
Zombies are hot, and we all know that. And doing something unique within the genre has become increasingly difficult. With 'The Walking Dead' and '30 Days Of Night' bring zombies to the mainstream. Now Max Brooks' 'World War Z' has added another dimension to the world of the undead!
'World War z' is a film based on the books by the same name and first published in 2006. Since I have never read the book I can't compare it to anything, but I can say after seeing the film, I may wanna read it.
The movie starts out with a literal bang! The zombie apocalypse is starting and we don't know how or why. As you begin the movie you are feeling as confused, helpless and in the dark as Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) and his family are, running from hell on earth. As a former government agent, he still has friends in high places that get he and his family out of the massacre out to sea. Here the United Nations tries to put some sense of leadership together and get to the bottom of the problem. Cool thought to get everyone out to sea, because apparently zombies can't swim.
Where this film hits it right is the balance of action, characterization and political intrigue. The special effects are amazing and never overshadow the story going on. "WWZ' has a great cast including Mirelle Enos, James Badge Dale, Fana Mokoena and Daniella Kertesz, who I think we will be hearing more of in the future.
Director Marc Forester (Quantum Of Solace) did a great job with pacing and keeping everything balanced. Not to much eating and not too much yacking.
To help get us in the mood, the score by Marco Beltami is perfect as well. His past work includes such diverse films like 'Soul Surfer', 'Hellboy' and 'Mimic'! He seems to have a nice handle on music for each scene and mood without beciming disjointed.
The only complaint (and it is a little one) is that Brad Pitt's character had a few James Bond moments. Sure he was trained for all this, but I felt it took a little heart out of his character. Sure we only had 2 hours to tell the story, but if that was my only complaint.
Everyone seems to focus on how in production things were changed and rewritten. Sure I would have loved to seen how a collapsing civilization would structure a government and how nations would react, but we got something else. We got a fun movie that gave me the same feeling I got when I saw 'Battlefield Los Angeles'; a fun film for fun's sake.
Matman Rating: 5 out of 5 zombie bites!