World War Z is, hands down, the best movie for the first half of 2013. For the longest time, the film was being compared to a movie like Waterworld, which had grand ideas but was hampered by extensive reshoots, long delays, and a ballooning budget. Reports have swirled that the movie cost over $170 million to make. If the movie had not been good, it would have been considered a colossal failure by all accounts. But with the film, at last count, grossing over $535 million worldwide, Paramount Pictures is getting the last laugh. I am disappointed that this movie only earned a 67% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I recently watched Aliens, a great movie. But the fact that Aliens gets a 98% positive rating and World War Z gets only a 67% positive rating is a bit of a joke.
I love watching a movie where I know by the end there is no way that there can be a sequel. With a lot of action/adventure, science fiction, fantasy, and comedies, if a movie earns $100 million domestically, it’s almost guaranteed a sequel will be made. Recently, it was decided that the third movie in The Hunger Games trilogy would be split into two films. I find that laughable. Movie studios think we are naive and will fork over our money without protest. I don’t blame the studios if this is the case. What’s better than one movie that generates $400 million movie? How about two films that each generate $400 million? I enjoyed seeing The Hunger Games in the theater. I thought it was a decent movie. But, because of the decision to split the final movie up, I’ll be seeing Catching Fire as well as Mockingjay Part 1 and Mockingjay Part 2 at home instead of the theater.
So one of the things going for World War Z is that it won’t have a sequel. The second thing going for it is that it tells its story in under two hours (this is huge for me these days). The third thing going for it is that it gets into the action after no more than 10 minutes of an intro. The movie is nonstop action from beginning to end. It is super exciting. The movie’s slow times are integral to the storytelling process. A couple of scenes in the movie are so methodically paced that you could cut the tension with a knife.
Brad Pitt (Fight Club, Seven) stars as Gerry Lane, a former employee of the United Nations who has retired because of the stresses of the job and the impact that it was having on his family wife Karin (Mireille Enos – television’s The Killing, Gangster Squad) and their two children. His role in the UN wasn’t particularly defined, but he was known as a “fixer.” He knows things about certain things like infectious diseases that others do not. In addition, he possesses a certain degree of intelligence needed as a new threat unleashes. Specifically, people are dying and coming back 10 seconds later as flesh-eating monsters. Are they zombies, or aren’t they? Will they seem to possess more genetic features than the zombies we are used to seeing in a George Romero movie or AMC’s The Walking Dead series? These undead mutants can run faster and jump higher than any human on earth. The important question isn’t as much “What happened?” as it is “What are they looking for?” The movie isbrilliantt. The movie has vision. The movie is exciting. The movie keeps you on the edge of your seat. This movie has incredible CGI. The film has fabulous acting, directing, and storytelling. World War Z is the reason we like to go to the cinema. We go to escape and be mesmerized by another world. Mission accomplished!
Marc Foster might be one of the most underrated directors out there. He has directed some gems, and he delves into completely different genres. Finding Neverland and Stranger Than Fiction are movies that I love. Monster’s Ball is a fantastic movie as well and is one in which Halle Berry won an Oscar for Best Actress. I have yet to see The Kite Runner, but I have read and liked the book and heard that the movie is a very good adaptation. And he even directed a James Bond movie, the successful and critically acclaimed Quantum of Solace. But World War Z is Foster’s masterpiece in his young career (he was only 43 when he directed this movie). I, for one, am excited to see what he does next. And Pitt shined in this role. He continues to get better and better as his career progresses. He does make some duds along the way, but for each dud, you know something fantastic is just around the corner.
See World War Z!
Plot 9/10
Character Development 8/10
Character Chemistry 8.5/10
Acting 9/10
Screenplay 9/10
Directing 9.5/10
Cinematography 10/10
Sound 10/10
Hook and Reel 10/10 (it gets into the action at the 5-minute mark)
Universal Relevance 9/10 (an outbreak similar to something like this is more probably than any of us would like to think)
92%
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