it may contain some obvious humor and lacks a bit of gore, Warm Bodies is a fun and touching romantic comedy set in a zombie world

Rating: 8/10 (1 February 2013)

Last year, Jonathan Levine brought us one of the most touching and funny films of the year when he directed Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen in 50/50. A film about a young man who is diagnosed with cancer, 50/50 was a tight-rope walk between humor and sorrow that Levine directed rather brilliantly. Now, he has another film that hits comedic and touching tones, though the subject matter is a lot less serious.
Warm Bodies is the story of a zombie named R (Nicholas Hoult) who finds that he is starting to feel more and more human after meeting a girl named Julie (Teresa Palmer). Sure, some of his desire for the girl stems from gaining the memories of her old boyfriend after R kills him and eats his brains, but it is still a touching love story. Saving Julie from a horde of zombies by covering her human scent and walking her back to the safe haven of the plane he lives in, R slowly teaches Julie to look past his corpse appearance and see him for the caring undead he is; a monster trying to change.
Slowly, some of R's friends start to have feelings too; a brain-hungry set of deceased humans that are starting to feel emotions again. But in a world where humans have had to fight off the undead to survive an apocalyptic reality, can the humans come to accept these monsters that are trying to change for good?
Warm Bodies is as light hearted as they come in the zombie genre, making films like Sean of the Dead and Zombieland look like a George A. Romero film, but there is nothing wrong with that. If you are going to see Warm Bodies, a film advertised as a comedic romance, for zombie thrills, then you probably have walked into the wrong movie. But if you are looking for a thoughtful and fun film, you won't miss.
Let's start with the style. Having a lead character that can only talk in brief words or short sentences is problematic, but some pretty funny narration by R leads the film in the right direction. The recognition in R's head of the monster he is and the ridiculousness of zombies ("God, we're slow") is a fun inside joke between the protagonist and the audience and works to both connect us with the character as well as entertain us. This narration is important as at least 70% of the movie happens between R and Julie.
Other fun style points can be given to the fun soundtrack, which includes music from many popular artists as well as a few indie bands. The film also has a nice artistic style with grey hues for the present reality while some vivid coloring for the memory sequences in the film. The film never feels as dark as a horrific zombie film, but it disguises itself as one for some nice spoof fun.
To read the rest of the review (IMDb form too short) visit: http://custodianfilmcritic.com/warm- bodies/