World War Z

Zombies! They have been hot for a few years now. They make me much less sick than the whole “vampire craze”, that is thankfully dieing. Thanks to Twilight going the way of the dodo, we can now move on to apocalyptic-violence-filled-terror-and survival-films. I have thought about how our society has been obsessed with these types of stories for the past few years, and do we all want life to come to an end? Do we all secretly hate this mundane existence of drudgery? We just want to be pushed to the brink of survival, and have to fight the easiest enemies we can pick, slow moving-idiots, that just want to “consume”? Since 28 days later, we have seen new kind of zombie, the “running zombie”, little harder to get away from them now isn’t it?

Story (Plot)3-5 World War Z is based loosely on a book by Max Brooks, by the same name. The plot has changed a bit from the book. You guessed it, there is an outbreak, and people need to run for their lives from the crazed undead. Brad Pitt plays a U.N. investigator that must solve the mystery of this deadly outbreak, to find a way to stop it. Purists are upset that they changed the plot so much from the book, that the movie only shares “Zombies”. I think there is one key thing that the film and the book share, the idea of hope.

Production (Directing, Editing, Music) 4-5 Something that is really good about this movie, is that it is fun. The action scenes are visceral and make you cringe. The zombies are genuinely scary. They are so many, that they are like a wave of death, sweeping over everything. Never has a zombie film shown so many zombies, and with such veracity. The theme by Marco Beltrami, does it’s job, it is both ominous and fun. But is does lack some emotion. The connection between Brad and his wife could have been heightened, with the right music.  

Characters (Likability, Acting)4-5 Brad does a great job, and he is very enjoyable to watch, as ever. But what I really enjoyed in this film is the side characters. The characters that make tough choices to save Brad’s life. They ones that are holding it all together in this crazy world of the undead. The soldiers that save his life, the young scientist, the female Israeli soldier that does not quite. The no name side characters make this movie fun and enjoyable to watch. Brad is just icing on the cake.

Writing (Dialogue, Cleverness) 4-5 They say “zombies”! This is unheard of in the zombie genre. Very few movies characters ever know what the undead are let alone call them this. It’s so taboo, that Shaun of the dead film makes fun of the fact Nick Frost’s character calls them that. I think it’s an interesting idea, and I am ok with the rule being broken. The cleverness in this film lies in seeing how the world responds to this outbreak. You don’t just the family man, trying to survive with his family in the crazy. You see how the military responds. They are ready to evacuate and fight back. It might be far-fetched, but it is a nice refresher in a played out storyline.

Emotions (Was it; Fun, Scary, Sad, Do I care) 4-5 This film does many things very right. They make you feel the gravity of what’s going on, but not sacrificing the role of one man in all of it. I think this movie is just pure rollercoaster, sure it’s got some tropes and unbelievable-ness to it. But it’s a summer blockbuster thrill ride! I never was not engrossed and felt exactly what they wanted me to feel.

Overall score 19-25 This film is just another money grab for something that is hot right now. But in the zombie genre is it something fun and enjoyable to watch. Versus all the bleak and death in zombie films, this film has heart and hope. Some people might think that is lame or optimistic, but I liked it. People are fixated on the end of the world, sometimes, and it’s nice to think that there are people out there that will fight back and not turn into crazed-selfish-murders, in a world filled with zombies, that don’t like us either.