World War Z is a triumph after all and a brilliant new addition to the zombie genre. Brad Pitt plays our tour guide in a new world going to undead hell. Pitt’s hero takes us to the darkest depths where life has been forsaken and pockets of humanity where hope desperately tries to remain alive. Pitt plays Gerry Lane, a United Nations investigator who left behind a career traveling to the world’s most dangerous war zones. When the undead attack the living and multiply at an uncontrollable rate Lane gets his family to safety and gets recruited by his former employers to lead a search for the cause and possible cure to the outbreak.
In so many ways this is not a “zombie” movie and certainly different from any zombie movie you’ve seen before. It’s a frantic globe-trotting medical mystery with a hero you can cheer for in a series of intense and terrifying escapes from the undead. There are classic moments of trapped survivors in tight claustrophobic areas but this film is sprawling and shows the epic impact on the entire world. This doesn’t have the usual gore you’d expect but it’s still an edge of your seat horror show.
I have to admit – I LOVE World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks. The book is absolutely brilliant and horrific. I still think the book would work best as an anthology series and I was worried about the rewrites and major delay.
I LOVE this film.
Taking a breath and making the changes obviously worked and the movie was brought back to action packed life. Brad Pitt, Marc Forster and the writing team use the world created by Max Brooks as inspiration to create a fast-paced thriller. Lane is an observer documenting the global war in the book but in the film leads us on a terrifying odyssey searching for clues to stop the relentless onslaught of the undead. Pitt gives a commanding performance as a family man who is a smart, fearless, compassionate and very human hero. World War Z is a smart and scary thrill ride.
By Editor