World War Z – Review

Posted by maria kriva on October 15, 2013 · 1 Comment 

““If you can fight, fight. Be prepared for anything. Our war has just begun.”Brad Pitt’s last lines in the zombie-apocalypse World War Z couldn’t be anything less awesome than that.The 2013 box office bomb is one of those movies that intrigue movie fans not because of the deep tingling feeling that it is going to be great, but because the curiosity levels for Brad Pitt’s performance is particularly high. From action films and vampire horror movies to comedies and dramas, Brad Pitt has had his share of different roles, but his performance in a post Apocalypse disaster movie goes beyond one’s expectations.

However, it is surprising that this particular film is so highly rated. The “Brad Pitt” brand name may have raised the ante but this doesn’t necessarily mean that it has eliminated those cheesy American scenes, with a loving typical family in their big house in the suburbs having breakfast, being bubbly and jolly buried under ignorance, while people on the streets start biting each other spreading mayhem.

In Marc Forster’s adventure horror film, Brad Pitt portrays Gerry Lane, a former United Nations Investigator who is called back to duty after a virus that turns humans into zombie look-alikes breaks out. The word “zombie”, in this case, has a different meaning than in similar films, like Dawn of the Dead, I am Legend and the god-forbid-you-happened-to-watch-it Against the Dark (which actually took zombies to another level, making them vampire-zombies).

In World War Z, zombies do look like dead corpses and also have amazing running skills. But what makes this film different is that it is astonishingly blood-free. Scenes with dismembered limbs and blood puddles are completely absent. Is it an effort to stand out from the lot? Or is it that this type of gore doesn’t suit the sophistication Brad Pitt tried to bring to this film?

The plot of the film lacked of imagination. It is one that depicts a post zombie-apocalypse world caused from an unknown virus. It is a film, where one invincible hero saves humankind and finds a cure. Like in I am Legend or the less zombie-like film The Invasion, the swift breakout of a virus leaves the entire world helpless and the salvation lies in one man’s hands.

I have to give credit to something, though. In the other films mentioned above, the viewers can only see what’s happening in a specific area where the story unravels. In World War Z, the current situation in other countries is not a big mystery. Gerry Lane, travels to South Korea, Israel and Wales in his quest for answers. So the viewers get to see how chaos has spread around the world and realise that this pandemic is worldwide indeed.

If you are familiar with zombie apocalypse movies, you probably won’t find yourself bustling with excitement, so don’t keep your hopes high. If you are a fan of such movies, although you will see things you have seen before, it could be quite satisfying since it completely serves its purpose of showing the chaotic aftermath of a deadly virus.

If you are not a big fan, on the other hand, I recommend watching something like Zombieland. It’s light, fun and equally “apocalyptic”!

Filed under Review · Tagged with Brad Pitt, Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Dawn of the Dead, deadly virus, Emma Stone, Fight Club, Gerry Lane, horror movie, I am Lengend, United Nations, World War Z, Zombie, zombie apocalypse