Rating of
3/4
It's not art, but it's entertaining.
memento_mori - wrote on 07/04/13
Here's my take on zombie movies: A zombie movie doesn't need high class and drama. It needs good props and makeup, a good script, and a good director.
This film has two of them, the weakest being the director.
Marc Forster is not a bad director. He is just bad at filming action. He made Stranger Than Fiction, an adorable little romantic comedy, which really surprised me with its depth and acting. He should stick to that. There were a lot of great shots in World War Z, but none of them were in the action scenes.
There were similar problems in Marc Forster's last film Quantum of Solace. Everyone gives that movie hate, but it's kind of my guilty pleasure.
This film has a very simple structure to follow. That's not necessarily bad, but it isn't very original, either. It's one huge scene after another, every time in a new country with a new herd of zombies.
There were scenes where you could definitely tell they were going for a PG-13 rating, with many things blurred out by shaky cam or the camera moving up, but that wasn't too irritating.
The suspense in this film is actually legitimate, I was always tense and awaiting the next scene.
But whenever they would build up the tension and everything became suspenseful, Marc Forster gave us: you guessed it! A jump scare! (*Repeated Sarcastic Claps*).
The music was phenomenal. I was very surprised how mysterious it sounded and how much it worked, especially in the final scene (it's not the same without the music).
The family in the film: Let's just say the people weren't useful, but Brad Pitt needed someone to act off of.
I think this film set out to be a fun PG-13 zombie movie, and it succeeded. Of course, it's not high art, but it's the first summer movie of the year I can really appreciate.
Recent Comments
Daniel Corleone - wrote on 07/04/13 at 11:15 PM CT
World War Z Review comment
Your review got me more excited to see this. Good job! Thanks for the comment with regards to The Place Beyond the Pines. Snoogan's discovered it and highly recommends it as well.
