World War Z is based on the book of the same name, by Max Brooks. The book detailed the Zombie Apocalypse some ten years after its initial outbreak. In an unusual move, the reader learnt about the outbreak and the hard years that followed through a series of vignettes. A UN agent assigned to the Postwar Commission interviews a vast majority of different survivors from around the world, in an effort to better understand what caused the outbreak - and the effect to which it's had on the global community.
When news of the movies production hit, fans undoubtedly imagined a documentary-like pastiche of jaw-dropping set-pieces - brought together by a journalists quest for truth.
The production of World War Z has been long and "troubled". Four very talented writers (J. Michael Straczynski, Matthew Michael Carnahan, Damon Lindelof and Drew Goddard) were assigned at different stages of production to distil this opus. A good portion of the film was re-shot as a consequence - with test screenings and the like pushing the film in a more action-orientated direction.
It continues to surprise me when movies share little to no content with the property from which they're adapted. From a business perspective it makes sense to build upon a salivating and still-hungry audience. But surely if you change something to the point where it's no longer recognisable, your sizeable built-in audience will turn their backs on you?
What's most unfathomable is to learn that this one-note apocalyptic tale has done well enough in box office receipts to warrant a sequel? It would appear all people really want is more and more bang for their buck!
As you might imagine I went in to World War Z with pretty low expectations. Rather than it being ten years later, the audience is propelled in to the Zombie outbreak as it happens - through the eyes of our protagonist/journalist, Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt).
The Zombies in World War Z run rather than shuffle - echoing the "infected" of 28 Days Later rather than the traditional "undead". As a result the movies pace is tremendous. The action doesn't let up and the movie flies by at an alarming rate.
With his family in tow, Gerry witnesses first hand his home town fall to infection. A respite from the action sees Gerry and his family given sanctuary by a former colleague. As guests aboard the American Naval Fleet, Gerry and his family are safe. As a condition however, Gerry must enlist in the effort to save mankind. This requires him to travel the globe (accompanied by military personal) to find a solution to the life-threatening outbreak.
A couple of nice moments had me invested beyond mere atrophy, but come the half-way point there were few surprises. Having to suspend my already waning disbelief towards the end of the picture, not even the gratuitous Pepsi tie-in drew a smile!
Despite my grievances, World War Z offers up some striking visuals - and the shear pace of the movie is sure to appeal to the attention-deficit generation! It's difficult to know whether you've been entertained or not when the film-makers give little to no time for you to think (perhaps that's their trick)?
I was certain we were getting away from movies that lived or died on spectacle alone. The success of this movie has left me to believe otherwise.
2/5
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