In World War Z, zombies do not lumber, nor do they slowly munch on brains and entrails. Rather, they swarm in great numbers, run like mad to the nearest victim, bite them, and move on.
The movie is much the same way. We meet Gerry Lane, a former investigator for the United Nations, as his children awaken him and his wife, begging for pancakes. Breakfast is eaten, a voice on the TV says something about martial law, and then everyone is in the family car, the kids headed to school and the mom on her way to work. Then – BAM! The world as they know it ends and they’re running for their lives.
Somewhere, a virus that has the potential to end mankind has sprung to life. Victims go insane, and when one bites you, you have 11 seconds of cognizant life left before you join them on the Looney Bin Express. Dropping a zombie in the middle of a crowd of people is like dropping a pebble in a pond. The wave of insanity will quickly spread outward.
In one harrowing scene, zombies climb the wall surrounding Jerusalem like a column of giant ants. Somehow, Israel knew what was coming, and was the one country in the world that managed to stave off the infection. But the zombies are attracted to noise, and when Jews and Muslims within the wall begin singing together, the zombies hear it and come running.
Within minutes, Jerusalem is a boiling mass of zombies, as an aerial shot shows.
The U.S. Government wants Gerry to accompany a virologist on a global quest to find the origin of the virus and, hopefully, a cure, so they rescue him and his family and transport them to a warship somewhere on the Atlantic Ocean. “I’m not leaving my wife and kids,” Gerry says. “Fine,” says the ship’s commander. “Then we can take you and your family back to Philadelphia and drop you off on the roof of the apartment building where we saved your skin right as one of those things was about to peel it off your bones.” (I’m paraphrasing.)
This is where the story gets as thin as a rope of drool dangling from a zombie’s mouth. Apparently, their first destination is South Korea, since that’s where the word “zombie” was first used in connection to the victims. I guess that’s as good of a reason as any.
I have few beefs with Word War Z. With the exception of the tendency of director Marc Forster to toss his camera into a blender when shooting close-ups, it’s very well shot and edited. What’s more, the action begins immediately and rarely lets up, the outbreaks are staggering in scope and downright nerve-racking (I nearly dropped my popcorn on two occasions), and the scaled down ending nearly had me digging my fingernails into the arm of my chair out of suspense.
Also, the emotional core of the movie – Gerry trying to find a solution to the epidemic so he can then return to his family–is strong enough to carry the storyline through its weaker moments. And Brad Pitt, who also served as a producer of the movie, delivers a compelling performance – Gerry is smart, physically tough, and has his heart in the right place. You can see all of this in Pitt’s eyes.
So why is World War Z just “okay?” Why, in spite of its obvious assets, did the movie inspire a young woman leaving the theater ahead of me to say, “That could have been better,” and why did I agree with her? I believe it has to do with the story, which wobbles in the middle despite having a solid foundation. The movie is as its best in the beginning and the end. It finds its footing in Jerusalem, but other than that, it lumbers like a zombie from a George Romero pic.
That said, if the premise of World War Z intrigues you, the movie worth seeing in a theater. Just walk, don’t run, to get your ticket.
Two-and-a-half stars out of four. Rated PG-13 for intense frightening zombie sequences, violence and disturbing images.