★½
You don’t have to look to far for movies, TV shows, video
games and books about zombies these days. I’m a big fan of AMC’s “The Walking
Dead” and look forward to its new season later this year. The show focuses on a
group of survivors and how they deal with the new world after the apocalypse.
Zombies play a small part. Then there’s Danny Boyle’s horror masterpiece “28
Days Later” which, again, focuses on survivors and very little on the actual
zombie. So when “World War Z” was announced, it was an intriguing idea. Now,
we’d actually see the world fall into disarray rather than having the movie
begin several months later when some guy wakes from a coma. Unfortunately,
that’s not what we get. We’re left with flat and boring film complete with
video game effects that don’t look all that great.
News broadcasts open “World War Z” telling us about a deadly
virus that’s been spreading. Next, we meet Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt), family man
and stay-at-home dad. He and his wife Karin (Mireille Enos) are packing up to
leave their Philadelphia home with their two daughters (Abigail Hargrove and
Sterling Jerins). I don’t think they ever really explain where they’re going.
But while trying to leave, all hell breaks loose. Swarms of
infected people pour through the street, biting anyone they can catch which in
turn infects them. The movie doesn't try and hide what it is these people have
become: they’re zombies – flesh hungry zombies with the speed of Usain Bolt and
the distance jumping abilities of Carl Lewis.
Because Gerry used to be some former go-to employee for the
United Nations, he and his family seek refuge onboard a Navy ship. There, he’s
asked to venture out and try to find answers about what this disease is and
where it came from. His wife and kids remain on the ship awaiting his return
while every other nation on earth crumbles at the hands of this dreaded
disease.
From the start, “World War Z” never fully grabs ahold of its
audience. Its a medical mystery drama masquerading as a zombie thriller. I
almost expected Dr. House to emerge from the shadows in the final act and give
his solution. Sure, there are moments of tension, but its so forced that it
doesn’t even come across as organic.
Director Marc Forster (“Quantum of Solace” and “Monsters
Ball”) creates the tense moments by putting our hero in the middle of all the
hysteria and running after him with a handheld camera. This is supposed to give
you – the audience – the sensation that you’re really there with them. When
done properly, this can be effective (see anything by Paul Greengrass). Here,
the effect leaves you dizzied and confused. Confused by what exactly is
happening in the scene. You know these zombies are chasing them, but a shaky
camera inside a massive amount of people isn’t tense.
And it doesn’t help that there’s nothing tying us to the
characters of this film. The film opens with Pitt being a family man by making
breakfast and showing us that he gave up his job to spend some more time with
his girls. He even seems like he misses it, and that he might very well regret
the decision. So he’s a dad and a father and we’re supposed to identify with
that. But its difficult because he and his family have friends in high places
that are able to pluck them up and take them away from the action.
How is surviving the zombie apocalypse relatable when the
person you’re supposed to identify with is someone with the personal
connections to stay ahead of everything? Furthermore, the establishment of
Pitt’s character is so brief. The complexities of his character are sacrificed
in order to get the zombies in as soon as possible. He’s an impossible
character to root for. Not that I want to see him die, but everything is just
so flat and one-dimensional that it wouldn’t ruin my day if this guy never made
it back.
“World War Z” is based on a novel of the same name by Max
Brooks. I have not read the book, so I have no other information to go on other
than what was presented by the screenwriters. And speaking of screenwriters,
there are four people credited to the contribution of the script (screen story
credits to Matthew Michael Carnahan and J. Michael Straczynski and the
screenplay by Carnahan along with Drew Goddard and Damon Lindelof). This never
works. Four different people with for different four different visions of how
the plot should work. That’s a recipe for disconnection.
If there’s something that’s missing from the film that was
in the book that might make me actually care for the Lane family’s survival,
then it should have been put into the film. Instead, what we’re left with is a
movie that just wants to bring in some cash from the fans of the book. I’m sure
the book is great and I’m not trying to knock on it. The film, on the other
hand, suffers from a complete lack of development and direction, which really
makes it tedious.
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