World War Z (2013)
The Gist: Ah zombies! Ah Brad Pitt! The zombie apocalypse is unleashed with a flurry of jittery and fast running zombies and it’s up to Brad Pitt to find a cure and keep his family safe. Loosely, extremely loosely, based on the Max Brook’s bestselling novel, World War Z.
Survivors: Brad Pitt (Gerry Lane), Mireille Enos (Karin Lane), Daniella Kertesz (Segen)
My Take: When this was set to be released in theatres I decided to read the book again but didn’t actually see the flick until this past weekend. The movie was quite enjoyable and I liked it more than I thought I would after being somewhat disappointed from watching the commercials. The story was good but there is no real connection between the book and the movie other than the lead character, Gerry, travelling to several countries. In the movie he is searching for a cure not documenting the history of the outbreak and the recovery of the human race following the devastation that the virus caused.
I really liked Brad Pitt’s character and I think that one of the things that make him such a good actor is his ability to convey real emotions, especially with his eyes. He convincingly expresses his fear and determination to keep his family safe throughout the movie and the viewer never doubts his motives as he shows fear in the face of this new global threat. He doesn’t play the superhero, taking out zombies like it’s nothing, he runs like hell and does what he can to help other survivors around him.
Aside from the stellar performance by Brad Pitt, I liked the way the zombies looked. I’m not a huge fan of the running zombies but I did like the way the flick showed the twitchy way the infected transform and that the zombies go dormant until any kind of noise rouses them. And that brings me to a comparison between this flick and the recent PS3 smash hit game, The Last of Us. The zombies in the movie and in the game are similar with their movements and the way that any noise will instantly make the humans vulnerable to attack. I kept thinking of Joel and Ellie throughout the movie. If you haven’t played the game, play it, it’s amazing.
Final Thoughts: I really enjoyed World War Z (Zed in Canada) and I will eventually pick up the unrated Blu-Ray once the price drops; I would like to see the deleted scenes and maybe get insight into the delay in release. The ending that was released felt to me to be somewhat rushed and to tidy an ending. I would like to see what the original ending was (I think I read it awhile back but I can’t remember) and see how that compares to what was actually used. All in all, World War Z is a good zombie movie that didn’t focus on the gore aspect but rather on the story and character. I highly recommend it but don’t go in thinking that it is a film adaptation of the book or you might be disappointed.
Dawning Creates 