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June 30, 2013

Movie Review: World War Z (2013, Paramount)

 ...good grief, George!!! In the 45-year aftermath of the macabre and gruesome concept introduced in the classic 1968 horror chiller, "Night of the Living Dead" (...as well as the countless incarnations of such, which have prolifically ensued, over the years...in movies, television and books), look what that concept has wrought...look what it has come to. What was once a unique, albeit graphically visceral, threshold-testing cinematic reinvention of definition (...the 'zombie'...once merely relegated to representation by one whose death is feigned, who is redrawn from the grave...thought still dead, but very much alive...and who is herbally enslaved to a master of the dark rituals of Voodoo.....now, a wayward viral infestation...origin varying, depending upon the story...whereby although the infected also rise from the dead, they instead are mindlessly frenzied, decaying, independently operating re-animations, driven to that one primal instinct, which indelibly remains in the fading vestige of their minds...to eat...or horrifically rather, to eat human flesh), has since become a world-wide, commercially recognized institution...like Twinkies...like Walmart...heck, like the very megastar of the following film to be reviewed herein, Brad Pitt. We've definitely come a long way, since genre fav George A. Romero's genre-changing horror classic...indeed, even since the deliciously over-the-top, stomach-churning 'spaghetti' horror days of Fulci, Bianchi and Mattai...so much so, in fact, that the 'zombie' concept in recent productions, like AMC's "The Walking Dead", seems to have taken an 'oh-by-the-way' back-seated backdrop, in favor of the suspense, tension and high-drama of having to survive in the midst of such apocalyptic turmoil. In a surprisingly tame and UN-visceral way, for better or for worse, such can be said for the recent entry in the well-worn horror sub-genre...the internationally intriguing, spansive and epic-sized apocalyptic "World War Z"...




...while transiting his family across busy town traffic in Philadelphia, former United Nations representative Jerry Lane, his wife and his daughters are forced to flee their vehicle, amidst a frenzied, panicked crowd, being pursued by what appears to be a relentlessly unswerving wave of fleet-footed, glassy-eyed, blood-lusting crazies, who are attacking people...taking them down, and actually biting into them...as if feeding on them. A quick observation by Jerry, while desperately rushing his family to the nearest available safety haven: whoever is bitten by one of these 'crazies', succumbs to a violent attack of the shakes, and seconds later, becomes one of the mindless and voracious, 'tag, you're it' flesh-hungry attackers. Frantically rushing to a predetermined location...the roof of an apartment complex, where a rendezvoused helicopter awaits...Jerry and his family are whisked off to an off-shore aircraft carrier, where several hundreds of other people have emergently evacuated to. On the vessel, select scientists and military strategists discuss & study the overwhelmingly engulfing effects of the viral outbreak, and suggest possible origins of the highly contagious spread. Forcibly called upon, for his negotiative experience in the U.N., Jerry (...who, after having been threatened to have been kicked off the ship, along with his family, if he chose not to cooperate and assist) leaves his family aboard ship, and is dispatched, along with a SEAL team, to South Korea, in hopes of investigating a reportedly possible cure for the progressively wide-spread virus...
...when the potentially dangerous venture to South Korea proves knowledgeably fruitless...as well as deadly, when some of the crazed infected, drawn to the noise and activity of the investigative lot, overwhelmingly converge and attack...the surviving crew quickly evacuate the area, and next fly out to Jerusalem, and a suspective wall-protected 'safe zone' therein. In the midst of Jerry trying to figure out how and why this particular area is 'coincidentally' so well protected, the countless masses of infected lay siege on the outside of the wall, crawl over each other ladder-like, and manage to get over the towering wall...relentlessly engaging their frenzied attack. Once again, a momentary observation, in the midst of escaping said attack, Jerry sees that certain select individuals AREN'T attacked by the infected, and in fact, appear completely ignored by them. Boarding a frantically passengered commercial flight, bound for Wales (...as well as narrowly escaping said flight, when an infected stowaway inflicts further passengers on the flight, and a diversive on-board explosion causes the plane to crash), Jerry proceeds to Wales, and a medical research center therein, where further suggested leads are reportedly rumored exist, as far as suppressing the further spreading virus. What will Jerry find there?? What of the curious behavior of the infected masses?? Will Jerry find a means of suppressing...nay, outright halting in it's tracks, the spread of the virus, and at such time, reuniting with his family?? (...who has since been ejected from the over-populated carrier, and evacuated to a claimantly fortified, albeit potentially vulnerable refugee camp, when it was suggested that Jerry had perished in one of the attacks)...
...OK, right off the bat, let's talk about expectations. Admittedly, and without a doubt, "World War Z" is one heck of a slick, suspenseful, action-packed and tension-filled piece of high drama...clearly taking it's inspired cues from the more emphasized high-dramatics of similar productions, like "The Walking Dead". Much like that critically acclaimed made-for-cable series, as mentioned before, the 'zombies' are merely a caustic backdrop, taking a backseat to the social commentary of the storyline, the direct & engaging character interaction, the sense of survivalist desperation in light of the horrifically overwhelming proceedings, as well as an equally overwhelming sense of dread, uncertainty and fear instilled upon the barely surviving populous. In fact, this viewer could not help but reflect back to a similarly flavored apocalyptic film, instilling an almost identical feel and approach, in the midst of entropic social tension and high drama, though in a more science fiction meld, rather than horror...namely, 2006's most engaging "Children of Men"...
...HOWEVER, in approaching the "Z" film in a much more 'salivating and carnivorously neanderthal' meld...for lack of a better description...one cannot help but feel very much let down by the lack of visceral 'drippings'...again, for lack of a better word. Granted, the facial make-up effects are, for the most part, amiably effective, given the gruesome-ness of the film's subject matter, and in the end, not really that far removed from that of other 'zombie' films. And the movement & behavioral aspect of these particular 'zombies'...and the sheer (...CGI) number of them...is intriguingly different (...reportedly based upon studies of ant colonies). But, let's face it, folks...THIS is supposed to be a zombie movie...I mean, come on...it's a ZOMBIE movie, right?? And as such, there are certain expectations to a movie of this ilk...the wayward headshots, the rampant severed limbs, the gut-wretching disembowelments, the righteous arterial spray, the cleanly cleaved decapitations...and regrettably, this is where "World War Z" fails to satisfy. In the past, PG-13 rated 'zombie' movies HAVE respectably carried through on their promise, on at least SOME level, in the arena of explicit (...and expected) violence and bloodshed...walking that fine line between PG-13 and R, and barely winning out on the former; however, unlike "The Walking Dead"...which has amiably maintained a great balance between the high-drama, tension AND the visceral 'gooiness' of it's proceedings...in engaging the PG-13 rated "World War Z", in many instances in the film, it seems painfully obvious that the filmmakers were trying to go out of their way NOT to show anything too explicit or gory...even in the slightest way, hence the letdown for us voracious 'gorehounds' (...'scuse me, while I wipe the trail of saliva from the corner of my mouth...)...

...considering the singular narrative of author Max Brooks' best-selling novel, it's not surprising that the movie incarnation (...adeptly and ambitiously directed by Marc Forster, of 2001's "Monster's Ball", 2004's "Finding Neverland" and 2008's "Quantum of Solice")...which ran through a highly-publicized gauntlet of multiple rewrites and reshoots (...never a good sign, for a movie)...proves to be an almost virtual showcase piece for actor Brad Pitt (...whose production company, amongst an unusual number of others, also helped to spearhead the film's inception), who adeptly portrays the Jerry Lane character, here. In fact, as much as the character is individually conceptualized in the film, the overall effect of the performance seems almost a vanity piece, with the surrounding and fleetingly interactive characters...some of which are played by notables, like David Morse, Matthew Fox and David Andrews...ending up hardly connectible with the viewing audience...even going so far as seemingly appearing as forgettable, and as such, as measurably inhuman, as compared to the mindlessly infected, which the fleeting characters they play, readily engage...

...it seems inevitable that, much like this viewer...depending upon the embraced genre of choice, which one might favor...one might be explicably torn, as to how one feels about this particular film. As an intense, compelling and thoroughly engaging, horror-based action/drama,."World War Z" most assuredly excels and satisfies; however, as a straight-out 'zombie' movie, taking into account the...uh, the...well, let's just say, the 'icky' expectations one might have, in regards to a film inspired by this well-worn, albeit seemingly always-evolving sub-genre...well, one cannot help but be measurably let down by it. In this viewer's mind, the jury is still out, and time will have to tell, on this one...at least until the sequel, which based upon the recent and flourishing box office returns, seems as inevitable as the indecisive conflict offered herein...sort of like ever so much wanting and expecting a deliciously saucy, all-meat pizza...but getting only some tasty chicken chow mien. Sure, in the end, one is relatively satisfied; but then, it wasn't exactly what one wanted, in the first place, right??...

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