World War Z Review

A new breed of blockbuster
Full, spoiler-free review by Isaac Handelman

All the signs point to World War Z being a somewhat generic summer blockbuster -- it’s got zombies (an increasingly common pop-culture icon), explosions and special effects galore, and a mega-star for a leading man in the form of Brad Pitt. Wonderfully enough, however, World War Z is anything but a by-the-numbers summer adrenaline fest. It has all of the aforementioned ingredients in ready supply, but it never relies entirely on any of them, instead interweaving its big budget thrills with a narrative that hits surprisingly close to home and containing some fantastic performances to boot. Couple those strengths with some of the most gripping, intense moments in recent cinematic memory, and suddenly World War Z becomes something very special -- and very rare.

What’s immediately stunning about the film is how real it feels right off the bat, thanks in part to Marc Forster’s raw direction and some shaky (but not too shaky) cinematography. From the moment we’re introduced to Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt), his wife and two daughters with the knowledge that a zombie apocalypse is about to break out, affairs become intense, as the film spends little time on exposition -- and that’s a good thing. Many zombie apocalypse films these days entirely forego an explanation of the virus’ origin, which often proves to be a good choice that expedites the film’s narrative without sacrificing anything too vital to viewer understanding. World War Z takes an approach that’s in stark contrast to this norm; the entirety of WWZ’s narrative is focused around Gerry’s globe-trotting investigation of the zombie virus’ origin in an attempt to use the information to engineer a vaccine for the virus.

Brad Pitt and Mireille Enos both excel as everyday parents trying to protect their children

Prior to the sprawling scope of the meat of Z’s narrative, Gerry spends a solid chunk of time simply trying to help his family survive the early days of the outbreak. The first thirty-or-so minutes of the film are devoted to this somewhat directionless cause, and it works surprisingly well. The film captures a sense of down-to-earth desperation that’s extremely rare to see in summer blockbusters, and much credit should be given to Brad Pitt for his convincing work as a stay-at-home father who just wants to protect his family from the horrors of the zombie outbreak. It’s equally wrenching, then, when the family encounters disturbing actions transpiring on the streets, from the gruesome transformations of infected souls to assaults by other human survivors.

However, in retaining a PG-13 rating, World War Z does sacrifice a certain element of shock that usually comes with the brutal zombie violence of its sub-genre brethren. The zombie sub-genre is one of the few where graphic violence actually bolsters quality, and World War Z ultimately suffers from the inherent restrains that come with its avoidance of an R rating. To a degree, the lack of true zombie gore will only truly upset sub-genre devotees, but the issue actually ends up making for a few strange cuts as the camera awkwardly pans away from a downed zombie just as the finishing blows are being applied, and one scene towards the end in particular is made unnecessarily confusing due to the filmmaker’s inability to show anything too explicit.

That’s not to say that World War Z is lacking in intensity, though. When I say that World War Z is intense, I do not mean the sort of shootout, giant robot, or car chase fueled brand of intensity that’s come to define summer blockbusters. I’m talking about real, nail-biting, hair-pulling, grab-your-face, let-out-a-deep-breath-because-you-realize-you’ve-been-holding-it- too-long, real intensity. The fact that zombies are given the ability to run may sound like a small alteration on paper, but in reality the choice to shy away from the usual, shambling depictions of the undead makes countless scenarios within World War Z genuinely scary. The zombies are an enormous, daunting force to be reckoned with, and the huge, set-piece moments when they pile on top of each other and rush en masse towards huge crowds of people serve as a few especially gut-wrenching highlight moments in a film that rarely lets up with its aforementioned brand of intensity.

The zombies are terrifying, both up close and seen from afar.

Despite the stunning intensity the film maintains through the majority of its duration, World War Z falters when it comes to delivering a satisfyingly epic conclusion. Perhaps that’s due in part to the high quality bar that the film sets itself up for through the rest of its runtime. Still, Z’s finale is a letdown -- in fact, I didn’t realize I was watching the finale of the film until the credits began to roll, which is a surefire sign of a sub-par close. The blow left by the anticlimactic ending is not softened by the short montages contained within the film, which give peeks at huge battles and outbreak-related events that, unfortunately, never transpire in the film. The door is left purposefully open by the film’s close, probably to leave room for a sequel, which is aggravating to say the least. Still, the simple fact that the film leaves viewers hoping for continuance past its ending point is a testament to the product’s overall quality.

Those looking for a faithful adaptation of Max Brooks’ novel have probably already been turned off by World War Z’s trailers, which showcased huge deviations from the source material. I’d be lying if I said the film follows anything close to the original novel’s content. However, fans of the book rejoice: despite the sweeping changes it makes to the story, World War Z does not completely sacrifice the feel of Max Brooks’ novel, as certain elements -- in terms of both narrative and style -- carry over to the adaptation.

And to those unwilling to accept the drastic changes that have been made to World War Z in its transformation into a film are urged to reconsider. Though the result of book-to-film adaptation has left World War Z a very different experience, I left the theater not caring in the slightest. As a standalone product, the film is fantastic summer entertainment. It’s relentlessly intense and epic in scope, but does not forget to chronicle the personal struggles at the heart of any great zombie story. Genre fans and willing newcomers rejoice; World War Z is that rare, awesome blockbuster zombie movie.