Maybe it was the delays, the rewrites, the reshoots, or the poor word of mouth. Whatever it was, I went into World War Z with diminished expectations. Like most movie adaptions, I assumed that it would pale in comparison to its source material (from novelist Max Brooks). And well, the film’s star - Brad Pitt - stopped being an actor and started portraying caricatures of himself a long time ago. So when I put all this together in my mind, there was no reason for me to go into this film with any kind of optimism. So maybe that is the reason why I came away from World War Z not completely disappointed. Does that mean it’s good? Not necessarily, but at least it’s not a crime against the cinematic arts.
The plot of the movie finds Brad Pitt portraying a former U.N. Inspector, who is retired and living the life of domesticity in the suburbs of Philadelphia. When a condition that turns people into rabid zombies begins to afflict individuals at an alarming rate – one that threatens the future of all humanity, Pitt’s Gerry Lane is compelled to take on a globetrotting mission to identify the host and find a cure to the unknown virus.
So the movie has some things going for it. It has zombies. And not just any zombies, but hopped up zombies who move fast and are in dire need of some serious anger management. Their erratic movements help to create a sense of tension that permeates the film and becomes a driving force for the pacing of the movie. In a lot of ways, the tempo of each scene is set by the actions of whatever zombies are on screen at that given moment.
What the film does not have going for it is Brad Pitt. He’s not terrible in this one, but he’s also does not give off the impression that he is fully invested in the job at hand. There was a point in time in which Brad Pitt the actor completely gave way to Brad Pitt the celebrity and since then he has turned out a series of performances where he just shows up and plays a different version of himself. Unfortunately for Pitt, he is neither interesting nor dynamic enough to pull this off. In his ever attempt to seem “too-cool-for-school” Pitt fails to convince you that his Gerry Lane is a man with the fate of the entire world resting on his shoulders. And that hurts the movie, because it’s hard to care about what’s going on when the central character seems less than interested.
However, the rest of the cast acquits themselves fairly well. Mireille Enos, as Pitt’s wife, injects some sentimentality into the film and on some level personalizes the stakes. Daniella Kertesz (Segen), as an Israeli soldier working alongside Pitt, more than holds her own albeit opposite the walking mannequin that is our protagonist. Meanwhile, James Badge Dale, Fana Mokoena, and Perfrancesco Favino turn in better than average supporting performances in limited screen time. Needless to say, their collective work greatly helps mitigate the damage inflicted by Pitt.
When I try to think of comparable movies to this one, I would say that it feels a lot like Spielberg’s War of the Worlds while its quality is on par with films like The Bourne Legacy and Total Recall (2012). It has fair pacing, well-framed action sequences, and a menacing antagonist to create this mix of suspense and adrenaline. Unfortunately, there is just not enough meat on the bones of this script and not nearly enough polish to Pitt’s performance to make this something other than an “also ran” in the action genre.
So yeah, I guess you could say that diminished expectations probably made me not loathe this film, but not so much so that I would suggest you run out and buy it on DVD. This one screams Netflix/Red Box rental for the action film enthusiasts and TNT/TBS movie on a slow weekend for the more casual movie fan. As for those who consider themselves zombie genre purists or aficionados, you may find yourself put off by this big screen adaption. So consider yourself warned.
Standout Performance: Mireille Enos. Her performance may not have been the epitome of great actor but it was definitely best in show.
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