A Z Movie

Rating: 3/10 (8 October 2014)

This is a Zombie apocalypse movie on a worldwide scale, an idea based on a book by Max Brooks. I enjoy the pivotal movies of the genre, in particular the likes of the Omega Man and Romero's Zombies series. A summer blockbuster budget offering it does not lack in spectacle, ambition and special effects. As such it works pretty well. However as a contribution to the Zombie body of work it is poor.
Director Marc Forsters' credentials are illuminating. He handled the big budget of Quantum of Solace satisfactorily, but added little to the tradition of Bond in a fairly soul less movie. The Kite Runner, a much smaller budget with a far better script, was a great success though. Here his ambition of a worldwide epic never gets started. The opening United States sequence is strong enough, but the characterisation of Brad Pitt's persona, Gerry Lane, is shallow, his family are simply irritating. On more than one occasion I hoped that his children were devoured in a single zombie bite. So as the family backstory bites, so irritation levels rise. When the action moves to the Middle East the sequences are impressive and exciting, but the final forty minutes are devoted to a cat and mouse denouement which should have lasted four minutes.
If you are looking for a big budget spectacular, you will not be too disappointed. If you are looking for a strong plot, a great screenplay and a compelling zombie story you will be very disappointed.