All The Potential, None Of It Realized

Rating: 3/10 (30 June 2013)

'World War Z' could have been one of the best Zombie movies ever. It has an almost intimidating line-up of talent before and behind the camera, it is based on a best- selling novel and the makers reached very deep into their pockets to break Zombie havoc out of its usual local confinement to go and create mayhem on a global scale. But the film-makers failed on every count.
And this is not about the controversy regarding the unfaithful rendering of Max Brooks' novel. Yes, the movie 'World War Z' essentially discards the basic concept of the book 'World War Z'. But even when fully acknowledged that a film is a work in its own right, the movie is still a failure.
Although the pitch sounded so promising. Zombie movies so far have been local affairs. 'Dawn of the Dead' depicted the Zombie epidemic somewhere in rural America, 'The Walking Dead' maraud in backwater Alabama., '28 Days/Weeks Later' take place in and around London. So it's fair to assume that we all have been waiting long and eagerly for a movie that deals with the Zombie epidemic on a global scale.
So, what 'World War Z' could have been is a thrilling and scary genre movie with a gripping premise, compelling characters and stunning visuals of global Zombie disaster. And it could have explored a multitude of grand themes. What makes us human? How do we maintain human kindness in the face of global destruction? At what point do we allow the veneer of civilization to break and give way to chaos and barbarism? Unfortunately the movie leaves all this potential unrealized.
The protagonists are two dimensional and wooden, I can't remember having ever seen Brad Pitt so stiff and awkward. His character Gerry Lane is introduced as one of the best UN investigators there are and it is this alleged aptitude that puts him as the main character. What earned him this reputation remains unclear throughout the entire movie though. He never shows particular investigative skills, nor does he shine by asking incredibly smart questions that nail it all down. He rather stumbles through the plot holes and follows even the vaguest hints as an excuse to traverse the globe. At one point this gets right out ridiculous when Gerry accidentally runs into a prisoner with some obvious mental problems, and that nutcase prisoner says something along the lines of 'There is a man in the Middle East who might know something', and Brad Pitt's "best UN investigator" goes 'Yeah right, let's go to the Middle East then'. Wow, this is really poor screen writing.
Probably the most engaging aspect of a movie with the premise of 'World War Z' would be for the viewer to witness how humankind struggles to maintain humanity and how this becomes increasingly harder as civilization gradually dissolves into chaos and death. Well, this aspect really is engaging - but you won't find it explored in this movie. There are only two scenes where this theme is latently addressed, one of which has the wife and kids of Brad Pitt's character facing dismissal from a safe refuge. But neither do we see the wife fighting her and her children's deportation, nor do we get to watch the politicians vindicate their inhumane decision. We don't get a glimpse on what this decision does to her or her little children or even Brad Pitt's character. What could have been an engaging, emotional, highly dramatic and as well as frightening part of the movie is simply omitted.
You might think you could live with all these flaws as long as this Zombie movie delivers on its primal promise - Zombie thrills abundantly. Think again. Aside from the fact that 'World War Z's PG-13 rating forecloses any Zombie gore the movie fails to create any characteristics you'd normally affiliate with the genre. No white knuckle moments, no jumping in your seat, no claustrophobia, not the faintest signs of decent suspense. The human-vs.-Zombie-moments create a permanent sense of déjà-vu. Be it humans running and Zombies closing in, be it a door with tons of Zombies on the outside about to run it in, be it humans slowly running out of ammo as the Zombie hordes keep surging. You know you've seen 'em all in other movies, only that they were far better in those other movies.
The few redeeming qualities of the film – and why I give it three stars - are a couple of compelling CGI shots of major cities in ruin and the nature of the Zombies which act like an unstoppable, hyper-fast, hyper-frenzied swarm of locusts.
All in all the movie 'World War Z' is a weak and astonishingly uninspired affair.