Review: World War Z

Review: World War Z
*Spoilers Alert
  Do NOT forget to rate this post when you finish.

"World War Z" Poster.

      A movie that was butchered by many critics, even before its release, turned out to be both an enjoyable summer action movie and has the potential franchise launcher.

"Brad Pitt".

"Mireille Enos".

      'Gerry Lan'(Brad Pitt), a former UN employee, is now living the quiet and simple life. Happy to do the chores and take care of his family, ‘Gerry’, along with his wife 'Karin Lane'(Mireille Enos) and his two daughters 'Rachel'(Abigail Hargrove) and 'Constance'(Sterling Jerins) were stuck in heavy Philadelphia traffic when suddenly a Zombie attack takes place. 'Gerry' soon realizes that this isn't just a one place incidence, but these attacks are taking all over the place. Determined to save both his family and the human race, 'Gerry' embarks on a worldwide dangerous adventure in order to find the source of these attacks as well as a possible cure. Other characters include: UN Depute Secretary-General and former friend of Gerry 'Thierry Umutoni'(Fana Mokoena), a female Israeli soldier 'Segen'(Daniella Kertesz), US Army Ranger stationed in Camp Humphreys 'Captain Speke'(James Badge Dale), "David Morse" as a former CIA operative imprisoned in Camp Humphreys, director of Mossad and Israel's pre-emptive defenses 'Jurgen Warmbrunn'(Ludi Boeken), a young boy 'Tommy'(Fabrizio Zacharee Guidoo), "Peter Capaldi" and "Pierfrancesco Favino" as WHO researchers, and "Mathew Fox" as an Air Force Pararescue soldier.

"David Morse" and "Brad Pitt".

"Fana Mokoena".

      Ever since the announcement of 'World War Z'’s production and the problems that the film faced from delay of release to reshoots and going above the budget, the movie critics slammed it. Most refused to acknowledge that this movie could actually be a pleasant and enjoyable movie, and automatically led the people believe it will be one of the biggest movie disaster. Yet after its release, many were positively surprised. That shows that a movie's production signs can be deceiving, and it actually became a success. I will not argue, the movie does have problems that any big budget action movie has, but what surprised many was the baggage that the movie had and the potential it had. Overall, 'World War Z' was one of the better big budget movies of 2013, who with proper planning and production could have been a great adapted movie. And for the people who aren't aware, this movie is based on the popular 2006 same name book written by "Max Brooks".

"Brad Pitt", "Abigail Hargrove",
and "Mireille Enos".

"Daniella Kertesz".

      Director "Marc Forster", known mainly for his work of 'Finding Nederland' and 'Quantum of Solace', in the bigger picture did an not so bad job showing the audience the main idea, and not leading them to total unawareness. The problem to me is that "Marc Forster" divided the movie into two halves: a first half heavy with setting up the second part, which was exploding with action scenes and stunts. Yet, in a very weird but satisfying way, his directing style was able to accompany the clear plot of the movie from beginning to end, regardless of its small importance in the second part. There were many highlights in the various shots and effects used, though at some point, the CGI were a bit lazy. Writers "Matthew Michael Carnahan"('The Kingdom') and "J. Michael Straczynski"('Changeling') were able to keep the main idea running, yet failed to successfully use the underlying themes and ideas that were present. It would have given the movie's story depth. Composer's "Marco Beltrami"('The Hurt Locker) score actually elevated the movie's quality and experience.

"Brad Pitt" and
"Pierfrancesco Favino"

"Mureille Enos" and "Brad Pitt".

      As I mentioned before, the movie was basically divided into two parts. The first part was like an introduction to the main characters and the main reason of why everything is taking place. In the second part, the emphasis of action and zombie-confrontations was much larger than that of finding the solution. This route was received in a mixed reaction. There were many fresh action sequences towards the end, yet it dominated the emotional material. And the scenes that were reshot many months after the end of production could be spotted. There were many fresh ideas included in the movie, such as the way to protect people from zombies. At the same time many other story lines were unfortunately abandoned. As for the ending, I personally think that the producers took the safe road mainly to ensure a gateway for a sequel.

"Sterling Jerins", "Mireille Enos",
"Fabrizio Zacharee Guido"
and "Bradd Pitt.

"Brad Pitt".

      To many, the only reason that they watched the movie was because of "Brad Pitt". This movie was "Brad Pitt"'s baby since it was his production company that won the rights for the screening. "Brad" is an international star, and it has been a while since he was headlining of a big budget movie. So it wasn't a shocker that he was able to carry the movie by himself. This certainly isn't "Brad Pitt"'s career defining role. That said, "Brad" successfully sold his performance with a clever balance of natural responses and the representing the innate skills of his character. Shame that "Mireille Enos"'s character's impact and screen time decreased midway through the movie. Yet she delivers when necessary. The remaining cast also did a very impressive job supporting the movie. The surprise of the movie was "Daniella Kertesz", who played the Israeli soldier. Her presence gave the movie's most tense and thrilling moments, which justify her character's screen time. But in the end, the main stars of the movie were the zombies; whose back stories as well as their characteristics were enjoyable to watch as they unfolded.

      In the end, 'World War Z' may have a strange and unequal mix of good character development and action sets; however, the producers will sure learn and correct the mistakes done in the sequel.

Official "World War Z" Poster.

-"World War Z" Info:

-Starring: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Abigail Hargrove, Sterling Jerins, Fana Mokoena, Daniella Kertesz, James Badge Dale, David Morse, Ludi Boeken, Fabrizio Zacharee Guido, and Mathew Fox.

-Based on: 'World War Z' by Max Brooks.

-Studio(s): Plan B Entertainment, Skydance Productions, GK Films, and Paramount Pictures.

-Directed by: Marc Forster.

-Story by: Matthew Michael Carnahan and J. Michael Straczynski.

-Music by: Marco Beltrami.

-Running Time: 116 minutes.

-Budget: $ 190,000,000.

-Box Office: -Domestic(US): $ 202,359,711.

                      -Foreign: $ 337,648,165.

-Ratings: -IMdb: 7.1/10.

                -Rotten Tomatoes: 67%.

                -Metacritic: 63%.

                -PERSONAL RATING: 7.6/10.

-"World War Z" Trailer: