The recent civil unrest that indirectly concerned my country got me and a friend discussing. Mostly we were just goofing around but the discussion took a serious tone along the line. The big question was “what would happen if there was an actual civil unrest or a widespread outbreak of a disease that actually multiplied by the second? Like a zombie apocalypse. Then what? Do we have the enough resources and the right ingredients to tackle such a situation? Or would the entire country be wiped out in a week.
About the Movie
Based on a bestselling novel by Max Brooks (An Oral History of the Zombie Wars), this film stars Brad Pitt (Gerry Lane), a former employee of the United Nations. With a pandemic thrust upon the earth, Gerry is made to travel the world in search of a cure to stop the zombie pandemic or at the very least, find the source. This decision is a devastating one as he has to leave his wife and two beautiful daughters to face an unknown enemy.
As Gerry travels the world, he comes across various degrees of danger and harm but he made a promise, one which he must abide to.
This action film released on the 21st of June, 2013, has a runtime of 1 hour and 56 minutes, which was barely enough in my opinion. The film was directed by Marc Forster and stars veteran actors like Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos and Danielle Kertesz.
My opinion
The non-stop action and suspense from the opening scene thrusts viewers into a world of chaos and destruction as zombies overrun cities and the government struggles to respond. The pacing is relentlessly with barely a moment to catch your breath between intense action sequences.
Brad Pitt, (the lead actor) delivers a solid performance as Gerry Lane, bringing a sense of seriousness and urgency to the role. The rest of the characters do a good job supporting Gerry but they were all very underdeveloped and underused. This happens to be one of the flaws of this film.
The themes covered in this film include survival, desperation and the response of the world to chaos. One thing I particularly like is how well these themes were portrayed with no sugar coating.
One of my favorite scenes from this film was when the frailty of the human race was portrayed in a single scene. A world class virologist was invited by the leaders to find a cure for the pandemic. This virologist was attached to Gerry and his team on this quest and on reaching the location, in the hysteria, he slipped and died. He was supposed to be the one to find the cure and save the world but he was dead in a puff.
However, the plot of this film was somewhat predictable. One with a creative mind could easily see the end of the film from the beginning.
Talking of ends, this film's ending felt very rushed. The pace of the movie was going smoothly and I kept expecting more action, more suspense and more everything but that wasn't the case. The movie ended abruptly. I did a little research as to when the sequel would be released but it turns out, this was the first and the last. This was yet another spotted flaw.
Recommendation
World War Z is a thrilling yet flawed Zombie film. Although it may not be a flawless film, it is undeniably entertaining and suspense-filled. For this, I will give it a 7/10 rating. If you're a fan of action films, I believe that you will find World War Z to be a good watch.
Ps: I decided to attach a short poetic summary of this film. What do you think of it?
Poetic Summary
A global pandemic, a desperate fight
Zombies swarming, day and endless night
Gerry, a man on a quest
To find a cure, and put the zombies to rest
From the streets of Philly to the walls of Jerusalem
The outbreak spreads
With no time to succumb to fear or panic, Gerry stands tall
A hero’s courage in a world about to fall
The action is intense,the suspense is high
As Gerry navigates a world gone by
But amidst the chaos, there’s a glimmer of hope
A chance for humanity to cope
The ending is flawed but the journey is grand
World War Z, a thrilling ride through a desolate land.
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