Verdict:
The name is definitely a problem. I asked my partner if she wanted to watch World War Z with me and she said, “No,” because she was convinced that this was a war movie, owning to its name. Well, a war movie it is not, but It’s not a conventional zombie horror movie either. Thankfully, World War Z is considerably better than its title.
The premise is: Brad Pitt + worldwide zombie epidemic. Like in some twisted new travel show, we follow his character around the world, as he is trying to find a solution to the crisis. There is a repeating narrative pattern in which Brad Pitt goes to a location, things go tits up, cool apocalyptic stuff happens and then Brad Pitt escapes to a new location, where the cycle repeats itself.
If you examine a single sequence, the narrative works, but when you consider the plot as a whole, there is not much happening. There isn’t really a good reason for this dude to travel all over the world, but the plot is filled with conveniences and ludcrious science, in order to keep itself moving forward and keep Brad Pit moving to new places. It feels like the space–time continuum revolves around this character, in whichever way it suits his cause. It’s like, any moment now, this guy might wake up and find himself in that dream machine from Total Recall that makes you have adventurous dreams, in which you are the hero, but in reality, he’s just some construction worker with a beer gut.
This awkward Brad Pit gravitational anomaly makes more sense when you look at the book on which this film is based. The book describes how the zombie problem is addressed in different parts of the world by different people. The film writers wanted to keep that international aspect of the book, but they also wanted to brute force Brad Pit into everything. Unfortunately, they did not find a smooth way of doing that.
On the bright side, the events are unpredictable. The film will just take a left turn out of nowhere and this keeps the narrative fresh.
World War Z is all about the spectacle in each new location. The action is well dispersed, and when it kicks in, it is intense. The cinematography is punchy and contains enough variety, from chaotic close-ups of people wrestling with zombies to those fancy overhead flying shots of the zombie horde flowing like water. All the set pieces are impressive and memorable. There is an epic feel to everything, thanks to the scale of the action and the globetrotting.
There are many recognizable names in the supporting cast, and the performances are good all-around. It’s a shame the contributions are short, as Brad Pit has to leave those people behind to go somewhere else. Of course, if you got yourself a Brad Pit, then you might as well use him, but it is a shame that none of the other people stick around for long enough to make us remember them. There is a somewhat memorable Israeli woman that serves as the main character’s companion for a while, but that is about it.
Despite minor problems with the plot, World War Z is still a spectacular thriller and is worth seeing.