Brilliant summer blockbuster with a surprisingly good story

Rating: 9/10 (27 June 2013)

First off...I don't care about the source material. I have not read the book yet and I probably will read it but even then I wouldn't care whether or not this stayed true. I am always ALWAYS able to separate film from literature because its really the only way to enjoy them in their own way. Second of all, I don't care this movie is PG-13...in fact I applaud them for not going full on gore, R rated splatter-fest. The way the film is it can appeal to a wider audience and be appropriate for more people. The lack of exploitative gore does not make this a lesser zombie flick. The Zombie genre has just been beaten into a tiny pulp. And yet I am consistently impressed with what film makers and writers manage to do with the genre. Films like this and Warm Bodies and shows like Walking Dead prove that there can still be some fun and entertainment left in a very, very tired genre. World War Z is a zombie flick obviously but its also created to be a disaster movie. It has that style and feel. You will travel from the US to Israel to India and throughout the world. The film does not give you even a moment to breathe. From the opening scenes to the very last it is a go-go-go adrenaline rush that leaves you breathless. The story is actually very well crafted and even the CGI that I thought could break this film is done pretty well.
No one can doubt Brad Pitt's star quality. The man exudes a cool, quiet confidence and has great chemistry on screen. I actually found his character a little dry in this at times but Pitt's charisma will win you over. He shows a certain intensity and yet he borders on bland at times which is unfortunate. It doesn't hold the film back and I think the character was just meant to be very in control of every situation. Relative newcomer to the big budget Hollywood scene Mireille Enos plays Pitt's beloved wife. She does a really good job, showing some great intensity. Best of all, she's not a traditional Hollywood beauty but rather someone who looks down to earth and a regular person and I liked that. Her and Pitt had good chemistry. Daniella Kertesz was really great as Segen, the impromptu partner to Pitt's Gerry Lane. Kertesz could easily be a focal point for sequels and her story was captivating. Her mostly supporting role was worthy and stand out. David Morse has a very small cameo role but I feel compelled to mention it because his character was fantastic and twisted. Sterling Jerins and Abigail Hargrove both do a great job as Pitt's children. They don't get a lot of screen time but they fulfil their roles very well. Peter Capaldi, Pierfrancesco Favino and Ruth Negga don't even get character names and yet all three of them did a great supporting job towards the end of the film.
In many ways, World War Z is an ensemble cast. Outside of Pitt everyone only gets a little bit of screen time but there are some really great performance. A film like this, chock full of special effects and non-stop action could nearly forget all about story and character development (I'm looking at you Man of Steel) but World War Z proves that you can have all that AND a good story and great characters that you actually care about. The film went through countless production problems and I was pleased to find out that it doesn't effect the final outcome at all. I honestly attribute a lot of that to direction Marc Forster who is quickly becoming a solid force to be reckoned with after Quantum of Solace, Finding Neverland and even the lesser known Machine Gun Preacher. He knows how to tell a story and utilize his actors in a big way. He knows that a film needs to be more than just glitz and glam. Certainly the film left itself open for future instalments but I also didn't feel like they left anything out and that it was left open just for a cash grab. The story was complete, it well done, the pacing was near perfect and it didn't feel too long or short. As usual in my opinion the 3D was completely unnecessary. Visually the special effects ranged from decent to really great. The CGI on the zombies was perhaps slightly overdone but far less than I anticipated. This is the sort of summer time blockbuster popcorn flick that makes Summer films worthwhile. It shows up Man Of Steel and Iron Man 3!! See it!! 9/10