Since pre-production, World War Z has been the center of controversy whether it’s because it completely diverges from the original source material or because of the amount of times it’s been rewritten. In either case this has only helped to create greater hype for the film, but it turns out it may have benefited from a little discretion since it underwhelms on every front. Starting with the hollowness of the characters, all the way down to it’s faux-zombies, World War Z as a whole is ill-defined. The only sophistication in the film is the craftsmanship of the many different set designs we see as we are jerked around on a journey with Brad Pitt, as well as a few glimpses of intellect from the story itself.
On an ordinary morning, the world ends as it was always cinematically destined to, either with zombies or aliens at the helm. Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) and his family are in Philadelphia as a wave of infected (notice how I didn’t call them zombies) spread exponentially through the city. Against all odds, they escape the city and make it to a cluster of naval ships in the ocean. Soon after arriving on the ship, Gerry is forced to go out in the field with a virologist to determine the point of origin of this infection and to find a way to stop it. The first stop is South Korea, where the virologist anxiously/nervously/awkwardly tells Gerry what a cruel bitch Mother Nature is and how she hides strengths in weaknesses that can be found by following a trail of bread crumbs. After a series of unfortunate/predictable events, Gerry, an ex-UN investigator, is now the world’s only hope at finding the source of the infection and a cure for the current pandemic.
I won’t bore you with all the comparisons between the novel and this story. They are two very different creatures. It would be like comparing apples to raccoon. That being said, just because I’ve chosen to bite my tongue about comparing it to the source material does not mean the story is above criticism. This film plays much like your average action movie where the fate of many rests in the actions of one, except instead of fleshing out the hero, they leave him as vague a husk as the infected swarms. Instead of being shown how much Gerry cares for his family, you are told. Just like he was a former UN investigator who apparently quit due to what we can only assume is a post-traumatic stress disorder incident. You are told all of this and asked to believe it, but you are never quite convinced.
That being said, this film has its clever moments. While they are being attacked by mindless hoards, Gerry shows us he has the brains to follow the trail of breadcrumbs to a solution. You never figure out what the true cause or source of the infection was, so if you’re one of the people that need to know how it started you will be disappointed. Don’t worry though, because the solution they discover is one that will make you forget you even cared about its origin.
At this point, I’m sure you’re wondering why I haven’t used the word ‘zombie’ to describe the infected. It’s the same reason I refer to this as an action film, because that’s exactly what it is. Horror as a genre is very hit or miss when it only has a rating of PG-13 to work with. I’m not saying that it is an impossible feat to accomplish, but usually PG-13 horror rely on well-placed scares and story driven suspense to accomplish it. What I am saying is that it is near impossible to make a good zombie film with only a PG-13 rating since zombie culture is all about violence, gore and copious amounts of blood.
World War Z earned its PG-13 rating and then some. Not only was there hardly any blood shown, but the cameraman went out of their way not to show you any direct blood gushing from a body. For all we know the infection could have been spread through kisses. Their strategy (and I must agree it is a smart one) is the show the hoard of zombies as one entity, much like a wave or avalanche. Individual appearances become almost unnecessary, which is great when you don’t want to show any gore or blood. Taking that away from zombies is like taking away their souls (bad pun). That is why I refuse to call them zombies or even call this a horror film. You could have replaced these “zombies” with an avalanche of kittens and it would probably have not made much of a difference. Even The Walking Dead does much better with zombies and they only have a TV-14 rating to work with.
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I’ve almost bitten my tongue off by trying to not talk about how much this film interpretation pales in comparison to the Max Brooks novel. Brooks-ist purists will hate every bit of it all the way down to Brad Pitt’s scruffy face. With all the writers involved in this film you would think they could at least come to par with something as great as Max Brooks created. It instead shows us that too many cooks in the kitchen just make a complete mess of the recipe in front of them. Although the great scenic views from Jerusalem to Nova Scotia keep my visually stimulated, the landslide of “zombies” and lack of character development leave me underwhelmed and hungry for more. Brad Pitt’s character ends by saying, “This isn’t the end. Not even close.” If that’s the treat of a sequel, I’m rooting for the zombies on this one.
Rating: ★★★★★ (5/10 stars)
IN THEATERS NOW.
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