'World War Z' A Story About Zombies and Taking Care of Family

World War Z
Rated PG-13
116-Minute Runtime
Production Co:     Plan B Entertainment
Distributor:     Paramount Pictures
Director - Marc Forster (Machine Gun Preacher, Quantum of Solace)
Writers:
 Matthew Michael Carnahan - (screenplay) (screen story),
 Drew Goddard - Writer (screenplay),
 Damon Lindelof - Writer (screenplay),
 J. Michael Straczynski - Writer (screen story)
Cast:
 Brad Pitt
 Mireille Enos
 Daniella Kertesz
 James Badge Dale
 Matthew Fox
 Fana Mokoena
 David Morse

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World War Z was a pleasant surprise of a movie, where Brad Pitt's sole motivation is about keeping his family safe in this uncertain time when an unknown pathogen is wreaking havoc with the world's population.

And if you're wondering if PG-13 is a safe enough rating, I've heard it on good authority (A mom) that the violence is toned down enough and implied or off-screen.  It's safe enough to take your kids that are a bit younger than 13.

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Brad Pitt plays Gerry Lane, an ex UN employee.  We meet him, his wife Karin (Mireille Enos), and kids and their cool life.  But that life as they know it, is about to change.

All through their morning, we're watching Gerry preparing breakfast but watching the news and snippets of the news and outbreaks and martial law being enforced.

They don't think much of it, but once they go out on the road, the poop hits the fan.

Gerry is located by his ex-peers from the UN and they want him to help locate the source of this plague.  They give him safe harbor from the plague, but he declines.  But they make it clear that if he is not going to help, all non-essential personnel are being relocated back to the mainland, in the danger zone.

For the safety of his family, he agrees to help, and that's where the story of World War Z goes from there.

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I came into this movie with few expectations.  I saw the comparisons between the movie and the novel, but I still came into it pretty neutral.

What I found was a character driven story where Gerry is motivated because he wants to keep his family safe.  It might be a little overdone, his concerns about his family, but not too much.

The zombies are creepy fast and relentless.  The journey of discovery by Gerry is well paced out.  Each step a seemingly natural progression from one stage to the next.

The third act was a tiny bit slower than acts one and two, but that isn't a bad thing.

Director Marc Forster brought his experience of well thought out stories and action to a nice mix to this film.  And looking at the collective of screenwriters that contributed, I'm not surprised I liked the action blended story.

Not too much action, not too much story.  It's just right!

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I liked World War Z and on the popcorn movie scale, I'd dare give it a popcorn 9!  (That's equivalent to a 7 out of 10 on my dramatic score.)

The story fills out nicely and I don't think 3D would help or hurt the movie experience.  If you are on a budget, don't worry, hitting up a 2D movie would be just fine.

 

-Bruce
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