Expectations dampened...Result - Surprised ish.

Rating: 7/10 (2 July 2013)

Well, as the summary says, my expectations of this movie were dampened by the pre-launch rumours of problematic production and re-shoots aplenty.
To my surprise, the film had some lovely high points.
My biggest fear going into this film as something of a Zombie/Apocalyptic/Post-Apocalyptic (yes, they are different) lover, was the fact that the trailer seemed to universally show mass CGI hordes of Zombies. I like my Zoms slow, dumb and bitey, not super-human, rubbery (CGI) and intelligent.
In this case, it's a strange, yet refreshing case of the best bits NOT being in the trailer.
The beginning of the film is fast paced and manages to convey that all important feeling of solitude, desperation and chaos that is needed in the genre. There are some nice character interactions, but for the most part, the first 20 minutes is full throttle action. to my surprise, the hordes were confined to CGI only in aerial shots, and were up close and 'bitey', during some nice enclosed action within an apartment building.
Brad Pitt, as Gerry Lane, a former UN investigator who has seen war torn countries aplenty, is a bright spark in an otherwise quite bland casting roll call. It's through the rest of the film that Pitt's ability to hold attention when on screen is most required.
It's not that the film declines in quality per say, it's that the speed of the film is on a downward curve after the first act and Pitt's presence is increasingly needed to keep viewers interested.
The key plot point is slowly hinted at until a revelation late in the day leads to a inconclusive ending, and only the potential of a resolution mooted.
So, my gripes with this film are not it's direction; indeed Marc Forster (who boasts Quantum of Solace on his CV) manages to provide some lovely shots with some classic suspenseful pieces in there. No, my gripes, strangely enough, are with the writing.
I won't go into too much detail, but with Drew Goddard on the crew, I'd have expected better. There were too many plot holes that viewers would have to sidestep to get past and some of the character decisions based on the fact precedent had been set previously for alternate decisions, were quite confusing. Couple that with some odd character inclusions that presumably would have had a point, had the rest of the characters' motivation not ended up on the cutting room floor (see "man in pharmacy" for more detail!), and you've got a bit of a mixture.
For me, I think it's almost unforgivable in a time where apocalyptic features (small or big screen) are all the rage, not to fully flesh out a full and complete story and avoid plot holes almost entirely. There isn't a lot of story to work with in this film, so it's even more criminal that some areas were just forgotten about in terms of resolution of specific issues in the film.
I've been pretty vague in this review, and it's my first on IMDb, so I'll improve.
Conclusion:
Worth a view....try not to get dragged into the lore, as it means nothing here. Try and take decisions with a pinch of salt and let it wash over you.
If you do that, you'll come to the same conclusion as my for the most part. 7/10 movie.