This review is dedicated to my friend Alex, who likes his zombie films with extra gravy. I’m sorry Alex, but you shouldn't expect too much gore from a 200,000,000$ film...
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Adapted
from the eponymous bestseller by Max Brooks, World War Z is a hulking summer blockbuster that plays more
like an overblown thriller in the vein of Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion than a true, indulgent zombie
film. That said, it now makes perfect sense to see the word itself being truncated to its
smallest form. “Zombie” might as well have been replaced altogether in this
lush Brad Pitt vehicle, where the aging star travels the world in search of a cure for a
nasty worldwide pandemic. So, you might want to forget about survivalist horror here,
forget about Romero and simply bask in the large-scale, and highly improbable set pieces showcased with great flair here. Just accept how money can change the
zombie narratives of old and you might very well have a good time with this new, good-looking entry in the genre.
Million-dollar zombies have no bite.
The narrative focuses on the Lane family, and particularly
Gerry Lane (Pitt), an ex-UN infiltrator who is saved from extinction
thanks to his government ties. While stuck in New York gridlock with his family, Gerry gets off
his car in order to inquire about the situation. It should be obvious to
everyone, but the cause of gridlock is the sudden presence of hyperactive
zombies dashing toward humans at lightning speed, bashing their heads unto
windshields and prying out victims on which to feed. The one novelty in such an
otherwise overdetermined premise is the speed at which the infection is spread.
Personally, I was very surprised to see zombie victims rise up and attack
within a scant 12 seconds from infection. In my mind, this greatly compromised
the survival rate of humanity, whom is quickly seen faltering like a deck of
cards under high winds. After stealing a camper and heading into New Jersey for
supplies and shelter, Gerry’s family is rescued by an old army buddy of his,
who manages to send a helicopter on the rooftop of a large apartment complex.
But he does so not only out of friendship, but out of necessity. You see, Gerry
is considered necessary personnel by the army thanks to his background in
covert ops. He is thus sent out to investigate the cause of the outbreak by
locating patient zero. First stop: South Korea, where the first memo concerning
the plague originated. From there, Gerry will travel to Israel and the UK in
search of a cure, which he eventually manages to find thanks to an eye-popping
effort in screenwriting gymnastics.
While proceeding from age-old narrative conventions, the film is
refreshingly realistic from a sociological standpoint and rewarding in its all-encompassing vantage point on the catastrophe, hence providing one of the most readily acceptable scenarios in the genre. With the military
quickly taking charge of operations after the outbreak and boarding the
necessary personnel onto large battleships way off the coastline, the premise might reek of militarism, but it also opens up far larger narrative possibilities than your average zombie film, at least where scope is concerned. There's no scraping for food here, walking through ghost towns or struggling to find shelter. There is an actual meta-narrative through which the whole of humanity can be saved and redeemed by the heroics of one man. There is hope, and not merely a daily struggle with the living dead. Obviously, such a "big picture" outlook is indebted to the "big picture" budget of the film and that is why one should accept to trade cheap gore for the promise of grander narrative schemes.
World War Z is a "big picture" zombie film, actually a
rarer occurence than the traditional survivalist horror film.
The one major
problem in regards to realism here lies in the overwhelmingly pro-Israeli stance of the
screenplay. In the narrative, Israel has managed to seal off its borders from
the infected wasteland, and they are letting the surrounding Palestinians IN,
arguing that every human salvaged from the outside world is one less zombie to fight.
Now, that’s the biggest load of crap I've ever heard. We all know what Israel would do with Palestine should a
zombie outbreak occur: they would bomb the Natives alongside the zombies with
no distinction whatsoever, arguing that it was God’s design all along. But while this pro-Israeli bullshit tends to defuse the potency of the narrative,
it remains coherent with a certain American tendency to depict Israelis
as good guys in order to further their own anti-Arab agenda. I won't dwell
on it, but I must insist on just how incongruous it is to involve such dubious politics
in an otherwise solid anticipation effort... I mean, if one is to exacerbate current political trends to such an extreme as to suggest that North Korea could actually survive the tragedy by removing the teeth of all its citizens, then you might as well acknowledge Israeli's protectionist, exclusionist politics as a fact, and not merely an unjust attempt at slender!
From a genre perspective, no
one will be impressed with the level of gore in this tame PG-13 effort. Still, the
action sequences manage to provide excitement in spades mostly due to the
sheer scale of the mayhem. That is the main contribution of money to the film.
It allows us to really see humanity on the brink of extinction, during
breathtaking sequences of destruction, where the rushing dead fill up busy city
streets and even climb city walls. Like the ominous counter aboard the
Americans' floating HQ, which constantly updates the projected number of victims from the
plague, so too does the number of victims rises up exponentially during the
massive invasion scenes set in New York, Israel, Scotland and inbetween (during a particularly
exciting, and improbable stint aboard a flying plane). The initial invasion
scene is actually quite striking in its depiction of absolute chaos, with
walls of cars blocking the way in all directions and hyperactive brutes
largely ignoring their own physical integrity in order to reach human flesh.
Involving both large numbers of extras in makeup and quality CGI effects, these
sequences leave nothing to be desired, except for the occasional machete to the
skull and some casual disembowelment. On the big screen, this really makes for some pulse-pounding entertainment. I mean, this ain't a 1980s VHS cheapie, folks. This ain't Troma. It's "World War" Z!
The mayhem scenes are a sight to behold.
Unfortunately, while
most large-scale open-air action sequences here are absolutely sumptuous, the close-quarter
encounters with the infected are edited frantically and confusingly. Not
unlike 28 Weeks Later, so too does World War Z rely on disorientation to
create a sense of excitement during the cramped chase scenes pitting Pitt and his family against the undead. The result often feels
tiresome and dizzying, but mostly unnecessary. Given the quality of the
production, it would have been a cinch to frame better shots and edit them
accordingly. And while the hyperactive editing of near-shots might be understood as a mere
sign of our times, it still has no place in a big-budget effort such as this one. There is a thing called Steadicam, after all...
What does redeem the film is the sheer amount of exciting world travel involved in
the narrative. Flying from the US to Korea, then to Israel and the UK, and back
to American soil, all the while running from zany zombies, Gerry Lane is
nothing short of a sci-fi James Bond, equally resourceful, ingenious… and
lucky. He is the quintessential American hero, fighting selflessly for family
and country. Such a story structure also provides a welcome twist to the tired
zombie genre by adding inquisitive elements to the mix. Again, it’s all a
question of money. While the B-series horror hero merely struggles for his own
survival, the A-series hero can envision grander schemes, that is the survival
of the entire species. With superior production values and world-class actors
to boot, these grander schemes materialize seamlessly and so too is the
meta-narrative reborn out of its own ashes, making the cottage from Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968) appear as the narrative dead-end that it really is.
What is perhaps the most annoying feature of the present narrative is the lack of a proper conclusion. From what we see at the end, it seems like the producers weren’t sure about a potential sequel, choosing a half-open ending in order both to end the story and leave it open. That is called having your cake and eating it too. Is the invasion over? Is it not? Will we actually see our human brethren resolve the crisis? Once the cure is found and Gerry is reunited with his family in Nova Scotia, the hero goes on to explain how the world will be saved through a series of images that look suspiciously like a trailer for a sequel to come. This leaves the viewer unfulfilled and it suggests a great lack of respect by the filmmakers. Sitting there for 2 hours and having to swallow the rationale behind Gerry finding the cure, we were entitled to something more definitive as a conclusion. What we are given instead leaves a bitter taste of plaster and plywood in our mouths from what is essentially an unfinished product. In turn, it dulls the power of the meta-narrative to truly concretize the exhilarating victory of good over evil. This is not enough to invalidate the whole film, but it is very much akin to ending a concerto on a false note. Shame...
Despite the disintegration of Western society, Brad Pitt's Gerry Lane
remains a typically American hero, fighting selflessly for family and country.
What is perhaps the most annoying feature of the present narrative is the lack of a proper conclusion. From what we see at the end, it seems like the producers weren’t sure about a potential sequel, choosing a half-open ending in order both to end the story and leave it open. That is called having your cake and eating it too. Is the invasion over? Is it not? Will we actually see our human brethren resolve the crisis? Once the cure is found and Gerry is reunited with his family in Nova Scotia, the hero goes on to explain how the world will be saved through a series of images that look suspiciously like a trailer for a sequel to come. This leaves the viewer unfulfilled and it suggests a great lack of respect by the filmmakers. Sitting there for 2 hours and having to swallow the rationale behind Gerry finding the cure, we were entitled to something more definitive as a conclusion. What we are given instead leaves a bitter taste of plaster and plywood in our mouths from what is essentially an unfinished product. In turn, it dulls the power of the meta-narrative to truly concretize the exhilarating victory of good over evil. This is not enough to invalidate the whole film, but it is very much akin to ending a concerto on a false note. Shame...
3/5 Well-produced zombie film for the whole
family provide wonderful thrills, but mostly steers clears of the actual horror genre.
