World War Z Review (2013)

8 / 10. A great zombie action romp across the globe featuring fantastic action sequences, sharing mainly the title and topic with its namesake novel *MILD SPOILERS*

  World War Z is a fast-paced zombie apocalypse horror film directed by Marc Forster, with a screenplay by Matthew Michael Carnahan, Drew Goddard and Damon Lindelof.  The film is loosely based on the excellent 2006 novel World War Z by Max Brooks.

  Former United Nations investigator Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) and his family are trapped in Philadelphia city centre when it’s overcome by VERY fast zombies, who infect others even faster. Mayhem ensues.

  In a case of it’s actually what you know AND who you know, UN Deputy Secretary-General Umutoni (Fana Mokoena), an old friend of Gerry’s, sends a helicopter to extract the family to a U.S. Navy vessel where scientists and the military are investigating the worldwide pandemic. Umutoni recruits Gerry to travel to different areas across the world to investigate the pandemic’s origin with a military team and a virologist, searching for clues for a zombie virus vaccine.

  I read the book after watching the film, becoming intrigued by the unanswered question of the virus’s source. I enjoyed the book more, but there’s more space in a book for nuance and details that don’t fit into a film’s run time. The book is written as a sequence of people’s accounts of the outbreak and alludes to ‘patient zero’, but this remains a mystery in the book and the film.

  The film includes some sections of reports mentioned in the book, brought in by characters that Gerry meets. His former job as a UN Investigator makes it believable that he would be involved in such a mission. Brad Pitt is on good form and tackles the role with gusto.

  World War Z is a great zombie action romp across the globe featuring fantastic action sequences, notably at the start and in Jerusalem. My favourite scene is at a South Korean military base involving bicycles and a satellite phone. These are scary zombies that are super-fast, akin to the ones from 28 Days / Weeks Later. However, the large groups are CGI’d, because of the sheer numbers.

  I like Mireille Enos, (The Killing - US version, Gangster Squad) but she is under-used here. Gerry is the main character and the only one we spend a lot of time with, but Daniella Kertesz is notable as Segen.

  Looking forward to World War Z 2, if it happens. Reports suggest Brad Pitt will return with David Fincher directing.

  The film features a nice cameo from Peter Capaldi as WHO Doctor, just before his stint as Doctor Who!