World War Z Review

The third film I posted as a new blogger was World War Z.  All I knew about this film going into the theater was that the “Z” pretty much stood for “Zombie” and it was based off a book.  I didn’t read the book(s) so I can’t comment on the film as an adaptation but I’ve heard that it varies a lot from its source material.  Anyway, for not knowing much about the film, I enjoyed it, so I guess that worked in my favor. Have a read for yourself.

---

Synopsis
When a disease turning the infected into zombies erupts across the world, Geoffrey Lane (Brad Pitt) is forced to travel the world looking for a cure in ensure his family is protected from the outbreak.

Review
I walked into the theater not knowing exactly what to expect from World War Z… except for zombies.  Lots and lots of zombies. But sometimes, that is the best way to approach a movie because what I got was a very entertaining movie that kept me on the edge of my seat.

World War Z throws you right into the action right away. There was no build up, no background to what might of happened, it just hits the ground running. This is great because the viewer in immediately pulled in and engrossed in the film, but it did have a side effect, however. Because the action started within the first ten or fifteen minutes, the non-action part proceeding the opening sequence was much longer, and duller, than other action breaks throughout the movie.

The action sequences were pretty intense and fairly diverse. There was one action scene that happened in an apartment stairwell without any light, except from the light from a flare, that was pretty jarring. I understand it was done that way for the atmosphere, but it was still pretty annoying that I couldn’t see anything. Having the camera move around is (usually) alright, but adding the darkness made it a real pain to follow what was happening. Other than that, the camera did a fair job of framing the action and allowing everything to be seen.

These zombies were of the fast and aggressive variety. I know some people who are zombie purists and like their zombies moving slow, but being fast really added a lot to the film. When the zombies are slow, it seems like the characters lose their common sense, leading to some dumb mistake that gets them eaten/killed/turned by the zombies. The sheer amount of zombies often seen in movies, regardless of their speed, is overwhelming enough, but when they can be on top of you in the blink of an eye, they become much more terrifying and dangerous. This danger was felt all through the film, even during the quieter moments.

My favorite part about World War Z was the atmosphere and tension it was able to create. I lost count of how many times I noticed myself tensing up and had to relax. The atmosphere was very much like the video game Dead Space, where you know something is going to jump out, but you’re not sure of when or where. Out of the corner of my eye I saw my brother jump several times. This particular breed of zombie is attracted to sound and so when the characters were trying to sneak around, I was holding my breath. So even if it wasn’t an action sequence, the film was constantly keeping me on the edge of my seat and never really became dull.

Not everything was so tense. There was comedic relief laced throughout the movie. And the comedy didn’t feel forced, but organic, as comedy should feel.

I was initially expecting a different ending that what was given. It reminded me of another zombie movie ending that I won’t name to not give it away. Once the film reached its climax, but before I saw the very last scene, I felt like it should have ended a bit differently. However, after I thought about how I would have preferred it to end and think about how they could have done it within the context of the film, the ending makes the most sense for this movie.

The tension in World War Z made this movie for me. With no wait before starting the action, basically being thrown into the zombie outbreak almost immediately, great action scenes, as well as quiet scenes that were just as exciting, I was perpetually on the edge of my seat.

Rating
4/5

Trailer

Cast & Crew
Marc Forster – Director
Mathew Michael Carnahan – Screenplay / Screen Story
Drew Goddard – Screenplay
Damon Lindelof – Screenplay
J. Michael Straczynski – Screen Story
Marco Beltrami – Composer

Brad Pitt – Gerry Lane
Mireille Enos – Karin Lane
Daniella Kertesz – Segen
James Badge Dale – Captain Speke
Ludi Boeken – Jurgen Warmbrunn
Fana Mokoena – Thierry Umutoni
Elyes Gabel – Andrew Fassbach
Sterling Jerins – Constance Lane
Abigail Hargrove – Rachel Lane
Fabrizio Zacharee Guido – Tomas
Michael Huisman – Ellis