Ok, I want to make one thing clear, right from the start.
This is a review of the movie, not the book.
This might seem to be a rather aggressive beginning to a
review but it is important. The movie is almost nothing like the book. The book
is about someone from the UN going around the world after the zombie apocalypse is
over. It is made of interviews of people from around the world, each describing
how their own country did or did not deal with the undead menace. There are one
or two things I have issue with, like the guy from Britain being interviewed
while wearing a kilt and talking about the Queen all the time, but in a genre
that had countless books about zombies it’s something fresh and new.
The movie is about a guy from the UN running about all over
the world just after the start of the zombie apocalypse and trying to find what
caused it/any way to beat it.
So. There’s almost no point in comparing the two of them.
They share a name and not a lot else. And now I've got that out of the way, on
with the review.
World War Z is a film that about Brad Pitt travelling all
over the world and being chased by zombies in several exotic locations. This is
basically it. He is supposed to be looking for something to help fight them but
the way he eventually comes up with is kind of dumb and probably best ignored. I
couldn't wait to see it, partly because I love zombies and partly because some
of it was shot in Glasgow near where I live. I'm sad to say I was a little
disappointed.
The film starts off pretty well. The introduction is several
news clips strung together with animals eating meat and builds an effective
sense of tension. Then we get introduced to Brad Pitt and his wife and kids,
who seem to do little in the first 20 minutes of the movie other than hold him
back. The first encounter with the zombies is done well as well. Honestly this
might be my favourite part of the movie. It shows Brad Pitt lost and confused
but obviously thinking and figuring things out. There’s a part where he thinks
he might have been infected so he stands on the edge of a building so that if
he turns he will fall off. I mean when was the last time you saw someone do
that?
Sadly after that things in my opinion go downhill a bit. As
I said he is sent round to various places with an expert in viruses or
something, who is supposed to be their only hope, and a squad of SEALs for good
measure. Five minutes after virus guy gives a speech on the plane to Korea
about how he’ll be looking for clues to combating the zombie plague, and in the
process talking about Mother Nature in a way that makes me think that he’s been
single for a long time, he gets separated from Brad Pitt in a way so ridiculous
that it was all I could do not to burst out laughing. Then it’s up to just Pitt
alone to travel the globe, looking for clues and dodging zombies that might as
well be ninja as they seem able to appear any time any where in ludicrously
large numbers. And I know that that is supposed to be one of the things about
zombies but usually it takes a few hours at least for someone to turn after
they've become infected. In the movie it’s twelve seconds, which means that
it’s pretty unlikely for someone who’s been infected to be able to hide among a
crowd for a while.
However….I am a bit of a zombie slob so let’s just boil it
down to its basics and look at what the movie offers. Does it give you large
amount of zombies and running action. Yes. In buckets. Sometimes it’s a bit
dumb but you get zombies leaping out at the drop of a hat and some really tense
moments. Does it give you something that other zombie movies don’t? Yes.
Usually zombie movies are about a small group of people wondering around a
small location. This shows things from the perspective of the government and
while this isn’t exactly unique it is rare enough to distinguish it from the
rest of the herd. And as I’ve said you get a reasonably wide variety of
locations in which Brad Pitt runs away from zombies.
And finally, is it enjoyable? Yes. Although it gets
increasingly silly as it progresses if you’re looking for just a dumb bit of
fun where you don’t have to think about the plot all that much then definitely
go watch it. I mean I’m probably never going to see it again but I don’t regret
that I did. Even if I did have to stop myself from laughing a few times.
So if this is what you want in a zombie movie then go ahead.
If not then there’s plenty of others out there. So all in all, I’d give this
movie a six out of ten.
