“World War Z” is a zombie thriller that lacks
a bite
How
many zombie movies need to be made before the genre becomes stale? Apparently Hollywood isn’t done milking the
undead cash cow yet, as this summer saw the release of “World War Z,” one of
many zombie movies to come out in the years since the huge success of AMC’s “The
Walking Dead” reinvigorated interest in the genre.
The
hype for this movie was understandably big, since it is based on the highly
praised novel of the same name in addition to having Brad Pitt in front of and
behind the camera as a producer. Unfortunately,
numerous production problems plagued the project, and it shows in the finished
film. What we have instead, is an
underwhelming run-of-the-mill summer action flick than a fully realized
adaptation.
The
story of “World War Z” plays out like almost every other zombie film you’ve
seen before. A virus pops up that turns
people into killing machines, spreading across the globe while a former
government official tries to protect his family while on a globe-trotting
crusade to find a cure for the pandemic.
The main plot points are so redundant that you could make a checklist of
material from other zombie and pandemic media, and “World War Z” would fulfill
almost every one of them.
A
montage of news coverage on the start of the infection during the opening
credits? Check. Scenes of our main characters’ perfect life
before the chaos hits them? Check. A scene where the hero finds a seemingly safe
haven only to see it come crashing down in a matter of minutes despite all his
warnings? Check. The list goes on and on.
Despite
the fast pace of the movie and constant action, there’s a distinct lack of
tension in “World War Z.” This can be
attributed to two things.
The
first is the toned down violence in the movie.
It’s glaringly obvious that serious cuts were made in order to get the
box-office-success-guaranteed PG-13 rating.
In spite of all the violence that occurs in “World War Z”, there is
little to no blood in the movie. Considering
that this is a genre that pretty much thrives on guts and gore, and that much
more gruesome zombie violence is shown on TV, it really takes the grit out of a
movie that could seriously benefit from it.
The
second aspect hindering the film’s tension is Brad Pitt’s constant presence
throughout. That’s not a knock against
Pitt’s performance, he does well enough with what he’s given, but no matter how
bad the situations get in the movie you know he’s going to walk away from them. He’s usually the sole survivor of a major
attack, and every other nameless character he comes across is just fodder for
the zombies.
Speaking
of the zombies in this movie, they’re probably the most interesting part of the
whole film. The writers put an
interesting twist on the way the zombies behave. Instead of devouring their victims, they
simply bite them and move on, causing people to turn in a matter of 12 seconds
(the movie literally counts the time for the audience), thus causing the
infection’s rapid spread. They’re also a
little more intelligent than your normal flesh-craving animal, as they can
figure out how to get to their prey by doing things like breaking windows and
forming giant piles to get over walls.
They
reminded me a lot of the velociraptors from “Jurassic Park,” which in turn
reminded me that I could be watching a much better movie.
It
should be a noted that the film is resolved by an act of sheer dumb luck, further
cementing Pitt’s character as an invincible force, and the closing narration
leaves the movie open for a sequel. If
this does occur, and the sequel only consists of more of this, you can count me
out.
For all of the major problems in “World War Z,”
it’s never boring. The action is well
staged and the final sequence at a medical facility is genuinely eerie, invoking
chilling memories of playing the old “Resident Evil” games.
To the film’s credit I’ve never read the original book, but I really want to now, as I’ve heard so many good things about it. It’s just a shame that the movie feels more like a heavily manufactured victim of the current Hollywood process than a great adaptation of supposedly great source material. At its best, “World War Z” is a decent rainy Friday night rental and a redundant wasted opportunity at its worst.
