Starring: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz, James Badge Dale
Director: Marc Forster
Rating: 4/5
You don’t expect to see Brad Pitt in a zombie movie but he leads the cast in World War Z this summer as max Brooks’ novel of the same name is brought to the big screen.
You may very well roll your eyes at another zombie/end of the world film - have to admit I did the same - but World War Z is a thrilling ride that is both tense and exciting.
The story revolves around United Nations employee Gerry Lane (Pitt), who traverses the world in a race against time to stop a pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatening to decimate humanity itself.
It’s fair to say that this zombie story is running a little stale as we have seen a steady trickle of these types of films over the years.
But Brad Pitt’s star power really does elevate this film to something more as he gives the story a little more gravitas compared to what we have seen in the past.
What is great to see are the central characters all behave in a quite rational and believable manner as they try to uncover the source of the outbreak and attempt to do something about it.
From the very start World War Z runs at a swift and brisk pace as Gerry Lane, his family and the rest of the world are facing this massive crisis.
As soon as Gerry gets on a plane to try and find some answers it becomes an exciting trip around the world as he country hops from South Korea to Jerusalem to Cardiff.
On top of that Marc Forster has delivered a great looking movie as we watch city after city fall; the scenes of the undead coming over the alls of Jerusalem is one of the best moments in the film.
But it the final hour of the film that is the finest as Gerry finds himself at World Health Organisation research facility with an idea on how to save the human race.
The thriller aspect really does come into play in this final third of the film and it really is the tensest and most exciting part of the movie.
I know we don’t often see Pitt in these types of roles but I really liked him in the role of Gerry Lane as there was something very ‘everyman’ about him.
He is a man driven by the love for his family and his desire to keep them out of harms way - and that is something that everyone can relate to.
Sadly fantastic actors like Mireille Enos and James Badge Dale are desperately underused; Badge Dale does inject some humour into the scenes in South Korea.
Summer blockbusters are supposed to be fun, exciting, entertaining and film that you can just kick back and enjoy and World War Z really does tick all of those boxes.
This is one of the smartest zombie movies that I have seen in a long time and it does breathe some fresh air into this tired genre. Now I am not necessarily saying that this is the best zombie movie that you have ever seen, however it is the best that we have seen for some time.
World War Z is two hours of escapism and a movie that is a lot of fun from start to finish.
World War Z is out now.
Tagged in Brad Pitt Marc Forster World War Z