At least it's human

Rating: 7/10 (9 July 2013)

So many summer blockbusters, so little time.
WORLD WAR Z is based on the first novel by Max Brooks, son of comedy legend Mel Brooks. I read his ZOMBIE SURVIVAL GUIDE with some relish (and learned a fire ax or pickax is the way to go), but have to admit I could not get through the stolid stylings of his first novel.
Let me state right up front that I am an unreformed George Romero/slow-moving zombies fan. While not a leftist I thoroughly enjoyed his last two -- of the Dead flicks, almost wholly for the sociological/political subtext and use of self-referential media. As one who loathes post-modernism that is a strange statement to make, but I stand (lurch?) by it.
Now we have WORLD WAR Z, a world-spanning epic of a fast-moving zombie plague. Decently directly but obviously re-shot, re-cut, re-everything (oh, those tagged on VO narratives, don't you love it - *cough* Blade Runner *cough*), this is as much a star vehicle for Mr. Angelina Jolie than merely apocalyptic soap opera.
The movie starts out well, fast-paced and zombie-saturated from the git-go, hop-skipping from Philadelphia to South Korea to Jerusalem, but then comes to a roaring, screeching plane crash of a stop in Cardiff, Wales, at a WHO research facility. Here we have Brad Pitt and a super cute/super tough (if now one-handed) Israeli soldier (played by Daniella Kertesz; Hollywood PLEASE get this woman a starring role) lost in a vast medical building infested with the living dead. Just your basic night our at any big city emergency room, folks.
Needless to say Brad saves the day and gets back to his loving family (who have been cooped up in a remote Canadian enclave since halfway through the picture). Now we get the VO narrative exposition, a montage of unused movie scenes, a promise of a sequel (since the zombie plague wasn't quite solved, you see). I don't think there will be a sequel.
The movie is a lot of fun and keeps you on edge, but it is clear there was never any ending. Funny thing, writers (and producers and directors) are supposed to come up with endings for stories. It's kind of their vocation, you know?
George Romero, still the master of this genre, taught us that all zombie flicks are about the human survivor, the human condition, and not how many people get eaten (or in WWZ, merely gnawed upon). The human condition is everything, not CGI effects or plastic cinematography (see my review of MAN OF STEEL for a rant against contemporary filmless-making). Brad's character's whole purpose is to get back to his wife and daughters. That's plenty enough for me.
SPECIAL NOTE: Loved the cinematography of Jerusalem. Simply gorgeous. I hope this movie was shot on film.