World War Z- review

World War Z is a zombie film based on the novel of the same name. If you are a fan of the novel you should not go into this film with any expectations for it to be similar in any way to the novel other than the title and the fact that zombies exist and desire to kill humans.  On its own merits the film is fairly dull and brings nothing new to the table.

Gerry Lane, played by Brad Pitt, is a U.N employee that is living with his family in Philadelphia.  One day all hell breaks loose and fast zombies attack while he is in traffic.  After a rough night of surviving looters and zombie attacks, he has to hop across the globe to try to find a cure and save the world.  Can he find a solution that will not spell doom for the human race?

The acting is forgettable.  Brad Pitt does nothing to make the audience give a crap about his plight. The only person that seemed worth a damn in this movie was Daniella Kertesz who played an Israeli Soldier named Segen. She seemed to actually be trying which was more than you can say for just about any other big name actor in this movie. 

The effects were fairly poor. Even though there were a few built up a moments of suspense while people hid in the shadows trying to avoid zombies- it was not enough to be entertaining. The constant suspenseful effects made this movie feel like a videogame.  The zombies do not move like people so it takes you out of the movie when these supposedly undead spontaneously get the mentality of ants to start climbing over one another to get over walls and into helicopters. 

This movie has so little in common with its novel’s namesake that fans will roll their eyes at the banality of the script.  There is nothing new here and there are dozens of better zombie movies that are much more entertaining and thought provoking.  If you are desperate for a zombie movie it’s worth a rental.  However, it lacks much substance and it will leave you wanting something with more substance.