Review: World War Z (2013)

Cast: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz
Director: Marc Forster
Country: USA | Malta
Genre: Action | Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller
Official Trailer: Here

Editor’s Notes: For an additional perspective on the World War Z, read Larry’s review.

I’ve been watching a lot of heady stuff lately. It’s stuff that leaves you thinking while you’re in transit after you’ve left the theatre. You can’t quite concentrate on your book so you just sit there trying to digest a film as a whole. I needed a break. From what I saw of the trailer, World War Z seemed like the type of film I needed: scares, a rush, and explosions. Then I’d walk out of the theatre a little pumped, maybe thinking, but not too much.

An analogy can be made for overpopulation and consumption here, but the scenes were non-stop which didn’t leave for much contemplation in that department.

World War Z is about a zombie epidemic that has taken over the world. Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) is an ex-UN investigator recruited to find the source of the zombie plague. These zombies are animal-like in movement: fast, can scale walls, and instead of eating brains, they bite and infect their prey. I really enjoyed their design because I could never scientifically understand why typical zombies eat brains or eat anything at all, so it was neat to see them act like rabid dogs instead. Unfortunately we aren’t treated to the typical Romero zombie personality tropes, which I love, instead we see them attacking in chaotic droves with speedy reflexive moves. An analogy can be made for overpopulation and consumption here, but the scenes were non-stop which didn’t leave for much contemplation in that department.

There are some great potboiler moments including scenes with Gerry’s family and the soldiers he’s with. Darkened hallways, flickering lights, and screeching horrors around the corner were welcomed trademark zombie thrills. I particularly enjoyed Daniella Kertesz as Segen, the gutsy Israeli soldier that supports Gerry to the end. Not that I mind Brad Pitt at all. He played Gerry as well as he does every other character he’s played, (that and I believe Pitt is beyond having to prove himself to his audiences. He’s good. Let’s move on now.). There was just something refreshing from Kertes. I found myself wishing it was just Segen versus the zombies in a platform like Ripley versus the Alien.

This film went through many production changes, which included a major re-haul of the ending, and it shows in its narrative driven denouement. It was unexpectedly forced, as if they decided at the last minute to leave it open for franchising. If they had labeled it as the first of a trilogy, I might have received it better, but with the way it was, it felt like I had had my heart racing for nothing but an unsatisfying end. Now I want to see whatever it was the test audiences didn’t like because this didn’t feel like an improvement.

This film went through many production changes, which included a major re-haul of the ending, and it shows in its narrative driven denouement.

Marc Forster is better known as the director of Quantum of Solace, one of my favorite Bond films. While the film itself is a very loose remix of a novel by Max Brooks (Mel Brooks’ son), I found it started off swiftly with the action at the beginning and then lumbered off towards the end. I’m thinking this had to do with all the reworking they did to it. It’s a solid film before that third act though. It has spine tingling thrills and each harrowing scene is filled up with impact. It’s good escapist fodder.

After I left the theatre, I looked around at the sleepily packed subway I was in and wondered whether I’d have the guts and the cleverness to fend off a possible zombie horde. Then I settled in to my chair and read my book.

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Jacqueline Valencia

Staff Film Critic

I'm a published writer, illustrator, and film critic. Cinema has been a passion of mine since my first viewing of Milius' Conan the Barbarian and my film tastes go from experimental to modern blockbuster.

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