I don’t remember how exactly I became such a big fan of the zombie genre; it was probably Resident Evil 2, a game that introduced me and my brother to the sheer panic of fighting off the zombie horde with your last few rounds of ammunition. But I do remember reading a book called The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks not long after it was first published: A practical step by step manual to surviving the inevitable Zombie Apocalypse. And then in 2006 I discovered what would become my favourite book for many years to come, Brooks Magnum Opus:World War Z. A book I so fiercely enjoyed I became a spokes person for it among my friends and soon had many of them tearing through its pages just as I had. I read and re-read it over and over again. I listened to the audio-book and have followed Max Brooks career very closely ever since.
When I first heard that WWZ was to get the big screen adaptation I as many people I assume felt a mixture of feelings, excitement and skepticism. Excitement because there are several cinematic moments in the film, The Battle of Yonkers for example and skepticism because the narrative layout of the film is extremely un-cinematic and does not lend itself to the traditional 3 Act structure of Hollywood movies. As the movie fell into such difficulties during shooting my skepticism only grew but then the first audience reactions hit on twitter and hope was restored. Yesterday we went ourselves and saw the movie in 3D, going in my expectations weren’t through the roof they were somewhere in the middle. I knew from reading a few reactions not to expect the book and just to embrace the movie for what it is which I did and I actually really enjoyed it.
World War Z is worlds away from the book, which I think was inevitable but that doesn’t stop it from being an excellent, fast paced, thrilling zombie movie. Brad Pitt nails it, predictably, in the lead role as Gerry Lane the retired U.N warzone investigator who is sent on a mission to find patient zero in an attempt to find a vaccine to the devastating zombie outbreak. To say there is nothing shared between the book and the movie but the title, as people on the internet have done, is actually unfair. There are glimmers here and there but it’s fair to say that it’s a very loose adaptation. The main similarity between the two is that they both use the zombie outbreak to examine the socio-political landscape on a global level: The North Korean ‘solution’, The Israeli Wall. Tied altogether with incredible big budget action sequences and special effects, there’s a lot to enjoy in this movie.
If there is a complaint to be made it would be in the movies third act, which actually goes against the grain in terms of big budget Hollywood action movies. Instead of turning up the speakers to 11 and blasting the audience into submission with a balls out finale, WWZ dials it back and goes for a slower yet still nerve wracking sequence.
All in all I thoroughly enjoyed World War Z and would highly recommend it. Can’t wait to watch it again on blu-ray and the inevitable sequel J
Oh and I was actually in Glasgow when they’re were shooting the opening outbreak sequence, so yeah 😛
stuartkent37 