Zombie-fest of mayhem and little else

Rating: 4/10 (18 January 2018)

"World War Z" earns four stars for two attributes. It is almost non-stop action for those who enjoy adrenaline-depleting films of the characters within. And, it has very good makeup for the various zombies. I don't rate films on the basis of CGI because that always looks phony to me, and for that reason I don't think it's to be celebrated for cinema art. The two biggest negatives of the film are the plot and the acting.
Come on, Paramount and associates, surely you could dream up some source - cause and place, of the zombie outbreak. It wasn't in New Jersey. It wasn't in South Korea. It wasn't in Jerusalem. It wasn't in India. It wasn't in Wales. So, where did it first appear? And what was the cause? This is sci-fi (fiction), so make up something to fill a big hole and question in the plot. Then there's the one zombie in captivity in the Wales research lab. How did they happen to capture it? Especially such meek and mild scientists?
Then, there's the acting; or more accurately, the lack thereof. To some extent one shouldn't expect to see much acting in fast-paced action films such as this. What is there to emote or portray when the cast is mostly running around or hurriedly moving all the time? But in this case, there are a couple of slow scenes, and the audience sees Brad Pitt with his mouth half agape and motionless, looking at other actors who are talking. He appears stupefied. This lasts long enough each time to make one who appreciates good acting wonder if Pitt fell asleep with his eyes open. No one else in the cast of otherwise little known performers does anything to suggest that any roles called for acting in this weird sci-fi flick.
Even in the "logic" for the zombies, the whole production group seemed to miss one thing that was outlandish. Given that whatever makes the zombie a zombie, it can bring dead back to life - or to a state of "undead," that is able to act alive and move about. Apparently, the only thing that stops them from getting back up is shooting them in the head - or blowing their brains and head off. But the film shows dozens of these zombies falling off tall building, smashing onto the pavement and steel structures and then getting up and tearing off. So, with all those broken legs, backs and necks, the bodies could still run as if they had no such debilitating injuries.
This zombie-fest is mostly a long show of mayhem with nothing to recommend it as an even fair movie.