A Fun Underrated Zombie Flick

Rating: 7/10 (28 June 2019)

World War Z, I thought, was a nice new approach to the zombie apocalypse. I will say that this is now my third favorite zombie movie (first two being Zombieland and Scooby Doo on Zombie Island). World War Z has a much different feel to it than most zombie films, at least ones that I have seen.
Brad Pitt does a good job in this movie. I think this is his best performance in a while. I like his character, Gerry Lane, because you can easily sympathize with him, and he is proactive. I like how Gerry has a military background which plays a big role in the story.
The other characters are not really worth mentioning. Gerry's family is not given anything to do after they escape the city in the beginning of the movie. They just sit around on a ship for most of the film and occasionally give Gerry a call to remind us that they are still in the film. The majority of the other characters are introduced and then killed off just as quickly. The other "supposedly" major characters do not appear until the third act, and we do not know anything about them.
There are a lot of things that make World War Z relatively new and refreshing compared to previous zombie flicks. First is that rather than starting the movie off in the midst of the zombie outbreak (which most zombie films do) this movie shows us the beginning of the zombie apocalypse and all the chaos that ensues from it. Also, most zombie films take place in relatively remote locations and revolve around a small group of civilians trying to deal with the new reality. The movie starts out like that, but once they escape New York the movie shifts gears. Rather than just showing the effects of the zombie apocalypse in one area this movie takes place over several locations and how the people in each location are dealing with the outbreak.
We also get a lot of scenes involving the military and how they are dealing with the situation, which we rarely see in other incarnations. There are also many action scenes with the military vs. zombies which are the best scenes in the movie. The film is titled World War Z, so I expected lots of action, and I got that. I also like how the main character is trying to find a cure throughout the movie. Usually in zombie movies it is just people in the midst of the zombie outbreak and them dealing with it. By the end he more or less does find a solution. I like that it was not all in vain. This is one of the few zombie movies to end on a somewhat triumphant note.
The effects are alright. There are many instances of obvious CGI with the zombies. However there are also scenes that use practical effects which I am thankful for. The score was okay, but nothing great.
People have said that the 3D is not that good. However I did not see the film in 3D, so I cannot comment on that. I also have not read the source material, so I cannot compare them. However, I have heard that the film greatly deviates from the book. Fans of the book might not like this movie.
Overall, I think World War Z is pretty good zombie film. It is definitely one of my favorites of the genre. Fans of the book should use caution when viewing this, because it is not really like the book. However, I do recommend this to all who are fans of zombie movies.