“I’ve heard lots of good things about World War Z, the book. I’ve also heard that World War Z, the movie, has almost nothing in common with the book other than the title and well, uh, zombies. Not having read it, I can’t complain or speak to that. But I can say that I very much enjoyed World War Z, the movie.
I’m torn about fast zombies vs slow zombies. Fast ones are certainly scarier, but I feel they lose some of their inherent zombie-ness if they aren’t shambling. I think this is the first time I’ve seen the two combined. And I loved it. The film was packed with edge of your seat, heart pounding, adrenaline rushing suspense. That was probably the film’s greatest strength. Watching the swarm of zombies overtake someone, who’d turn before your eyes and then join the pack was downright terrifying. Some of that imagery was intense. On the flip side, zombies that didn’t have any stimulation were the mindless, drooling, bumping into walls walking dead.
There’s lots of joking around about Brad Pitt’s role in this (or his hair’s role) but I applaud him. My recent realization about Pitt (and I think I talked about this for Moneyball) is that you’d expect a big name to be BIG on screen. And when it comes to names, Brad’s ’bout as big as ya get. Instead, he turns in some really subtle and nuanced performances. This was no exception. This could have just been another kill ’em all supernatural thriller, but it wasn’t. Pitt’s character was a father, with previous experience in hostile areas, who was fighting to find a cure so that he could guarantee his family’s safety. With that emotional drive behind it, it felt like the film had a lot more force than your run of the mill, kill all the things, summer blockbuster.
There really isn’t much else to say about it. You’re either into zombies, or you’re not. And if you’re into zombies, this is certainly the way to go.
World War Z – \m/ \m/ \m/ \n