World War Z (2013) Review

The scariest thing about this film is by far Brad Pitt´s hair, but the zombies are kind of creepy as well. The film has to be commended for trying to stand out amongst the swarming hordes of zombie movies and games. There is a delightful feeling of not having seen these kinds of zombies before, creating a bigger sense of unpredictability. The decision of having the zombie virus get control over your body in about 12 seconds creating a greater sense of panic and urgency.

The film attempts to show what it might be like if a zombie apocalypse really did happen. Small details like using the word zombie (because if it was real we would be using the word zombie to describe it) adds more realism the to the film. One problem however is that it feels like a contradiction, as it is a Hollywood blockbuster in every sense, making the realism not work. That being said, it works on some levels as a Hollywood blockbuster, at least much more so then as a realist zombie picture.

After only scene setting up the family dynamic, we were put straight into the action, which did feel a bit rushed. The first scene was good, but it alone was not effective enough to get an emotional connection the family before putting them into the horror. For me this really created a sense of distance between Brad Pitt´s character, making me not really care. Oddly enough, what then saved it from becoming utterly boring were all the supporting character that we meet during the course of the film. There was not real character to any of these, but all of t

hem had this sort of instant likability to hem, thereby making me want to see more of them (aka not having them die).

The idea of having the zombies swarm so intensely is pretty cool, but it is dragged down by CGI that is good, but not quite good enough for me to say it worked. When seeing the trailer I was really hoping it would look better in the actual film, but sadly it just looked messy. The best sequence in the film was one in South Korea, which took place during night and rain, thereby making the CGI much more passable. However, this was an overall pretty exiting sequence, as I found it to have a great sense of a dreading mood. It is a shame no other sequence really reached the heights of this sequence as I found it to be very exiting and creepy. The thing about the film though is that it is this globetrotting adventure, where some parts work very well, others not so much.

One thing I did really enjoy (though it may be a credit to the book) was the conclusion, which at first felt like a cheep solution, but as I thought of it I found it to be an effective conclusion and one that seemed logical enough for me to go along with it.

 

Despite some great moments and glimpses of originality here and there, the film still feels like a generic Hollywood blockbuster. While not hugely entertaining, it is rarely boring and the great moments are too far apart, ensuring that you will be fairly entertaining, but then probably never watch the film again.

Lastly I would like to mention that the 3D was by far the most useless 3D ever. There was no depth in the picture and I have never felt so distracted by 3D before. If you do go see, please don´t see it in 3D.

2.5/5