Review – World War Z
‘World War Z’ is a zombie film made by a parents group. A sanitised entry into the genre to ensure that twelve year-olds can lap up the action without mum or dad having to wash urine soaked sheets in the morning.
After a zombie pandemic sweeps the world, a former United Nations employee, Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt), is tasked with finding the source of the outbreak that might lead to a cure.
Images of the world in chaos and news reports cautioning about global warming open the film to warn of how terrible we are as a human race. It’s an intriguing platform for director, Marc Forster, to establish his zombie apocalypse. Sadly, the idea isn’t followed through, and the dull Lane family are our companions on the journey. After learning Gerry is good at making pancakes since changing careers (the film’s attempt at character development) the chaos begins with sprinting zombies ravaging the streets. During the confusion early on it becomes apparent that one of Gerry’s daughters “wants her blanky” (more character development) and the zombies are about as frightening as a basket of kittens. Forster riffs heavily from Danny Boyle’s ’28 Days Later’ rage zombie playbook, but rather than being frightening like Boyle’s creations, Forster’s zombies shriek like parrots and trample each other in CGI swarms like customers at a department store closing down sale.
Shooting for the widest and youngest audiences possible, Forster removes all the grit and there is not a speck of blood on screen. Any moment of violence seems to be intentionally kept off screen, and not in a clever way to intensify the gruesome images in your mind. ‘World War Z’ doesn’t earn its zombie stripes and while it didn’t need to be a complete bloodbath, it doesn’t have to play in the kiddie pool either.
The screenplay by Matthew Michael Carnahan with rewrites from Damon Lindelof and Drew Goddard features Gerry globetrotting to infected hotspots. Each country is a different action set piece and none of them manage to spark the adrenaline. Forster’s handling of these sequences is terrible, and it’s hard to make out what’s going on with the camera moving like it was tied to the back of a bucking bull. The plot is even misguided enough to theorise that the Israeli West Bank was built on purpose to keep zombies out. I’m sure people suffering from the conflict between Israel and Palestine are going to be thrilled with this reimagining of their history. Also, the constant hunt for a cure to the outbreak is annoying and it’s obvious that Forster is frothing at the mouth for a happy ending.
The horrid dialogue is especially bad in a moment featuring a group of soldiers trying to navigate an airfield without attracting the attention of the zombies. When they get unwanted attention a soldier says “looks like we woke the dead”. Really? In a zombie film? Absolutely terrible.
I’d like to formally apologise for using the word “zombie” throughout this review. ‘World War Z’ doesn’t even deserve to right to be associated with the word or any of its subsidiaries. It’s a flaccid film that slowly decays on screen to the point where it’s completely brain dead.
1/5
Cameron Williams
The Popcorn Junkie
I didn’t think World War Z was as terrible as a one star review – personally I thought it was just a completely average disaster movie, rather than a horror film. One thing I will pick up on, however, is that it’s rated 15 in Britain (I’m not sure where you’re writing from) so, despite the utter bloodlessness, it’s not actually intended for 12 year olds, although they’d likely be the only ones even potentially scared by the events in it. It’s strange, because violence these days is usually granted very low certifications (Scream 4, the last few Final Destination movies, even Piranha 3DD). Perhaps it was because of the overall theme of apocalypse, but to be honest, I struggled to see how it had garnered that rating.
Thanks for checking out the review. I’m based in Australia and the fillm is rated ‘M’ here. There are no age restrictions.
Ah, that makes sense then! Most people I’ve spoken to here think the rating in the UK is surprisingly high – it felt more like a 12A (anyone under 12 needs an adult with them). Good review though!
First of all – awesome review. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I kind of gotten used to “dark” movies targeting a wide audience. They seem to have lost the concept of targeting lately, where everything has to be for everybody and then it turns out to be shit. I thought about watching it, but after this review, I think I’ll skip spending money on lazy movie-makers.
Pingback: World War Z Has The Critics Split | News Provide
After reading a few positive reviews, I was starting to hope that maybe this wouldn’t be as disappointing as I feared. I was worried about trailers that lacked any close-ups of the zombies and tonnes of CGI that reminded me of I Am Legend (not a good thing). Anyway, thought I’d swing by and see what you thought of it. : )
Nice review. I actually thought the “looks like we woke the dead” line worked, along with “ladies and gentlemen, please turn off all beepers and cell phones.” The cavelier tone was set for the grizzled platoon leader to mutter “I can’t believe it… I’m a goddam Zeke” before eating his gun.
The “I can’t believe it line” actually rang in my head much much later. The zombies are not as much zombies as they are a disease that creates zombie like people for host. Here I saw an element of “addiction” and to a degree the movie saying: In the future we’ll all be brain dead drug addicts who just run around eating and killing each other. Nobody else saw that element? It’s a movie about global excess, the degredation of man into a beast, and the global fear of anything terror related. It’s a reflection of our current fears as members of a global community. As if to say, any minute now, shit’s gonna go haywire and a man will have to run like hell or become another member of a diseased society. It wasn’t as much a horror movie as it was allegory for the condition of modern man and what he’ll have to do in the future to remain free. In fact, “camoflauging himself with another disease” and making himself appear undesirable to the minions of brain eaters becomes necessary, but only after much moving about stealthily through different areas and peoples of the world. It is a story that says, only a truly global man with superior intelligence will be able to avoid becoming a goddamn zeke who willingly blows his brains out to avoid losing his freedom of self direction, self thought, and behavior.
WHY I LOVE IT: REVIEW / MILD SPOILERS: The “I can’t believe… I’m a goddamn Zeke” line actually rang in my head much much later. The zombies are not as much zombies as they are a disease that creates zombie like people for host. Here I saw an element of “addiction” and to a degree the movie saying: In the future we’ll all be brain dead drug addicts who just run around eating and killing each other. Nobody else saw that element? It’s a movie about global excess, the degredation of man into a beast, and the global fear of anything terror related. It’s a reflection of our current fears as members of a global community. As if to say, any minute now, shit’s gonna go haywire and a man will have to run like hell or become another member of a diseased society. It wasn’t as much a horror movie as it was allegory for the condition of modern man and what he’ll have to do in the future to remain free. In fact, “camoflauging himself with another disease” and making himself appear undesirable to the minions of brain eaters becomes necessary, but only after much moving about stealthily through different areas and peoples of the world. It is a story that says, only a truly global man with superior intelligence will be able to avoid becoming a goddamn zeke who willingly blows his brains out to avoid losing his freedom of self direction, self thought, and behavior.
At the end of World War Z, just as the credits began rolling, a gentleman, scratch that, an idiot spoke up from the back of the theatre exclaiming, “What? That sucked! The book was nothing like that! Booo!” I’m sure he scurried away back home, logged online, and began tweeting, posting, and blogging, furthering his rant. Much like my response to him at the theatre, I hope he receives silence in return.
It’s true, World War Z is nothing like the book. The book is told from the point of view AFTER the war. It’s a “historical,” account of what happened during the war. Rather than make a mockumentary with flashbacks, which would have been the wrong decision in my opinion, the filmmakers decided to put us right in the middle of the action.
When adapting a piece of literature it is impossible to bring every page, every paragraph, every nuance onto the screen. Some have come close depending on the material, but for the most part, they all have to take their own creative licenses. After all, it’s called an “adaptation,” for a reason, otherwise they would call it a copy or mimic.
Where World War Z works (that’s a mouthful) and where so many others fail is that just because the world slips into total and utter chaos, doesn’t mean that governments, military, and law enforcement agencies go away. Quite the opposite. If anything, these scenarios bring out the best of all of them. We see generals, UN delegates, and scientists trying to solve complex issues that they don’t know anything about. Rather than going into hiding, they act. Society doesn’t crumble. Bands of cannibals and leather strapped gangs don’t patrol the streets with necklaces made of teeth. People do what they can to survive, and the higher ups try their best to find a fast and effective solution.
At first, I thought the movie started too fast. How could something this violent and concentrated go undetected, but after a while I got it. The opening montage of news reports said it all. How many of us listen to everything we hear on the news? Exactly. So much goes undetected while we focus on issues that effect us immediately. It’s too late when the virus touches US soil. Not even social media can keep up with it.
As far as zombie movies go this one is pretty great. Though I think 28 Days Later takes the cake in terms of realism, in-camera effects, and sheer terror, this one holds its own. Brad Pitt plays a former UN investigator who is traveling with his family just as the zombie attack on Philadelphia unfolds. The film goes from 0-60 before you take a sip of your Coke. This is a fast paced, edge of your seat thrill ride led by one of the finest actors of this generation (Pitt’s acting ability is far too underrated and lost in the kerfuffle of tabloid news).
For those of you who stare at the ticket window debating whether or not to see a film in 3D or standard, you might want to spend the extra few dollars to see this one in 3D (I know it’s asking a lot, but maybe you can sneak some candy or a bottle of water to offset the concession stand price – deal with it). I tend to air on the side of “screw it, I want to see it in 3D.” Now not every movie NEEDS to be seen in 3D, hell there are really only a couple that absolutely have to be seen in all three dimensions (Avatar and maybe Life of Pi), but this one really surprised me. 3D is not about things jumping out at you, but it’s about layers. Luckily this film has both. Big chase scenes in Philly, particles floating about in South Korea, and tracking shots in Jerusalem make this one of the 3D events of the year. No exaggeration.
Like so many other summer blockbusters before it, civilization is on the brink of extinction and only a handful of experts can save us. What World War Z does that so many have failed is give us hope. Hope that humanity won’t dissolve into nothingness. In the face of sheer danger these fighters stand tall, take a deep breath, look the enemy in the eye, and say, “No.”
More about the movie you can also find it here
http://movieinfodb.com/en/movie/72190/World+War+Z-2013