World War Z was recently released on DVD and Blu-Ray, including RedBox and most digital services like VuDu. Based on the best-selling novel, World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
And that’s my biggest gripe. No spoilers in this review, but I was left very disappointed in this first installment. It felt rushed and left me with a “that’s it?” feeling.
A friend recently remarked on Facebook that this was the best zombie movie he’d seen, and while I can see that, this review comes from what I look for in a story, especially one with zombies. What I love most about zombie fiction is best illustrated in The Walking Dead. I’ve read the comics a bit past where the TV show has gone, and since they’re similar enough, when I refer to TWD, I’m referring to the AMC TV show.
Speaking of future films, I feel like World War Z rushed through, not only the family bonding time, but also the set up of the apocalypse. We get that to great effect in the novel, World War Z, but what that lacked was a central character until Gerry shows up, which is where the film decided to start. My preference is for approaches like TWD, where we have a central character experiencing the apocalypse’s onset, and then fighting for a place to hole up (without government protection and transportation, as Gerry gets). Gerry’s journey, while dangerous and out of control goes too quickly to implement much character development. It feels like falling down a hill with each location nothing more than bump from one rock to the next, until he reaches his final destination, where there’s a little bit of horror, and then the movie’s over.
World War Z’s rewrite of the ending had criticism that if there’s a problem in the third act, the real problem is in the first act. I agree with this statement, but there’s not much we can do about that now. Where the first film has gone leaves me wondering if the Titanic has already hit the iceberg, and now we’re left with watching a huge investment sink. The character development stage has already set sail, and now I see a Resident Evil type of thriller garbage to come. As to my friend’s statement that this is the best zombie movie he’s seen, I’d have to say Resident Evil
While some people may think zombies are dead (pun intended), I’m still looking for an uplifting story that combines my love for post-apocalyptic survival where the characters involved really matter. As of now, Zombie Fallout
What do you think about the World War Z movie and this genre’s future?
I just heard about Honest Trailers. You have to watch this (spoilers):
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Timothy C. Ward
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About Timothy C. Ward
I so agree with your review, Tim. Where the heck was the character development? How can we possibly care about the main characters unless we can empathise with them in the first place? I just thought…they’re going to be eaten my zombies, so what? Some of the film was unintentionally hilarious, too (the teeth-clacking scientist in the lab – hysterical). Plus there wasn’t even a passing nod to logic. Brad is all but dead after a plane crash, with a big bit of steel somewhere in or between his spleen and his kidneys. Next minute he’s leaping around like a grasshopper. A silly, silly film. What a waste.
Oh, and I also found the subtext really suspect. Those nice Israelies being clever enough to wall in their city, while the nasty zombies (Arabs ones, presumably) invade the country that God gave them. Come on, people, I thought we’d grown out of all that black and white debate! I prefer Romero’s comment on consumerist culture, rather than the dubious politics at work here.