Review of World War Z (2013) by Stephen Z — 31 Mar 2015

Zombies are seeing a revival in popularity, in large part due to the success of "The Walking Dead". However, the result of the saturated zombie market is that many zombie films and shows won't be good. "World War Z" is a prime example of this. "World War Z" clearly tries to capitalize on the success of the "The Walking Dead". It even rips off scenes from the show. But "World War Z" is nowhere near as good as "The Walking Dead".

It's not just lack of originality that "World War Z" suffers from. "World War Z" also has a serious problem with not fully explaining itself. It starts from the beginning, when the film jumps right into the plot without any set-up. Pitt's character seems instantly prepared for the zombie apocalypse and that's not explained. Likewise, the film doesn't establish why Brad Pitt's character is so important that people will jump through hoops for him. Then there's the film's proposed solution to the zombie problem, which is supposed to be potentially fatal, but this never comes up again. And then the film ends as suddenly as it began.

There are several other problems with "World War Z". The CGI is lousy. The action is dull and mindless. I could go on. And I will.

There are no good performances in "World War Z". Brad Pitt's character is not believable as a person, but I don't know if that is Pitt's fault or the writers'. And the rest of this cast is as forgettable as this film.

"World War Z" tries to be the biggest, badest zombie movie ever made, but this is to the films own detriment. I did not enjoy this film. But sure, listen to all of the fan boys who say it's a great movie.