Comedy, romance, evil creatures, apocalyptic setting, war & hope, in a light-hearted zombie wrapper

Rating: 7/10 (28 February 2013)

For those who overlooked this funny, entertaining film because, basically, it's about zombies, you're missing out. There are few good and myriad poor examples of the teen supernatural love story film out there these days, but "Warm Bodies" falls pretty well into the "good" end of the spectrum.
R, well played by "About a Boy", "Skins" and "X-Men: First Class" actor Nicholas Hoult, is a relatively self-aware zombie who does all the right zombie things. He doesn't remember his human life, shuffles around the airport where he "lives", grunts "conversations" with his best friend M (The Daily Show's Rob Corddry), and participates in feeding raids where he devours the brains of the few remaining humans for sustenance and the chance to live a little by experiencing their memories as though they were his. On one feeding frenzy, after eating the brain of her boyfriend (Dave Franco), R encounters Julie (Take Me Home Tonight's Teresa Palmer) and spontaneously decides not only to not eat her, but to protect her from the other zombies. The more time they spend together, the more human he becomes – gaining more and more speaking ability and knowledge, and less and less desire to mindlessly kill and do nothing. And the awareness is spreading. But danger lurks in the form of super skeleton zombies, who have lost every last shred of humanity (including skin and hair) and are much taller, faster and more agile than your average zombie, and in the human-protection-through-zombie-extermination philosophy of Julie's military leader father, played by John Malkovich.
I'm ashamed to say it took me longer than it should have to catch the obvious play on Romeo and Juliet here (I mean, R and Julie, come on, right?!), but it's a very loose interpretation (as half the cast being zombies alone attests to). The story is straightforward and not overly developed or reliant on heavy mythology. Zombies have already taken over the world when the film starts, and we don't know, or really care, why or how. The commentary by R gives voice to his physically comedic, mostly-silent acting, and is genuinely funny. Hoult and Palmer are an engaging pair of young actors, carrying their irreverent roles with aplomb, and solid turns by Corddry and Malkovich make their roles memorable. Franco and former America's Next Top Model contestant Analeigh Tipton, as Julie's best friend, deliver acceptable performances but don't stand out. It's no Oscar contender by a long-shot, but "Warm Bodies" is a gore-and-war, comedic, supernatural love story that will make you smile and leave you feeling, yes, warm and satisfied. EntertainmentReviewRevue.wordpress.com