"World War Z" - 2013 - movie review

When I saw the first trailer for Marc Forster's "World War Z" I got all tingly at the sight of the undead unchained. Finally freed from their lumbering formula these zombies were rockin' and-a rollin', pushin' and and-a shovin' and climbin' baby, climbin' over each other's rotting corpses driven by that need for the next fleshy treat. (I know, the zombies in "28 Days Later" were also track stars but their tendency to hoof it wasn't properly mined for its potential visual gold the way it is here.)

Each subsequent piece of PR material only scratched that itch I was developing for this project that much more and now that it's here I have to say "Ahhhh.... that feels good! Yeah, right there." The film wastes no time getting to the heart of the matter when Brad Pitt's retired UN nobody Gerry Lane finds himself caught in the center of an undead swarm in downtown Philadelphia. The carnage erupts with virtually no warning and no explanation and that's just fine. Who wants exposition? I'm here to see them zombies run and I'm not disappointed. They're running here they're running there, they're running everywhere and running so fast that in 90 days they'll have overrun the entire planet. In more than some respects they look like consumers at a black Friday Christmas sale and I'm sure the parallels are more than a little intentional. (I've also heard the film discussed as a gigantic metaphor for Brad Pitt's life and while I can understand where that's coming from I'm not going to go there).

Lane and family escape the ravenous horde in Philly and eventually make it to an aircraft carrier offshore where he's recruited to join the team trying to figure out what the hell is going on. After that particulars of the plot as well as details like character development are shoved unceremoniously to the back of the bus as all focus is on the McDead and their over-caffeinated rampage through the world's capitals. In this sense World War Z resembles "Jurassic Park" and that's just fine. No one went to see Spielberg's dino movie to find out if Dr Grant was going to come to grips with having kids in the car, you went to see the f*#king T-Rex bust things up in the rain. Same here. Who cares what happens to some UN bureaucrat who's never had a real job? I want runnin' zombies! I want bloodthirsty, marauding, leapin-after-departing-helicopter zombies and like Spielberg's film of yore World War Z delivers the creature goods.

If I sound like I love this movie it's because I do. Unabashedly. The writing is so-so and the cast only adequate so I can't in good conscience give it five stars but the premise is so well executed that I personally don't care about narrative missteps or the fact that it seems Brad is just flying around the planet so that we can see our lovely sprinting zombies in different settings. The film does slow down a bit and morph into a more traditional style of zombie flick toward the end but the change of pace doesn't undermine what's come before and is probably necessary in order to deliver the final narrative plot twist in a way that gets your attention.

I went into WWZ with the same sort of excitement bubbling up inside that I experienced before going in to see "Prometheus". The difference? I came out of "Prometheus" scratching my head and wondering if it was just me that thought Ridley had lost control of his project and I came out of WWZ with a huge dopey smile on my face. Sure it's not "Lawrence of Arabia", but it's not supposed to be. It's entertainment and boy was I entertained. I should also mention that I saw the film with my friends and their two teenage daughters and the kids reactions were pretty much carbon copy of mine "Oh! That's soooo cool!" Not that it matters for the purposes of this review but their reaction told me this is a film that will probably have some serious legs.

If you're looking for a film that will resonate on innumerable levels for years to come go rent "Lawrence of Arabia". If you're looking for some first class summer entertainment grab the (older) kids and go see "World War Z".

Verdict: ★★★★☆