Just Another Zombie Movie

Rating: 5/10 (25 June 2013)

I'm not sure why I actually went and saw this movie since I am not really a big fan of zombie movies, with the exception of 28 Days Later of course. I guess it was because Brad Pitt played the lead role and I generally like anything that Brad Pitt is in, and though he does his usually good job as an actor in this film, in the end this film is nothing more than a zombie movie. It is based on a book (which might actually be an interesting read since in the book the zombies are more in the background, much like 28 Days Later) but we all know what people generally think about movies based on books, and that is that the book is generally always better.
I could tell you a bit more about this film, but it is pretty obvious what it is about – the zombie apocalypse. Basically a disease that kills humans and turns them into zombies breaks out and brings the world to the brink of ruin, and Brad Pitt, a ex-United Nations investigator, is called back to work to try to find out what is going on. Basically the film focuses mostly on his investigation into this pandemic and the results of his investigation. Like 28 Days Later, the movie does not end with the destruction of all of the zombies, but rather it is more like the beginning of the end of the catastrophe. In a way the world has already been destroyed, but humanity has (as usual) found a way of bringing an end to the catastrophe and pulling themselves out of the ashes.
This is a common theme that we seem to see through these numerous styles of movies, and that is how we, humanity, are able to survive against ridiculous odds. Bring on the apocalypse and somehow we humans will be able to survive and actually once again thrive against this monumentous threat that we face. To me I think it, in many cases, is wishful thinking, and I'm not even a fundamentalist Christian. What ever I think of the end times or the apocalypse, I feel that the idea that humanity can survive on its own without any extra-ordinary power is not only wishful thinking, but another ploy of a small group of radical humanists who want to give us a reason to throw away our simple faith.
The problem with this argument is though is because we are still here and we have managed to survive. If this idea was wrong then I would not be sitting here writing this, however have we ever face such a threat that had the potential of wiping us all out? I would potentially say no. Okay, there may have been the Black Plague, but not everybody was affected. There may have been World War II, or even the Cold War, but we managed to restrain ourselves. It is not a question of us hanging on by the skin of our teeth, but rather than we are smart enough not to push us to the brink of destruction, or beyond. As for pandemics, there are always going to be those of us who are naturally resistant.