Story driven not gore driven

Rating: 8/10 (21 June 2013)

Think Contagion mixed with a dash of George Romero's original Night of the Living Dead. This movie is about the virus that is taking out the world instead of the zombies that result from the virus. It's about finding the source or at the very least a means to find the ever elusive, patient zero. If you're looking for gore and zombies that are missing half their heads but still moving like an Olympic runner, this will not be your movie.
There is little to no gore as gore is not necessary to move the plot along, nor to spice up otherwise lackluster plots or sub-par actors. This movie is not about edge of your seat blockbuster action and gratuitous explosions, it's about Brad Pitt and his adventure in trying to save the world. The story is simple, pretty much the same as most, Extinction Level Event brought on by a viral outbreak; not of man but of nature. The progression of the story does however meet with your usual action movie problems where main characters can escape pitfalls that background characters nor real people would be able to. There are also the usual moments where there are your usual build ups to the very last second of safety, like someone holding a door open until the very last second and then shutting that door with a horde of zombies with the force of a locomotive being held back by doors that wouldn't be able to hold if there were not main actors on the safe side of it.
Despite the pitfalls within the story and the action movie formula, it does lend a sort of judgement day feel to, but because more time is spent carrying the plot forward, there isn't enough time to spend in certain locales to give the sense of extinction. Similar to Contagion, it's implied more than dwelled upon. Unlike Contagion, there's no real sense of loss and without that it's hard to care when certain characters die or become endangered. Brad Pitt's character, not having a background in medicine or virology is able to come to a viable conclusion on how to combat the infection a little too quickly given that some of the world's best medical minds have been hitting brick walls in 10x the time it takes him.
This is not The Walking Dead, or Resident Evil, or any of the _______ of the Dead movies. If you're expecting anything like this, you will be disappointed. If however you go in with the Contagion drama mentality where there is in fact a plot beyond ready, aim, fire, reload, you may enjoy this film. The premise of the virus does have its merits based in reality to a small degree, more so than a T-Virus or the dead rising from the grave because of some apocalyptic biblical prophecy. This movie is rated PG-13, think about that as well. By no means is a family movie, especially for children who have a history of blowing things out of proportion or some level of pessimistically imaginative anxiety, I was one about 30 years ago and my parents regretted it every time.
Overall, this movie should entertain, unless you're looking for a mouthful of human flesh in the mouths of the zombies and blood spewing or spraying out of open wounds. If read the book, then you may want to wait for it to come out on Blu-ray or DVD. But if you want something to make you think for about 20 minutes and wonder how Pitt is going to save the world and more importantly his family, then give it a shot.
In reference to the 3D version, it was converted to 3D not actually shot in 3D, so there tend to be errors here and there that your brain will not be able to decipher and thus will detract from the experience. See 2D if this kind of thing bothers you, as it did me. Also, this movie is not worth the price of concession stand refreshments, do your eating and drinking before you get to the theater at more economic prices or sneak something in. Save that money and buy a ticket to another movie after this one.