I’m a big fan of the original book by Max Brooks. Between that and know the production had it’s troubles, I had concerns about World War Z.
Those troubles are noticeable through a tonal shift near the end. The extensive reshoots aren’t very kind to certain characters but this is an entertainingly different look at the Zombies.
Brad Pitt’s protagonist Gerry is a blur of scientist and soldier, filled with common sense and situational awareness. I can’t help but feel he’s read Brooks’ original Zombie Survival Guide! As we follow Gerry in his pursuit of an origin for the virus and possibly a cure, we see the effect that an epidemic like this has, not only on several countries but also the various inhabitants.
Though the film was commercially successful, it seemed to get quite a battering on it’s release. Personally I don’t get it. The cast are all effective and though these zombies are ‘runners’ it didn’t annoy me like it usually does. The way the infected throw themselves after prey with reckless abandon is both unsettling and exciting.
Overall eschewing the gore of other ‘Z’ films, whilst also sidestepping the recent trend towards mass destruction in the final third, Pitt and Forster have created an entertaining and sometimes tense globe-trotting movie.
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