WORLD WAR Z REVIEW

About The Movie:

World War Z — loosely based on the book by Max (son of Mel) Brooks — is an enjoyable action movie in which former United Nations investigator Gerry Lane, played by Brad Pitt, finds himself, his wife and two young daughters in the midst of a worldwide undead epidemic. The family escapes with help from Lane’s U.N. connections, but by calling in that favor he is asked to trace the source of the disease and stop it. He goes from South Korea, scene of one of the first reported cases, to Jerusalem, which has built a wall to keep the undead out and ultimately to a World Health Organization facility. His journey is a nail-biter. (We have the cuticles to prove it.) And in addition to being suspenseful, the flick drives home the personal and global reactions such an outbreak would bring. 

What Is Good/Bad About The Movie:

The performances in World War Z are strong. Pitt is a solid lead with a likable balance between no-nonsense survival skills and sympathetic reactions to the horror surrounding him. Mireille Enos is equally effective as Lane’s wife, Karen – successfully selling his reason for agreeing to the mission. The movie doesn’t bother to develop her character beyond the relationship with Lane, but Enos makes the most of her scenes and even gets to flaunt some impressive (albeit brief) zombie-fighting capability. While Enos is downgraded midway through the movie, Daniella Kertesz adds a highly-adept heroine for the latter half – as an Israeli solider, Segen, that accompanies Lane in his investigation. While Segen’s actions don’t always make complete sense (given her knowledge of the situation), they help drive several of the movie’s best scenes of tension and provide Kertesz with several memorable moments to justify her screen time.

Of course, the real stars of the film are the zombies and, for the most part, they deliver a number of cool variations to the genre staples. As mentioned, the best zombie tsunami shots are spoiled in the film trailers, but the efficiency and brutality of the World War Z zombies (who can even spring their bodies into the air to tackle fleeing victims) definitely create plenty of exciting set pieces. Additionally, in service of helping Lane learn more about the outbreak, the film gives the character room to experiment and uncover the various intricacies of this zombie breed.

While there is plenty of action in the film, moviegoers hoping for enormous scenes of zombie killing could be underwhelmed by the overall World War Z experience. The enormous zombie crowd shots are attention-grabbing, but Forster’s primary focus is Lane’s search for a solution to the outbreak. 

Overall Grade: B+