Zombie movies tend to be pretty small in scope. It is understandable. Until very recently, zombies were relegated to low budget B-movies. The financial restrictions of these films required the creative use of limited resources - including location. Even films with multi-million dollar budgets tend to mostly take place in empty buildings and safe houses with small casts hiding from the undead. While the make-up effects and general characteristics of the zombie have evolved, the Zombie movie’s conventions have remained generally unchanged over the years. Only one movie has ever really succeeded in making an ‘epic’ Zombie movie. One film that made full use of its massive budget and resources. That film was 2013’s WORLD WAR Z.
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Brad Pitt stars as Gerry Lane, a semi-retired investigator for the U.N., who fights to survive with his family in Philadelphia after a sudden and deadly zombie attack. They are extracted by his friend and former employer at the U.N. Thierry Umutoni (Fana Mokoena) and taken to an aircraft carrier where Gerry learns that the zombie outbreak is a virus that has gone global and that major cities are being lost all over the world. Gerry is recruited to investigate the plague and find its source, and hopefully, discover a way to defeat the zombies. The mission takes Gerry all over the world as he desperately tries to find a way to stop the end of humanity.
WORLD WAR Z is based on the very popular book of the same name by Max Brooks. The name of the film, however, is the only way that the movie really resembles the book. Although the book is also told from the standpoint of a global zombie outbreak, it is really a collection of short stories bound together as an overarching U.N. report. This would not really work as a feature film, so a more streamlined approach was taken. The film plays like a movie from the “Jason Bourne” series but with zombies added. The globe-trotting journey that Gerry embarks on takes us from Philadelphia, to South Korea, to Israel, and then finally to Wales. All the while treating us to a slew of tense, pulse-pounding action sequences. You can really feel the waves of undead coming at you as humanity is overwhelmed.
The film’s performances are good all around, the direction and editing set a nice pace, and the zombie effects balance excellent traditional make-up effects with convincing CG. All of these things make the film an eminently watchable, enjoyable two hours. The movie is cliché-ridden, however, and there is nothing presented here that adds much to any overall zombie lore. Indeed, the massive scope of the film seems to have inspired the writers to hide behind convention in the other aspects of the writing. While Max Brooks’ novel introduced many new things to the mythos of the zombie, the film does not, which is kind of a shame.
Be that as it may, WORLD WAR Z succeeds as a crowd-pleasing, popcorn zombie movie that imagines what a global undead pandemic might look like. It is a film that takes the zombie movie out of its one-room roots and into epic territory. It is a refreshing and exciting zombie movie that deserves a look.
Parental Guide - This film is way to intense for children, and there is too much gore for younger teens. Kids 16+ will find a lot to like here.
WORLD WAR Z fun facts -
While filming in Budapest, 85 prop firearms were seized by Hungarian customs officers in accordance with counter-terrorism laws. The guns, even though they were proclaimed disabled on the documentation, were found to be functional.
Peter Capaldi plays an unnamed World Health Organization doctor. The credits list him as “W.H.O. Doctor”. Peter Capaldi was announced as the new Dr. Who shortly after this film was released.
The Israeli officer played by Daniella Kertesz tells Gerry to call her Segen and nothing else. In Hebrew, “Segen” means “Lieutenant”.
The opening action scene in Philadelphia was actually shot in Glasgow, Scotland. The most obvious giveaway is the U.K. style stoplights in some of the shots.
Jurgen Warmbrunn - “Most people don’t believe something can happen until it already has. That’s not stupidity or weakness. That’s just human nature”
Naval Commander - “Life as we know it will come to an end in 90 days. It’s on us to change that.”
Andrew Fassbach - “Mother Nature is a serial killer. No one’s better, or more creative. Like all serial killers, she can’t help the urge to want to get caught.”