An astonishingly poor film, it could've been one-of-a-kind, instead we get this.

Rating: 2/10 (21 August 2013)

Casting my mind back to 2008/2009, I could barely contain my excitement upon hearing the unique novel 'World War Z, an Oral History of the Zombie Wars' by Max Brooks was being taken onto the big screen. Wonderful, I though, the practically limitless elements of the book they can show here with the budget available, which is why Max Brooks deigned it workable in the first place. I envisaged Yonkers, brought to life with cutting edge CGI and up close shots with the same make-up artists who'd renowned themselves on the sets of The Walking Dead.
Adding to this, I could practically taste the deep political, religious and military tidal waves Brooks placed in his book, the nuclear exchanges, the Jewish Civil War, the infamous Reddeker plan and its subsequent adaptations by other nations.
The years ticked on and I followed the slowly leaked information avidly. From the script- writer changes to budgeting issues and the shelving and re-announcing of sequels, I was starting to lose hope. Surely, surely they wouldn't let this slip?
I'm not naive enough to assume that it was an easy book to transgress into film-adaptation, but what we have is a paintball gun's attempt to match a world-famous art piece, it could've been presented in a way that showed the deep repercussions of humanity at war with the undead, rather then a half-dozen areas where, frankly, very little happens.
The film opens, after a brief montage of world catastrophes, with Gerry Lane (Pitt) who has left his life as a UN Investigator and turned to his family. Overall, the acting from Pitt and to a large extent the cast at large is excellent. Nothing to write home about, but certainly successful. Its only a few minutes before we're dropped in on the action, but its also the final point in which this film's control is lost.
There's elements to this film that will have you rolling your eyes, tutting and simply shaking your head in a 'what-were-they-thinking?' manner. Direct conflicts with the book, without sharing spoilers, are rife and the film becomes a flashy remake of B-movie zombie flicks.
Throughout the book, the undead are slow, slouching and not an ounce of intelligence. In the film it seems every zombie is an olympic athlete with a promising future in acrobatics. They tip over buses, repeatedly manage to find their way into cars, rooms and buildings with head-butting and there are even zombies who hide silently, only making themselves known when they're discovered in ridiculous places two hundred people would've noticed them tuck in to.
The film also makes practically no use of the geo-political shades used in the novel. We see none of the major elements and only a brief nod to a nuclear strike, but we have no idea by who, against what or its effects. We see nothing of the Israeli Civil War and certainly nothing of the Russian religious oligarchy beginning. No ferals in American cities, no mention to the space station's constant updates, etc. They took barely anything from the book, which in most cases I'd admire but when you've a golden goose just waiting to be used and you instead douse that goose in tar, you've taken a poor step in the wrong direction.
Another injustice to this is its age-rating. Now, I understand the need to make films more accessible to a wider audience, but I do not believe this is the way. Zombies are pitched back but we see only speckles of blood here, explosions tear through crowds and the bodies just disappear, people are torn to the ground like animals and ripped to shreds and yet the camera cuts away conveniently. This is the grime of the novel we could've of had but we're denied by the ridiculousness of a wider audience.
I wont mention the final, most ridiculous plot-twist of any film I've ever seen to those who haven't seen the novel but the element introduced by Gerry's glimpses of the sick made me want to punch the script-writer in the face for this monstrosity of an idea.
World War Z is a poor film. The CGI is fairly decent, but it would've been excellent to see more make-up padded humans play zombies rather then CGI through and through. Furthermore, the acting is on par and its entertainment at the end of the day. Though I'd encourage anyone who hasn't yet seen the films or read the books to read said books; they're remarkable and put this film spin off firmly into its grave.
Well, a potentially unique and awe-inspiring film wasted. Just wasted.