World War Z Review

Thoughts: World War Z, a zombie action thriller that delivered at the box office, but it is a good movie? Behind the scenes World War Z had some issues in production with producer and star, Brad Pitt, having major disagreements with director Marc Forster. The result was a delay of six months and a complete rewrite and reshoot of last 30 minutes of the film, and from what I have read about the original ending, the new ending is much better. Also World War Z is an adaptation of Max Brooks' novel of the same name, and from what I have heard from friends and the internet, the name is the only thing that the novel and the film have in common.
As for the movie itself, World War Z is a zombie movie that made a non-fan of the genre enjoy the film. Unless I am shooting them in video games like Black Ops, zombies are not something that I have much interest in. The concept of zombies in general is absurd and not something that I would even consider science fiction, or at least the ones in World War Z make no sense (supernatural ones make more sense in context though). The Walking Dead is only zombie related film/show that I am somewhat interested in, only because a few of my friends like it. Regardless, World War Z made me suspend my disbelief for the two hour thrill ride.
One of the best and most surprise aspects of World War Z is how incredibly fast the movie starts. After brief setup of his family, the movie takes off and turns into an intense ride that rarely slows down.

A common compliant about World War Z is the lack of gore and the fact that zombies do not eat people. With the exception of one scene, the violence did not appear censored for the PG-13 rating that much. Seriously, why do zombie movies need to be over-the-top gory anyway? There is nothing wrong with that but suspense and thrills are what makes any film of its kind to be "scary" not the gore. Plus, the type of zombies used bit people to infect them almost instantly, not eat them. Another compliant is that there are a lot of zombie movie clichés, and since I have not seen many zombie movies (unless Invasion of the Body Snatchers counts), the zombie clichés are mostly new to me. Also fans of shows like the Walking Dead will find the movie not so impressive in comparison.

Directed by: Marc Forster
Genre: Action, Thriller, Zombie, Action Thriller, Horror,
Release Date: June 21, 2013
Running Time: 116 minutes
MMPA rating: PG-13


The Good: A few genuine thrills, Brad Pitt's performance is excellent, Lightning fast start, Impressive action scenes, Great tension, Made zombies entertaining for non-fans of the genre, Unique tone, Easy to become engaged in the story,

The Bad: A few dumb parts, One zombie was more humorous than horrifying, Occasionally predictable,



Plot: The following plot summary is copied from Wikipedia.com.
Former UN employee Gerry Lane, his wife Karin and their two daughters are in heavy Philadelphia traffic when the city is attacked by zombies. As chaos spreads, the Lanes escape to Newark, New Jersey and take refuge in an apartment, home to a couple with a young son, Tommy. UN Deputy Secretary-General Thierry Umutoni—an old friend of Gerry's—sends a helicopter that extracts the Lanes and Tommy to a U.S. Navy vessel in the Atlantic where scientists and military personnel are analyzing the worldwide outbreaks. Dr. Andrew Fassbach posits that the plague is a virus, and that development of a vaccine depends on finding the origin. Gerry reluctantly agrees to help Fassbach find the outbreak's source after it is made clear that he and his family will be removed from the ship if he does not.
Watch the movie to see what happens next.


Plot: 6.9/10- World War Z's plot is probably the film's weakest aspect, albeit still a fun story. Brad Pitt's character is given enough motivation for his actions and he is a likeable character. Throughout the film, some parts are kind of telegraphed and I saw them coming 15 minutes ahead of time, and other minor things where just kind of dumb. However, the resolution to the plot was satisfying and intriguing. Other than that, the story delivers an interesting take on the zombie genre that makes me interested enough to want a sequel, which is coming in the near future.

Action: 8.1/10- Even though Marc Forster's overuse of shaky-cam is present, for the most part, the shaky-cam actually added to the intensity, which is rare for me to admit. Some of the action was a little too dark as well, but that was not much of a problem. The big action scenes are mostly revealed in the trailer and they serve their purpose well enough. Thankfully Forster's action direction is a vast improvement compared to how he ruined the James Bond film, Quantum of Solace.


Acting: 7.8/10- Brad Pitt's performance was great and much better than the average action star, and I am not even a Pitt fan. Israeli actress, Daniella Kertesz, did a fine job in her role. Most of the other actors did their job well, although few other actors where noticeably that great. There is one zombie in particular that was unintentionally humorous when I assume he was attempting to be creepy, but the other zombies actors where twitchy and zombie like. Also, getting to see Peter Capaldi as a W.H.O. Doctor was cool, which I posted about here and his performance was very good in his minor role. 


Special effects: 8.0/10- Despite the horribly fake looking effects on the World War Z trailer, the effects where overall impressive. The effects for the mass hoards of zombies are decent and above average, but not mind blowing. There is a surprising amount of practical effects and makeup used for the zombies, which worked well for what the movie was going for. Rarely did I notice that the zombies in the close quarters scenes where CGI.

Soundtrack: 5.0/10- Marco Beltrami's score was forgettable and never added much to the film's intensity, except for the obligatory rip-off of Inception's BWAA music.

Comedy: 2.1/10- Except for a few a couple of unintentionally funny moments, I am not sure if I laughed during the entire film, although that was not a negative.

Would I Watch This Again: While being enjoyable, World War Z is the type of movie that I would not care to see again until the sequel rolls around and then I will probably give it another shot.

Overall: 7.8/10- While World War Z might not be a good adaptation of the novel or even a good zombie movie, what the film is, is a thrilling action film that turned out to be better than expected and an enjoyable experience for non-zombie-fans like myself.

Closing comments: World War Z is currently the surprisingly good movie of the year and one of the better action movies (comic book films not included) in recent memory.

Recommended for: Action fans, Thriller fans, Zombie fans, Brad Pitt fans,

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