Dear, oh dear.

Rating: 3/10 (11 June 2014)

I was pretty skeptical when a friend recommended this movie to me. I watched it, but had so many gripes with the film, I just had to share them.
1) There's far too many action scenes for me to take this film seriously: I've parked an RV. *IT WON'T START, PANIC ATTACK*. I'm getting an inhaler for my kid *MY WIFE'S BEING ATTACKED AND MY KID IS IN A SHOPPING TROLLEY* I'll call you. Don't call me because I'll be in an extremely hostile environment. *OH MY GOD, MY HUSBAND RANG ME AND I COULDN'T HEAR HIS VOICE SO I'VE GOT TO CALL HIM BACK BECAUSE HE MIGHT BE DEAD* We'll be sensible and build a massive wall so people can't get in. *NOW WE'LL START A ROCK CONCERT* We're in this supposedly impregnable city. *HOW IS THERE A ZOMBIE ALREADY ON THE PLANE?!* Come on guys, less is more.
2) I don't care if any of the characters die. There's no character depth, I don't feel any sympathy or empathy for them. The world's best hope, a virologist (makes sense), makes a grand speech, then dies and I laughed. There's no background info for this UN investigator or whatever he is. How does he know all these military personnel?? Why is he dropped in an extremely hostile zone with only a few soldiers?? The girl he saves. Why did he save her?? What does she have to offer??
3) The people are morons. I mean the actual characters and the writers. They can't go 5 minutes without something going on. But the worst offences are a) That they're in Philly, a major US city. Gridlocked. But they find their way to an RV and a miraculously open road. If it was an open road, people would be driving on it. b) The phone call. She doesn't know what he's about to do, why would she call him?? She's safe, he isn't she wouldn't jeopardize that unless she's really stupid. c) The massive Jerusalem wall. Standard idea; keep the zombies out, keep the people in. But, just a straight wall where people could climb over it?? Why not a massive overhang at the top?? And why would anyone want to scream and shout down a microphone when they should have realized that you get attacked if they see or hear you??
4) The script is dull. It's so dull that I can't think of a single good line in the film.
5) The voice-over at the end. It's an uninspiring "This isn't the end, this is only the beginning" type speech that's been done thousands of times before in a thousand and one different films.
6) The zombies. They're undead. Their limbs would atrophy, I doubt they'd be faster than Usain Bolt on fast-forward. They're not particularly scary, the transformations happen far too fast and there's no blood.
This films only saving grace is the last thirty minutes or so. Aside from the voice-over at the end. A zombie avoiding an unhealthy dinner makes some sense to me, so poisoning yourself to make you less of a target makes some morbid sense. It smacks of desperation, and there's no denying that this bleak world is desperate for anything.
All in all, not one of Pitt's better films. He has centre stage for about an hour and three-quarters of the film, and fails to make use of it with no chemistry with any of his supporting cast. Please Hollywood, unless you come up with a brand new inspired idea around the zombie genre, please, leave it alone.