Back when the trailer was first released, seeing zombies on the mass scale tossing over a bus and then climbing over one another to crawl over an immense wall seemed to be going overboard. However, once the film is received in its entirety, the zombie’s actions do seem a tad more believable than the trailer originally put forth. It is not seemingly indicated whether Marc Forster, (Director), intended to have the film version of “World War Z” stray away from the novelized version, yet what he ended up with is an interesting matinee popcorn flick. So long as you realize that this is not the “World War Z” that we deserve, but one that could be fun to watch with friends in a dark basement, then you should be satisfied.
Having the movie from the perspective of the character Gerry Lane seems to fit, in that his experience encapsulates the essence of this world’s zombie apocalypse. Where Pitt’s performance as Gerry Lane is truly engaging, that of the secondary characters lacks substance, and ultimately is forgettable. Since the story is constantly moving with Gerry, there are new characters every 15 minutes, which leaves us caring much less about those we met throughout the film.
WARNING, major spoilers ahead. Sure enough, there are obvious plot twists and screen shots that are inevitable within the conventional zombie movie genre that are translated to “World War Z”. Brad Pitt, (Gerry Lane), forced to leave his family behind on the air craft carrier to further explore the pandemic is somewhat an obvious turn of events. Indecently, once a character reveals an enormous wall, and claims it to be impenetrable to zombies, the audience can almost be certain to expect that the wall will soon come crumbling down.
Once it was announced that Matthew Fox would be accompanying Brad Pitt in this film, I was happy to hear this once “Lost” star would have work on a major movie. So as silly as this may sound, I was disappointed when Matthew Fox never appeared in the film. He was however listed in the cast and crew, and credited for a character only known as “Para-jumper”. It was somewhat confusing why they would place an actor like Matthew Fox into a pointless role, when they had other unknown actors play bigger roles.
Where “World War Z” thrives is through its emotional and suspenseful scenes of non-stop thrills. Watching the characters run constantly causes an essence of panic for the audience, and keeps us on our toes. Normally, it wouldn’t seem believable that a character like Gerry Lane would be able to not only save, but protect his assigned body guards throughout the story, but all was set straight with quick mention to Lane’s past with the armed forces.
Although it was somewhat out of place, the fluffy happy ending didn’t seem unwanted. Normally where having a zombie movie end with an “everything will be alright” mentality could ruin the film, “World War Z” almost thrives. That isn’t to say that a darker ending wouldn’t have been welcomed with open arms. Gerry Lane’s sacrifice at the end of the film almost seemed trivial after being able to walk away unscathed.
At times, the film could feel as shaky as the plane scene itself. There really isn’t much done with this movie that other zombie stories hadn’t done before, and yet it has an air of arrogance about it that would normally feel out of place, but for some reason fits. There were moments that truly seemed out of place, or even forced; with Pitt’s performance carrying “World War Z” to its credits, you will have somewhat of a fun ride. Worth a matinee or watch it at home with friends.
Joe Monfoletto
Rotten Tomatoes Score as of 7/24/2013: 67%
My Score: 78%
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