badge Dale, Matthew Fox, David Morse, Fana Mokoena
Director: Marc Forster
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Horror
2013

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A United Nations employee (Brad Pitt) travels the globe to search for the source of a zombie outbreak that is threatening the world.

Review:

Tim: People were rightly nervous about the final product of World War Z. The film went through some much-publicized reshoots, including an entirely new third act. How would the final film turn out? In the end, this is a solid, entertaining film, and I really liked it. All the worry and the hand-wringing was for naught. This is a really, really good movie.

I read Max Brooks' book, so I was intrigued to see what this movie would be about. As you may know, the book doesn't really have a plot, it's just a series of interviews that touch upon various aspects of the zombie war. I thought the book was average, but it certainly didn't deserve all the acclaim and the hype that it generated. The film creates an actual story (thankfully) while still maintaining the spirit of the book. This was definitely an accomplishment.

I like how the film treated the zombie epidemic in a serious manner. So many zombie movies are light fluff, ridiculous to the point that it's laughable. This film treats the idea with as much logic and realism as it can, and the film is better for it. While the idea is still far-fetched, this movie asks the question, "What would it be like if people became infected with a zombie-like virus?" It then sets out to tell an entertaining, nerve-racking story that's at least grounded in reality. That was fun to watch.

I thought Brad Pitt did a fairly good job in the role. He certainly won't be winning any awards for his performance (he's not a truly great actor, I don't think), but he does enough to make us like him and want to root for him. He wasn't particularly memorable, but he made the movie work, so I don't want to be too harsh on him. He has a good supporting cast around him, made up of mostly unknown or little known actors. While they do a good job, they aren't any real standouts.

While this movie is really good, it definitely has some flaws. I'm still not sure how I feel about the super fast zombies. I suppose the idea of zombie herds is interesting and somewhat unique, so the film gets some credit for that. There is a great scene of a zombie attack on an airplane, but I'm still not sure how that would have happened- the virus works really quick, so how could someone infected delay so long before turning? It just felt like an odd missed detail. I thought the end of the film was pretty clever, but it did feel a little uneven. For the most part, the reshoots felt seamless except for a few places where the unevenness showed. The special effects were quite good, as everything that unfolds on screen feels believable. I also have to give Marc Forster credit, because there were some very intense, thrilling moments throughout the film. The end of the movie is a bit predictable, which does hurt the film a bit.

World War Z might not quite be a great movie, but I love the idea of tackling zombies with intelligence and seriousness. This made for an interesting, exciting movie that far surpassed the expectations of many. I not only enjoyed the film, but I am hopeful that a sequel will be greenlit- there's so much potential to tell future stories in this world, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing them. That's always a huge compliment for a film, and speaks to the quality of this movie.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Inglourious Basterds, 28 Days Later