Exciting Cliff Notes Adaptation of Novel

Rating: 9/10 (22 June 2013)

First of all, I really liked it, and I am grateful to the producers for omitting the grisly stuff. The blood-curdling shriek of these zombies was still ringing in my somewhat shaky ears an hour after I left the theatre; I didn't need to see human gore dripping from their mouths as well every time I closed my eyes.
I am about two-thirds through the novel and can verify the objections of those who say it departs significantly from its source material, but so what? I recall the famous author who, when asked how he felt about what Hollywood had done with his books, waved his hand at his library wall and replied, "Hollywood hasn't done anything with my books--they're all right there."
Besides, the novel begins with the conceit that it is not the "official" report of the war historical commission--the overarching narrative--but rather, a collection of oral narratives of various survivors from around the world. Hence one can approach the movie with the view that Gerry Lane's (Brad Pitt) story is just one of them, although one that turns the conflict in favor of humanity. Or, think of it as the Cliff Notes version. Either way, see the movie for the thriller it is (oh boy, is it!), then read the novel for a collection of other survivor stories and the sort of detail that could not be adapted to a cinematic structure.
Were I to quibble, I'd rather the movie had not diverged so far as to have borrowed the 12-second bite-to-zombie transformation from 28 DAYS LATER. There are few known toxins that work that quickly, let alone any virus, which has to commandeer the DNA of a cell and reproduce itself in order to take over the host organism. But I rather liked the war-changing discovery that the screenwriters invented just for the movie in the retrofitted third act. It's a doozy.