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Film Review: World War Z
Thursday 27th June 2013 | Vilma
While sat in the cinema waiting for World War Z to begin, my only thought was ‘oh no, yet another zombie film’. I did not anticipate anything particularly stimulating or thought-provoking but instead wondered why the film went through excessive amounts of rewriting, rescheduling and reshooting. Maybe it was a sign that the film, directed by Marc Forster and produced by the likes of Brad Pitt, would offer a different kind of zombie film than the ones we are used to?
I must admit that the opening scene took me by surprise. Within five minutes, the action had already started and kept me at the edge of my seat for the next two hours. Brad Pitt plays the lead character who like many heroes before him, is reluctantly recruited to save the world from a mysterious plague that turns people all around the world into zombie-like creatures. The strength of World War Z is how it manages to scare its audience; it shows how easily the world can turn into chaos and revives the experience of shock in movie goers. While the idea of zombies seems rather silly, magnificent scenes of these creatures crawling up high walls or taking over flights manage to create panic and the viewer cannot help but think, what if this actually happened? Isn’t that what a film is supposed to do, make audiences feel something? Whether its awe or sympathy, or in this case fear, the film manages to fulfill its purpose.
This being said, World War Z doesn’t quite keep up the good pace all throughout the film. The film lacks any actual political context, but somehow Brad Pitt manages to almost singlehandedly take you on a journey of hope. The ending is a bit of a letdown and the film comes to a halt rather abruptly. While the answer to curing the virus seems so simple, it doesn’t really seem like a cure at all. This might be explained by the fact that due to the films box office success, the studio is planning a sequel for World War Z.
Zombie films have moved from a niche genre to a blockbuster market and World War Z is probably the best one to have appeared so far. Brad Pitt’s long-awaited project is what the trailer promises it to be: nail-biting, impressive and a bit over the top. The audience is left wanting more but like the ending line suggests “This isn’t the end, not even close”.
Vilma Nurmela
