World War Z - A Zombie Enthusiast's Review

"Don't fly too close to the horde."

Nothing could have torn me away from that screen. World War Z is two hours of heart-gripping suspense. I liked the dynamic of looking at a zombie virus on a global scale, visiting many different parts of the world and seeing what kind of communities had survived.  It's PG 13 and most of the graphic violence is implied. A little hamburger meat here and there wouldn't have killed them. If it weren't so psychologically disturbing, I'd say you could take your kids to see it.

"Daddy, no!"

Within the first five minutes of the film, I realized we were dealing with my least favorite kind of zombie: fast zombies. My husband and I differ on this opinion, but I have always thought fast zombies were kind of silly, especially when they are capable of inhuman acrobatics. He feels this makes them scarier and emphasizes their ravenous nature. I appreciate slow zombies in great numbers. They are symbolic of death creeping up on you, slowly enough so that you feel you can dodge the inevitable. Then, at some point, you are surrounded with no way out.

I had fun watching World War Z, but I had a few problems with parts of the story that I found impossible to swallow. The script really asks the audience to put complete faith in it while the chips fall into place to create another life-threatening situation for Brad Pitt's character Gerry Lane. It starts to feel like the whole world revolves around Brad Pitt at some point. And hey, maybe it does. You will see what I mean when they get to Israel.

As for Gerry Lane as a character, he's your typical Hercules. He's a family man, he's better at surviving than anybody else and he is a risk taker when the survival of others depends on it. He has zero character flaws. He's even nice to his wife and kids when they repeatedly endanger others with their stupidity. Not much to say about him, except that he doesn't exist.

The film had at least one compelling character named Segan played by Daniella Kertesz. Her character was so original and had this admiral resilience that made you root for her from the second she appeared on screen. I don't think she had more than three lines in the film, but she didn't need to say much. Her expressions and the way she acted in the field showed the audience her personality.  Segan should have had a little more screen time and a memorable quote here and there. Perhaps the producers worried that she would look too much like a love interest for Gerry Lane if they developed her character any further.

The movie managed to keep me on the edge of my seat, my heart pounding and my shoulders painfully tight. I probably shouldn't have had that Monster energy drink as I was watching it. It's an intense ride with only a few moments of comic relief to help you catch your breath. I highly recommend this movie for your next date night. It has been proven in studies that women become more attracted to the nearest man when they are afraid.

Survival Tip of the Day:
Tape magazines around your forearms and ankles to protect yourself from the dreaded zombie bite. Source: World War Z.