FILM REVIEW | World War Z

Nobody knows no where it started; nobody knew how fast it would spread; nobody will say what it is – but one thing’s for sure: it’s here and it’s not stopping anytime soon.

It’s the rise of the undead.

The Story

Ok, did anyone else not know that the “Z” stood for “Zombie”?

Yes, ladies and gents, it’s yet another zombie-movie (a zomvie) for 2013 (and for the collection at home for all you zombie lovers) – this is my second one this year!

There’s not really much to go with story wise, I mean all zombie movies kind of start with not knowing where it started then either ventures into survival or finding a cure. This film follows the second path, and let me tell you it’s a path that leaves you jumping. All the action sequence happen in any tight space that you can imagine: traffic jams, abandoned mini-marts and apartment blocks, pitch-black airports, airplanes and medical centres.

There’s just so many of these tight situations that there’s no room to feel for the family element of this film, which is a little hard to stomach considering that the whole premise is that Brad Pitt’s character, Gerry, left the U.N. to be with his family. Point is, there are so many “levels” in finding this (possibly non-existent) cure that by the end of the film you just don’t believe half the things that Gerry goes through.

The Cast

Brad Pitt – I’m only going to talk about Mr Pitt because frankly this movie was about Gerry and no one else. As a whole, Gerry is portrayed as a hero and seemingly the “only hope” for humanity, so in terms of portraying that aspect, Pitt was brilliant. As a dad he was alright, but again, there wasn’t enough time in the film to actually mould the ‘father-figure’. Otherwise, if you like characters that are “larger than life” then Pitt did a great job.

Cinematography and Graphics – Raising the Dead

I have to say, the single transformations of the Zombies were well done – so kudos to make-up for the hard work. But overall, I thought there were so many scenes that were way too messy and unbelievable that I couldn’t stomach most of the scenes. I thought the countdown of the spread was a great concept, but when you saw the swarms of zombies it was just a moment of, “What?!” – you just couldn’t grasp it (in terms of grasping fictional concepts like zombies).

OVERALL

Story and execution wise, I thought it was too video game like. I appreciated the concept and the progression of the plot, but I just thought it was a movie that purely showed you how many ways you could kill a zombie. I found myself saying, “Just hack his head off!” towards the end – mimicking my conversations when I watch my brother and cousins play similar games. It was a great thrill, but I came out thinking, “Dude, what’s the point of ‘surviving’ a Zombie apocalypse if: 1) there’s ideally no cure and 2) I most likely won’t survive anyway.” Any-hoo…

sL Star Rating: 3 Stars

Next on sL: Monsters University