Family outing ruined by zombie plague.

Rating: Null/10 (25 June 2013)

What is it!, with fathers? Tom Cruise, almost as soon as he is in charge of his kids, gets caught up in a Martian invasion, in 'War of the Worlds' (2005). Here, Brad Pitt cannot even drive his kids down the road without being swept up in a world-wide zombie plague.
This reviewer was offered a choice of 2D and 3D, and decided if the film was good enough it would stand on it's own merits in the 2D format. It did.
Film comes from Brad Pitt's own 'Plan B Entertainment' film company and was released via 'Paramount', therefore Brad Pitt is a producer and the film opens with the 'Paramount Mountain'. The rest of the credits are shown with quick views of US urban scenes and TV. Views are partially distorted by clever graphics. Scenes are typical and pleasant. About halfway through though, this reviewer was disturbed to see a few brief seconds of Piers Morgan, and after that the scenes became more sinister, ending with prophecies of doom.
The mood changes though when the film proper starts. We are in a suburban house with Gerry and his family. Gerry is played by Brad Pitt. We quickly find out, thanks partially to the TV, that Gerry is a house-husband and that his most important job is making pancakes, however his old job was a lot more dangerous and involved him travelling to dangerous places around the world.
After breakfast, Gerry and his family drive through down-town Philadelphia and get caught up in a traffic-jam. They also get caught up as a swarm of zombies engulf this part of town. These scenes are very intense, the pace slackens only after some time, and only then did this reviewer notice their own very accelerated heart-beat.
Around St Valentine's Day there was a nice little Rom-com zombie film called 'Warm Bodies', that told the heart-warming story of love conquering all, including zombies. 'World War Z' is not that film. 'WWZ' rather is a fast action horror and thriller (which also makes a few interesting little political points). The only thing that 'WWZ' shares with 'WB' is regarding the speed of the zombies. If, dear reader, your own previous experience of zombies, extends no further than the slow lumbering clumsy zombies, populating the shopping mall, in George A. Romero's 1978 'Dawn of the Dead', (one of a trilogy), then be prepared to be shocked and scared. Like the bonys in 'WB', these zombies can move, and run, very fast indeed. Again, unlike 'DOTD', the gestation period for developing into a zombie is much shortened too in 'WWZ'.
The film starts in Philadelphia but there are also scenes of different parts of the world. In reality however many scenes were actually shot in the UK. Most of the opening scenes were shot in Glasgow, Scotland, UK; mostly in and around, George Square. Glasgow, like many North American cities, has a grid-system street layout. So it is then that in a ten minute walk from 'down-town Philly' you can come to the street in 'San Francisco', (this reviewer had always thought "San Francisco!" for many years), where Halle Berry did some filming for 'Cloud Atlas'. Glasgow also has some interesting buildings that could help it pass for many a European city. Previously the Council's City Chambers on George Square have stood in for the Vatican (in 'Heavenly Pursuits'), as well as the Kremlin (in 'An Englishman Abroad').
Some have thought the pace slowed later in the film. This reviewer disagrees. The danger from zombies is always there. It would be ridiculous if this film was just one long chase scene. The film starts, like 'War of the Worlds' with the family caught up in the situation, however unlike that film (which seemed to spend half the time in one cellar, and the rest in the US country-side), this film moves around a lot more, various countries are seen. Seen too are the zombies, who are ready, able, and willing, to chase throughout the film, and do too.
Brad Pitt should be rightly proud of this very exciting and scary zombie film, (rated 15 in the UK), that he has produced and starred in. If you liked 'War of the Worlds' or you like zombie films then you will enjoy this. Top marks. 10/10.
Health Warning: Beware of zombies! They tend to bite and their bite is usually fatal. When being chased by a zombie, or even seeing zombies moving, you may experience an accelerated heart-beat. Most importantly, take all the necessary precautions you can to avoid being bitten.