Review: World War Z (2013)

Review by Disgruntled Monkey

Director: Marc Forster
Writers: Matthew Michael Carnahan, Drew Goddard and Damon Lindelof
Starring: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos and Daniella Kertesz

Zombies are huge and just don't seem to be going away. Countless books, movies and television present us all with the shambling moldy corpses. World War Z is an attempt to cash in on zombie's by adapting one of the most beloved zombie novels. So how does it hold up?

Well comparing the movie to the source material is pointless. If anything but a faithful adaptation will turn you off, you might as well move on as you ain't going to get it. It's a little weird, as barring a few likenesses the movie could of just been it's own thing and never had to pay for the rights to the novel. Still what's done is done and you may not want to watch solely on this disregarding of the source material.

The movie itself brings some interesting things to the zombie genre and as such actually feels unique. Zombies in this movie are fast movers, but they also throw themselves at their prey with utter abandonment. It actually makes these zombies scary as there is such a viciousness to the zombie pack. Seeing zombies jump of rooftops to capture humans below is mesmerizing. As if to match the pace of the zombies the movie seems to move at a break neck speed. You're given little to now foundation before the shit hits the fan and I actually liked it. The zombies, the pace, it really made this movie feel different from other's of it's ilk.

Characterization is kind of sacrificed for the pace of the movie and we are given very little time to make connections and this could be a problem for some viewers. Brad Pitt unleashes his charisma and thankfully is a likable lead, even if he seems a bit two dimensional. Others are quickly used and spit out with only Daniella Kertesz as Segen making any impression, but like Pitt she's really given nothing to really make a fully fleshed out character.

Special Effects are pretty good and individually the zombies are scary mothers, especially when they smash around corners. However when you get to the zombie dog piles as seen in the trailer things tend to get a little bad. It's just a case of technology not being able to keep up with the idea. Still a lot of money was put into the movie and you can see that on the screen.

World War Z is entertaining and thanks to it's ideas it seems unique in a sea of zombie genre movies. However it moves at such a fast pace that it over looks some plot points. Holes will appear under scrutiny but if the movie doesn't really give you the time to pay that much attention. It's definitely a watch for lovers of the genre and those looking for an entertaining quick paced movie.

Category	Rating	Reason
Entertainment	1 zombie out of 1	There's life in this corpse and it's fun.
Script	0.5 zombies out of 1	Enjoy the show and try not paying attention to the dead man behind the curtain.
Acting	0.5 zombies out of 1	Good actors but they don't really bring anything to the movie.
Directing	1 zombie out of 1	Forster creates a relentless pace that works extremely well.
Technical	0.5 zombie out of 1	For the most part the movie creates some unique looking zombie action that's pretty great.
Overall	3.5 zombies out of 5	A solid and entertaining zombie movie that actually brings something a little fresh to the genre.