But What If I Don't Want To See 'World War Z'?

 

It's uneven -- and fans of the book may be annoyed by how thoroughly it diverges from the source material -- but World War Z still brings smart, fast-moving thrills and a solid performance from Brad Pitt to the zombie genre. - Rotten Tomatoes

Ever since 'Legends of the Fall', Brad Pitt gets a free pass from me. I also kinda pity him that he is stuck with Angela who is willing to remove her breasts medically to keep him from leaving her to live the life of his buddy George Clooney. So, as I get dragged to a film that has much to explain to me after watching the trailer. The waves of people surging that we see in this spot seems utterly unbelievable and I am going to see a pretty good reason why Brad is so important to saving the world. I will be very let down if the answer is goofy like it would be in a Tom Cruise film.



I hate these films where the kids are put into danger because I would hate to have to worry for anyone other than myself in the chaos that is ensuing all over the city. The zombies in this movie turn quickly after being bit and just do not stop coming for you regardless of how damaged they are. The scenes of crowds going wild freaked me out in the biggest way. While the movie goes along in fits and starts, it does have some very impressive set pieces and memorable CGI. The scene inside the plane just about has thrown me off flying every again. Trapped in a pressurized cabin with crazed zombies is not my idea of the 'friendly skies'.

 

I didn't read the book but have heard that many believed it couldn't be filmed due to it's unique story structure. The budget for the production swelled and even Pitt himself started showing up at random screenings to further generate excitement for the film. I sometimes even wonder if Angelina' double mastectomy announcement was timed to bring sympathy to the entire Jollie/Pitt clan.

 

Adapted all too freely from Max Brooks' book of the same name, it attempts to coalesce the diverse oral histories that make up the novel into a simple narrative and fails. - Rotten Tomatoes

 

Scenes of people looting for what resources remain as the world all falls to hell is not a fun way to spend a few hours at the movies. Especially when the guy who has fallen next to you starts twitching as he turns into a crazed zombie killer. This movie has convinced me that I need to create my own 'GO BAG' for the moment when the end of the world comes to my neck of the woods. There is no way that our planet would be prepared for anything like the events that happen in this film. Soon the living would envy the dead. The movie does a good job at creating that feeling of hopeless dread.

 

Once you suspend disbelief that Brad Pitt is the only one that can save the world then you will be rewarded by a pretty entertaining zombie picture - though I agree with many that making this a zombie movie isn't really necessary.

 

'Zombie' just is a convenient name for the 'undead' creatures that are threatening the world but this movie is unlike any zombie film you have ever seen. It's not the usual group of college kids fighting monsters from a mountain cabin and few zombie movies have the global scope that World War Z does.

 

 

“Maybe the problem with World War Z is that zombie movies require a certain amount of weirdness or subversiveness to succeed. Turning a zombie pandemic into a generic disaster movie robs the zombies of their dirty, nasty edginess and robs the disaster of its epic scope.” - Rotten Tomatoes

 

I found the family of Pitt's character to be another addition that was totally unnecessary. We don't get to know enough about them to care why Pitt cares for them other than the fact that they are his family. There is no great journey to return to his wife and children and any reference to them just slows down the action and the search for a cure, which should really be the center of the story.

 

Much like John Carter, it is a perfectly average piece of genre fiction with some genuinely good bits that was pre-determined to be horrible by people who have not seen it; unlike John Carter, its sins are the result of caution rather than ambition. - http://mightygodking.com/