RATED- PG-13
RUN TIME- 116 MINS
WRITER(S)- MATHEW MICHAEL CARNAHAN, DREW GODDARD, DAMON LINDELOF AND J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI
STARRING- BRAD PITT, MIREILLE ENOS AND DANIELLA KERTESZ
DIRECTOR- MARC FORSTER
Synopsis taken from IMDb
United Nations employee Gerry Lane traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments, and threatening to destroy humanity itself.
I'll be the first to admit it. I actually did what I always criticize people for doing; I judged the film based off of the firs trailer I saw and bashed it. I couldn't help it, it didn't seem like it was going to be very interesting at all. And I couldn't have been more wrong!
I mostly judged it for the use of CGI for the zombies. I didn't like that they took a shortcut instead of using real people. Now that I've seen the film, I understand why they weren't real actors and actresses. To film those types of scenes would be impossible, and the CGI is the necessary tool for the job. It wasn't overdone at all. People getting trampled on wouldn't go over well, so they did what was best for those scenes.
The film is shot like 2011's "Contagion", in the sense that it's a disaster film. Not a zombie film. I think that point goes over a lot of people's heads and they bash it for not being a hardcore gore film. Obviously, you knew it was a PG-13 movie going in, so to complain it's not gory is a bit foolish. The movie is about infection and survival, the zombies are just background to the story. I was surprised by how well done this film is.
There were a few scenes that surprised me, and even more that had my heart going! It's almost an epic picture, the way it's done. I think it's very tasteful and thrilling. And the music will get you going! I actually liked "I Am Legend", and I think this goes right along side that. This film is superior, however.
Brad Pitt does a great job in this picture as well. It's not his best performance, but it's damn good. He holds the film well on his shoulders. His character is smart, brave and sympathetic. Everyone in the audience can relate to him in some way, especially how he protects his family first and foremost. This is yet another good film under Pitt's belt.
I feel as though Brad's chalked up as being a pretty boy too much. If you stop to look at his resume, the guys got talent and some great films with his name on them.
In conclusion, go in expecting to be entertained, unlike I did. You'll end up finding a lot more in the film that you like, than you expected. Give it a shot for yourself. It's a really good disaster film and it's entertaining and even pulse pounding throughout it's entirety.
A friend let me borrow the book a few years back and it collected dust, so I gave it back. I think I'm going to look into re-borrowing it after seeing this film.
THIS FILM GETS 3 1/2 REAPER SKULLS OUT OF 5
I don't think gore is necessarily needed for a convincing world disaster zombie film, and after what I feel to be a major flood of zombie films, as of late, World War Z had me convinced the most. The massive zombie attacks were extremely epic, in the truest sense of the term. I don't think I've ever seen viral propagation done as efficiently either.
ReplyDeleteWell said. I think gore is overused in today's movies anyway. Just like Sinister, there was blood, but it wasn't gory at all. You don't need blood to make a good horror film.
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