Good Genre Film

Rating: 8/10 (13 March 2016)

I'm not sure what baggage I was supposed to bring to my viewing of World War Z, but I guess it got left behind, because I couldn't see much wrong with the film. It's an above-average entry in the zombie genre, and sufficiently well made to amuse casual viewers as well.
World War Z reminded me of several other films I've greatly enjoyed. It has the fast zombies and epidemiological viewpoint of 28 Days Later. It has the exciting round-the-world quest of Roland Emmerich's 2012. And it even borrows a bit from the cult favorite Plane Dead. The action sequences are spectacular, the acting is solid, and the whole package is very satisfying.
It's true, there are a few obvious lapses in logic, but nothing that shouldn't be forgivable in a genre film like this. An early example: if the plague takes 12 seconds to convert a living human into a zombie (a novel idea, in itself), how could it be spread by air travellers? Everyone on board a plane ought to be dead before the doors are sealed. But the general sense of the film is good. All you need to know is it's a contagion, and we need to fight it using medical science, as opposed to, say, wooden stakes and garlic.
World War Z won't be mistaken for a work of genius, but it is a lot of fun. Break out the popcorn, and don't let nit-picking reviews put you off.