Brad Pitt is a movie star, no way around it. By sheer force of screen presence, he is able to elevate a zombie movie to summer blockbuster fare. This is not to say that I didn’t enjoy the film on its’ own mertis. In fact, it’s probably the most impressive zombie film since Danny Boyle’s ’28 Days Later’ (bias alert: Danny Boyle can do no wrong in my book). It’s just that, as I watch this film, I kept wondering if it would have the draw if Brad Pitt wasn’t the centerpiece. Drawing it’s inspiration from the Max Brooks novel ‘World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War’, it varies from the source material’s multi perspective story telling and rests the entire vantage from Brad Pitt’s character, Gerry Lane.
Gerry is a family man living in Philadelphia. Retired from his job as a globe trotting UN inspector, he has settled down into domestic bliss with his wife Karin (played generically by Mireille Enos) and his two daughters. His idyllic life is thrown into a tail spin when he gets caught in downtown gridlock with his family. He immediately senses something is wrong as people begin fleeing in a blind panic (police included). The zombies are invading and multiplying exponentially as it only takes a bite to turn a person into a zombie within minutes. Gerry and his family barely escape Philly with their lives. Fortunately, what is left of the government needs Gerry’s talents to help locate the source of the zombie infection, so he and his family are wisked away to a military flotilla where he realizes the true global scope of the problem.
Zombie movies mirror our fear of a global panademic that could someday happen, which scientists love to tease us with. It’s also the terror of dealing with something that is unstoppable and can't be reasoned with. The speed and ferocity with which these zombies attack also lends itself to our heightened sense of uncontrolled terror. One scene especially, in the walled off city of Jerusalem, where the zombies act with the persistence of an ant colony to climb over each other to get over the wall is especially chilling.
This movie is an exciting ‘race against time’ film and has all the explosions and excitement needed for a summer block buster. I will say, I found the back story on all the troubles it took to get this movie made more interesting than the film itself. There had been several rewrites and even the last 40 minutes of the film was reshot because it was considered not ready for release by the studio heads. It’s also interesting that in the book, the contagion started in China. Due to current politically correct issues and the desire not to alienate the Chinese government or audiences, the movie has the contagion starting in South Korea. I guess they don’t care about offending Koreans.
This is a fun popcorn matinee if you still like your monster movies. Despite the rewrite of the ending, I felt the movie lost it’s way and fizzled with an unsatisfying finale. Still, that doesn’t mean the entire roller coaster ride was a waste. Lot’s of fun and excitement. Brad Pitt can still rock as a lead in an action movie as he approaches 50 years old. I’m glad he and his production company, Plan B, finally got this movie made, but it’s nothing I’ll be renting anytime soon.
I give this film ** stars
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