World War Z - Rate by Movie or Rate by Book Divergence?

Rating: 2/10 (2 July 2013)

I am an owner & reader of Max Brook's book "World War Z". As such, it is difficult to rate this movie as a stand-alone viewing rather than in reference to the book. If you loved the book, you will only have the barest whiff of the "World War Z" flavor, kind of like walking past a restaurant and smelling the food.
*EDIT* It has been a few days later and my anger at the sheer NAME STEALING FRAUD of this movie has sunk in while my anger has gone into a full boiling froth. I originally rated this as "6" being generous to the movie as itself (it not having any relation to the book except for stealing the name of it). So I am altering my rating to reflect this rage and Brad Pitt's (actor & producer of this movie) fraudulent divergence from the well-written book "WORLD WAR Z". If there is a real movie based on the "WORLD WAR Z" book out later, I will rate it fairly. Since this movie is a FRAUD stealing the name of the book, I am now rating this as a "2". Avoid this movie, you time & money is worth more than this vapid rip-off of a movie. *END EDIT*
What is not in the movie? No traveling reporter unraveling the aftermath as the book did. No "Battle of Yonkers", no family reduced to cannibalism at a chilly Canadian lake, no "Battle of Hope" (where the army use the "Cherry Popper" incendiary bullets to roast the undead's brains, no Japanese survival experience with the Otaku & his blind gardener guardian. Pretty much NOTHING in the "World War Z" book appears in this movie (remember the good old days when charges of CRIMINAL FRAUD would be pressed and the movie producers sued for dishonest advertising practices, ah the good old days).
The barest SNIFF of the flavor of the book and in that you'll feel deeply cheated. So now that this is out of the way, we move onto looking at the movie as a "Stand-Alone Fame-Thief" using the book as a way to coax viewers in to watch a knock-off lesser quality imitation.
The story is pretty much Brad Pitt's character, "Gerry Lane", being a member of the United Nations with his family on the run from the devouring hordes. In that value, it is a fairly decent 1960's or 1970's style zombie-flick. If you rate it by itself, it is tolerable, but somewhat dumb, yet not painfully so.
Of the locations referenced in the "World War Z" book (you know, the book that coaxed you into seeing this movie), only the escape from Israel is vaguely in parity to what the audience desired (much like the "Walking Dead" television series has turned into an episodic series about the occasional undead attack while being filled to the brim with packing peanuts of idiots grousing snootily at each other).
Sadly "World War Z" the movie has borrowed heavily from "28 Days Later" (fast undead, 12 seconds to zombie conversion) and thrown all plausible physics out the window. What do you know about POWERLIFTERS? What can they lift at the record? 1268 lbs. Average human weight = 135 pounds, result, at your healthiest in perfect muscular fitness you can only support 9.3 humans. The human ladder in Israel would collapse at the height of 9 humans if all the humans were record-setting powerlifters. Undead, rotting humans, of average to lesser build, average weight? You'd be stomping through the ligaments at best when they hit 3 deep in Human Pyramid height. Let's not even get into the "magnetic flying CGI corpse" absurdity in the movie (worse than some of the Gary's Mod animations poking fun with Team Fortress).
Well, onto the good points. Brad Pitt is handsome. His real-life freakshow wife Angela DUCKFACE and her mini-multicult "Captain Planet" stereotype squad are not in this movie (yeah imagine being Brad Pitt and going home to something that looks like The Octomom every night, UGH!). Some of the other bearded leading men are rather exceptionally handsome, especially in the rained out base in Korea. The zombies are a tolerable movie plot threat, but comically CGI-animated when dragged about in reticulated spline clumps by their wrists like a poor POSER 3 models. If you plug your ears you can enjoy Brad Pitt being handsome without any stupid plot being too distracting, unfortunately he never loses his pants and only lifts up his shirt for a bit near the end without going bare-chested. Calling the movie "World War Z" is a pretty huge stretch, but Brad Pitt remains delightfully handsome with an ever so cute pouty face.
There is also some nonsense at the end about making themselves not-so-tasty to the undead by injecting themselves with a case of the Terminal Spinal Herpes which somehow is detected by MAGIC ZOMBIE VISION, but that is silly and dumb and only fit for 1950's corny Sci-Fi movies where the world is saved by aliens coming down with a case of Jersey Shore Gonorrhea from the Snookie-Monster. Ah, but Brad Pitt remains handsome for now, so if you like Brad Pitt then go see this movie as it is a tolerably forgettable "action flick" (which is a huge insult to the universe presented in the "World War Z" books). Oh well, vote with your dollars. If you hate his freakshow wife, DUCKFACE Jolie, then don't see it and she'll have to start a "Up With Pol Pot" singing group and go on inane road tours.