March 29, 2024

World War Z (2013): Brad Pitt Vs. Zombies

World War Z (2013)World War Z, which takes place in the present day, features Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) traveling the world and looking for answers to the zombie pandemic that seemingly came out of nowhere. In a race against time, can Gerry, (Pitt) his fellow UN employees and military personal find the answers, or will mankind cease to exist?

I’m not sure Brad Pitt or any other actor in this film hit a home run, but the story found a way to be pretty original while attacking a subject (zombies) that has been used and abused for many years. It was meant to stress the viewer out and keep them wondering what the hell is going on.  It succeeded on both accounts in my book, at least for the most part.

Is this film a horror, thriller or a little bit of both? There are both moments of horror and thrills through out the entire movie so I’ll let you be the judge. Hell, even IMDB has it listed at five different genres.  There aren’t many pointless scenes, meaning every scene has a purpose at some point through out the movie.  When the movie concluded, I was able to put the pieces together and say “x” happened because of “y” and “y” happened because of “z,” etc… In other words, the film was well written and thought out.

One thing I must add before I continue to gush over this film is one huge advantage World War Z and it’s crew had over every other zombie film ever made:  A huge budget.  Huge as in $190,000,000 huge!  Find me another film about zombies with a budget even close to that!  I believe that instantly added more pressure on this film to succeed unlike any zombie film before, which it did, at least financially.  However, I don’t foresee this film gaining a cult following for the next 30+ years like some of the classic zombie films have.

No movie is perfect and therefore I must criticize this film at least a little bit, right?  Although I loved this film, it’s actually fairly easy to find “weaknesses” or lack of depth before the movie even begins….And even more holes through out the movie, including my humble opinion on the ending.  However, if I don’t warn you first, I’ll spoil the movie for you if you keep reading. So…..

Stop reading (don’t proceed until after you watch the trailer) now if you are interested in seeing the film! When you see the film, come back and read the rest and let me know if you agree or disagree with me.

Ok, now that you have taken the plunge…Let’s get serious, Brad Pitt doesn’t die in actions films. He’s what I like to call a “safe” actor, meaning they are going to keep him alive because they are paying him A LOT of money and his name obviously helped hype/sell this film.  With that being said, I never really thought he was in any danger even when the scene wanted him to be in serious trouble.  Yes, they did a good job with the intensity of the scenes, but I just never believed he’d die.  Any other character in those same scenes would have had me wondering if they were going to live or die. However, how do you get around that?  You want the main character in those scenes because he or she is the MAIN character.  Plus, if want of the secondary characters is in one of those scenes and dies, you don’t care as much, right?

Brad Pitt is no Bruce Campbell, then again I’m sure Bruce Campbell would have been fine with having a career as great as Pitt’s.  What I’m saying is, Bruce Campbell has had a cult following for many years because of his “zombie” like films.  So, for one genre, I can say Brad Pitt is no Bruce Campbell and actually have it be accurate. With all of that being said, let’s be honest here, Pitt’s acting skills walk circles around Campbell’s.  The only problem is, people (me included) love a good old fashioned cheesy, bloody, ghost/zombie flick.  World War Z was a Blockbuster film, but not an “old school” and beloved film, at least not in my amateur opinion, and for $190,000,000 that’s a good thing!

World War Z 2

My last criticism on this film is the ending.  It wasn’t a terrible ending, but I think they took the easy way out. There was no clear victor.  The zombies were still wandering around and the human race was battered but still “upbeat.” How can someone even resemble being upbeat when zombies did what they did?  And by watching the movie, most people lost at least part of their family and or friends.

MY FINAL TAKE:  if you want my overall amateur opinion about World War Z, here it is:  See the movie!  It’s a well made film and the $190,000,000 budget is put to good use. You will see zombies like you have never seen before, special FX like you have never seen in a zombie movie and several “wow” moments.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

3 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
jsims87
10 years ago

I genuinely enjoyed the movie as well, it was entertaining. With that being said though, I saw this little YouTube clip before the film, and it’s all I could think about (WARNING: some spoilers in this clip!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2cS5Fv5xIQ

Overall a decent movie, but that clip made me realize this movie wasn’t what I was hoping for. Enjoyable for a dollar from RedBox though!

Chewie
Admin
10 years ago
Reply to  jsims87

Dude… that YouTube clip was HILARIOUS! Definitely subscribing to that channel. Thanks J! Looking forward to your first ScareTissue review!

muddy runner
10 years ago

Great review. Far more in depth than my own and I agree with you on the ending and the ‘is he ever really in true danger’ Brad Pitt conundrum…

3
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x