Souless Zombies take over the world

Rating: 7/10 (5 June 2017)

Zombie movies are traditionally low budget and tend not to take themselves to seriously.
As a result they are often either intentionally or unintentionally very amusing to watch.
With World Z suddenly someone is taking Zombie movies seriously and have put serious amounts of money into producing this adaptation of Max Brooks' book.
The book is essentially a series of recollections from survivors of a zombie apocalypse and as such doesn't offer one cohesive story to adapt and as a result the film-makers have had to go for a more linear plot.
It doesn't follow the usual story though, of a group of people slowly being eaten until only the lead characters are left to single handedly kill all the risen dead.
No - World War Z has a much wider world view with Brad Pitts' Jerry cruising around America, Korea, Jerusalem and Cardiff (!) trying to find a cure.
This isn't the only thing grander in scale as there is no doubt the zombies hoards are vast.
Really then should be the greatest Zombie movie ever made, but for a fan of the genre this for me is where it comes unstuck.
The CGI zombies to me don't feel real in the way a person with an old suit, latex on his face and his arm hidden behind his back does.
The whole mood is very serious and humourless, although to be fair a zombie war is never going to be laugh a minute affair.
However I also didn't feel engaged with Brad Pitts character or family which meant I didn't feel any jeopardy when they were in dangerous situations.
Don't get me wrong, as I enjoyed watching what is definitely a well made and entertaining movie, but it just felt a bit like the zombies..... a living thing but without a soul.