Paramount Pictures et al. present World War Z. Starring Brad Pitt, Mirielle Enos, Daniella Kertesz, James Badge Dale, Fana Mokoena, Matthew Fox, and David Morse. Directed by Marc Singer. Written by Matthew Michael Carnahan, Drew Goddard, and Damon Lindelof, based on the novel by Max Brooks. Cinematography by Ben Seresin (credited) and Robert Richardson (uncredited). 116 minutes. Rated PG-13 for intense frightening zombie sequences, violence, and disturbing images.
Zombies have become a part of our vernacular and have a genre all their own, and World War Z is a respectable addition to zombie lore. The insect swarm-like zombies of this motion picture are an original twist, and enough suspense and high stakes are added to make it a worthwhile viewing experience.
If anyone had been reading the entertainment press's accounts over the past year, World War Z was either 1) never going to be released or 2) going to be an unmitigated disaster. It started as a project based on the critically and commercially successful Max Brooks novel, but the movie was going wildly over its budget and the third act was recently rewritten. The only evidence I could see onscreen of the many "cooks" was the over-sanitized zombie violence, which is generally more sci-fi action-like than the grim realism and graphic gore of The Walking Dead.
As for the main plot, Brad Pitt portrays Gerry Lane, a former U.N. worker thrust back into service as a zombie-like virus threatens his immediate family's safety and quickly strangles the globe. Unless he travels with a research team to one of the original hot spots in Korea, his family will lose their cramped but safe quarters aboard a military ship for "more essential" personnel. A global journey begins that takes him to Korea and then Israel, in which he meets Segan, a brave Israeli soldier (Daniella Kertesz), who becomes an essential partner in their future journeys of mutual survival.
Though many zombie aficionados may balk at a film with a surprising lack of blood, suspense thriller fans will be pleasantly surprised with the use of tense jeopardy scenarios and build up instead of buckets of gore. Overall, the zombies are portrayed in selected scenes more like insect swarms or an invading military force, but Gerry and Segan have a few precarious close encounters with the infected ghouls that could make your date or spouse jump in your lap.
Those seeking the existential horror of The Walking Dead, or the social commentary on race and family units of Romero's original Night of the Living Dead, may be disappointed. However, audiences who like globe-hopping suspense thrillers may want to join Brad Pitt in his zombie-fighting adventures.
My rating: *** out of ****.
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