(Movie Review) World War Z (2013)

PG13 zombie movies sound impossible to make, but World War Z pulls it off… barely 

I’m not sure if any of you are like me or not, but at least once a day I like to browse the movie gossip sites to see what has been happening and what is coming out. Sites like Collider.com, cinemablend.com and a few others are my usual hang out spots. For a WHILE now (I mean a couple of YEARS) this movie has been covered in controversy.  Filming was started with an unfinished script, they exceeded their budget by $75M (conservatively) and the entire third act of the movie had to be rewritten and reshot because, in the words of test audiences and those associated with production, the original ending was “abrupt and incoherent”. Since I have been following this since it started principle photography in July of 2011 I was not expecting much. I expected it to be horrible. But the rewrites and the new third act worked really well and makes this movie a really enjoyable summer movie. 

Storyline: When a series of reports claiming widespread rabies is infecting people all across the globe, former UN employee Gerry Lane (Pitt) and his family are evacuated from downtown Philadelphia by the United Nations and secured on a US. Navy Vessel off the coast of New York. The family will be permitted to stay on the vessel as long as Gerry agrees to return to work with the UN in searching for a cure. In an effort to save his family, and humanity, Gerry sets out on a globe scanning effort to find a cure for the disease. 

The premise sounds pretty great, right? And if you are a fan of the book I am sure that you are really excited to see it. Well, be ready for some changes. Instead of being a collection of “field reports”, this is a single story from one man’s perspective. Also, the zombies are SUPER FAST. I mean, Usain Bolt fast! So obviously there are some pretty radical changes to the film. And that third act that I mentioned? Nowhere in the book. So, be prepared for a different take on the subject matter. 

Worth the admission? I think that it was well worth the $8 it costs to see it. While the movie diverges from the source material greatly the film offers up lots of action and, as always, a great performance from Pitt. Special credit should be given to David Lindelof and Drew Goddard for their rewrite of the third act. While I have read the original script, and it is super dark and twisted, the released film offers a much more grounded and personal ending than I was expecting. You, finally, get face to face with some of these zombies instead of seeing them as a horde of speeding blurs. 


*BELOW IS INFORMATION ABOUT THE ORIGINAL ENDING*

If you do get a chances to watch the movie, and liked how it ended, just look at what the original ending was going to be. Be very grateful for the ending that we got. And if you want to read the full article about on the film, go to http://collider.com/world-war-z-sequel-original-ending/

"The elderly and the sick are executed and the healthy people, including a very shaken Gerry, are immediately drafted into armed service, though not before one particularly nasty Russian soldier takes Gerry’s cell phone. The story then jumps forward an unknown amount of time and we catch up with Gerry, who now has a full beard and has been a part of Russia’s zombie-clearing squad at least long enough for it to have changed to winter. He looks almost dead inside, but the reality is that over this time he’s become an experienced and ruthless zombie killer, and he’s the leader of his own equally capable unit." - Collider.com