Review: WORLD WAR Z

 

This film starts in Philadelphia. Instead of shooting this opening sequence in Philly, they filmed that part in Northern Ireland. They even changed the street signs in Belfast in case a viewer was paying more attention to the accuracy of Philly street signs than the zombie apocalypse engulfing the characters mid-chase. And I still wonder now...this film is a mega-budget summer action feature (the budget was reported as $190 million) with one of the biggest stars in Hollywood...and yet they still want to save cash by filming in Ireland? How much could they have possibly saved? Really?
And that's kind of the problem with this film, the newest zombie film on the market. It doesn't know what it wants to be. Filming a sequence that takes place in Philly in Northern Ireland is only a small problem. Is this supposed to be a zombie movie? Then why are the zombies super fast? Is it supposed to be an action movie? Then why is the finale straight out of a horror film but big chunks of the rest feature chase sequences and explosions and even a mid-air catastrophe set piece on a plane? Does it want to be a family film? There is a family drama lurking within. Does it want to be scientific? Realistic? And what was that Budapest sequence that was cut from the film because it was too "political"?
World War Z is, to put it bluntly, a mess. I will say that it's a lot better than I thought it would be, surprisingly. Director Marc Forster previously made Quantum of Solace, a sleek, awesome James Bond film that few liked. I still am baffled how few liked it. Remember that opening sequence? One of 007's best action scenes.
So Forster knows what he's doing and he proves it. The action scenes can be thrilling, the finale is a bit creepy-cool, but, alas, the special f/x of hordes of zombies are typically childish, studio-exec crap that looks "awesome" in a trailer but ends up limp in the grand scheme of things.
Remember how truly awesome zombie films can be? The potential is there, obviously. The sadist factor, the gore, the tension, the thrill. I recall the epic shot of adrenaline that was 28 Days Later (sure, technically a virus film), the black and white scary-as-fuck Night of the Living Dead. The potential is there.
World War Z is an entertaining lark, sure, but just that, a summer popcorn experience featuring various sequences lashed together as if the viewer is being whisked around an amusement park.
I suppose it's apt that there is no ending to the film, as it doesn't really have a beating heart to begin with.
**1/2 (out of ****)