522: World War Z

[00:00:00] 228, Let's get to World War Z, which came out in 2013, is directed by Mark Forster, stars Brad Pitt, Muriel Enos, Daniela Cortez, James Badge Dale.

[00:00:19] And the synopsis is, Former United Nations employee Jerry Lane traverses the world in a race against time to stop a zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatens to destroy humanity itself.

[00:00:35] So this movie was a huge deal when it came out. I know that David Fincher was originally on board to direct this, or at least at a certain point.

[00:00:51] It is based off, very loosely off of the book titled World War Z.

[00:00:59] I've never read the book, I knew of it going into the movie, but I knew that it was not really a direct adaptation.

[00:01:09] There are a lot of things that really got me excited.

[00:01:13] For one, I love zombie films. I like blockbuster zombie films and it's very rare we get that nowadays.

[00:01:21] It's mainly TV shows like The Walking Dead or very indie films done by like A24 or other studios like that.

[00:01:32] Mark Forster, before I really get into the movie itself, Mark Forster, not a huge fan.

[00:01:38] I think he, not to be too mean here, I think he's a fairly bland, disappointing director more often than not.

[00:01:48] Like he did Quantum of Solace, which is by far my least favorite Daniel Craig, James Bond film.

[00:01:54] He just seems to have, like he has potential with the stories, with the films that he gets, and yet he never really seems to do enough with them.

[00:02:08] He doesn't have the grace to make them epic enough or emotional enough or deep enough.

[00:02:15] They're just in this very middle of the road, average ground.

[00:02:22] And for the most part, that's happened time after time.

[00:02:26] It's not just a one-off deal.

[00:02:28] So whenever I see his name on a list or he's announced to be directing something else, I'm not like, oh boy, I can't wait to see that.

[00:02:37] It's mainly, eh, I'll get around to that eventually.

[00:02:40] Anyways, for the movie itself, I think that overall it is a solid action apocalypse blockbuster.

[00:02:52] But along with the Mark Forster-isms of underwhelming certain things, this movie could be amazing.

[00:03:03] And I would have loved to have seen David Fincher direct this.

[00:03:07] It could have been incredible.

[00:03:11] This was also around the time Brad Pitt was not really having a renaissance,

[00:03:15] but I feel like he was getting into more big blockbuster projects that still had a good character piece for him.

[00:03:22] He was also a producer on this, his company.

[00:03:29] The initial setup for everything when they're just driving in New York City and then suddenly things go haywire,

[00:03:38] I think that's very effective and it's just complete chaos.

[00:03:42] They race into this apartment building, I think, and things just go from there.

[00:03:49] What does hurt the movie, which I feel like this is a popular opinion,

[00:03:57] it's PG-13.

[00:03:59] There is an unrated version, but does nothing really.

[00:04:04] The PG-13 rating does make it feel fairly safe at times when it comes to the gore,

[00:04:12] when it comes to the look of the zombies even,

[00:04:14] because sadly, nowadays, everything is going to be compared to the makeup of The Walking Dead.

[00:04:20] I would say at least.

[00:04:22] That's what I do.

[00:04:24] And the makeup, the special effects, there's nothing really flawed in terms of bad effects,

[00:04:30] but the zombies look very uninteresting.

[00:04:33] They're mainly just pale.

[00:04:35] There's no real horror imagery to them.

[00:04:38] There's a few grotesque faces and teeth and all that,

[00:04:43] but there's very little to be shocked by or be wowed by creatively.

[00:04:48] It's just a big horde of zombies racing at you that offer very little else in terms of entertainment,

[00:04:58] which is not a huge deal.

[00:05:00] It's not a deal breaker,

[00:05:01] but I just always wish that they were a little bit more interesting visually.

[00:05:09] This movie was marketed beyond belief,

[00:05:12] and every single cool shot in the movie,

[00:05:16] with one of the more iconic ones being the mountain of zombies piling on top of each other in Israel,

[00:05:24] climbing up to the helicopter,

[00:05:26] I saw that image so many times.

[00:05:28] All the stuff in Israel,

[00:05:30] the stuff in the city.

[00:05:31] I feel like by the time I got to this movie,

[00:05:34] it is one of the worst cases of nothing is new,

[00:05:38] nothing is surprising.

[00:05:40] In some ways,

[00:05:41] it makes it predictable.

[00:05:45] While I don't fault them inherently for marketing it,

[00:05:49] it's a huge movie,

[00:05:50] and it didn't even do that well,

[00:05:52] all considering.

[00:05:53] It still,

[00:05:54] as an audience member,

[00:05:56] it was disappointing.

[00:05:59] But I always remember that every time I watch it,

[00:06:02] and I've seen it maybe a half a dozen times over the years,

[00:06:05] I always remember that brutal marketing campaign.

[00:06:11] Casting-wise,

[00:06:12] besides Brad Pitt,

[00:06:13] it's solid.

[00:06:14] I really like Muriel Enos.

[00:06:17] She was in The Killing,

[00:06:18] and she's done a lot of really interesting character work.

[00:06:20] Very underrated actor.

[00:06:25] James Badgedale pops up for a little bit,

[00:06:27] not for much.

[00:06:28] I like him most of the time.

[00:06:30] He's not amazing and everything,

[00:06:31] but I think he's at least entertaining.

[00:06:36] Some standout scenes that I haven't already mentioned.

[00:06:38] And the moment at the apartment building on the roof

[00:06:44] when Brad Pitt thinks he's,

[00:06:45] I think he's been bitten,

[00:06:46] or he gets blood in his mouth or something,

[00:06:49] and he knows that the time limit of a human turning into a zombie

[00:06:54] is X amount of time,

[00:06:55] so he gets on the edge of the roof,

[00:06:58] hoping to save his family just in case he turns,

[00:07:02] and he's counting to himself,

[00:07:03] and if he turns,

[00:07:04] he's falling off the roof.

[00:07:06] But then thankfully he doesn't,

[00:07:08] and he's good to go.

[00:07:12] Also in Israel,

[00:07:14] the stampede sequence

[00:07:17] after the avalanche of zombies get into the encampment,

[00:07:22] encampment.

[00:07:23] The effects are solid in that,

[00:07:26] and just a visual of seeing this horde race at massive speed

[00:07:30] through the streets,

[00:07:31] and then you see that girl or boy,

[00:07:35] whoever it is,

[00:07:36] standing there,

[00:07:37] and it seems like they're immune,

[00:07:39] and all the zombies are running around them.

[00:07:45] The airplane crash when a zombie is on board,

[00:07:50] and then the airplane door blows off,

[00:07:54] and people get sucked out,

[00:07:55] and it crashes.

[00:07:59] Plus the quiet getaway with James Spagdale at that military base.

[00:08:09] The most disappointing part of the movie having to play it safe,

[00:08:14] and be a little too vanilla for the genre,

[00:08:19] is the ending.

[00:08:22] And I know that the ending,

[00:08:24] I won't go into too much detail,

[00:08:26] but the ending was vastly different in the original cut.

[00:08:32] It was much bigger, much more grand,

[00:08:35] but I think from what I read,

[00:08:37] the budget was just skyrocketing,

[00:08:40] and it was a mess,

[00:08:41] and it just was not going to work for whatever reason,

[00:08:43] so they changed it to this very, very small scale ending.

[00:08:50] I think it's such,

[00:08:52] it's not horribly done.

[00:08:53] Like, I understand you got to do what you got to do,

[00:08:56] but the ending,

[00:08:57] it's called World War Z.

[00:09:01] And sure,

[00:09:02] there's the international travel of Brad Pitt,

[00:09:06] and the different countries,

[00:09:08] and all these different situations,

[00:09:09] but with a movie with that title,

[00:09:13] you expect the ending to be insane,

[00:09:16] to be huge,

[00:09:18] and it is the furthest thing from that.

[00:09:23] It's just Brad Pitt tiptoeing through this medical facility

[00:09:30] to get this vaccine or whatever it is,

[00:09:34] trying to not make noise,

[00:09:39] occasionally startling a zombie,

[00:09:41] and then there's the very,

[00:09:42] I hate to say it,

[00:09:42] very goofy interaction with the scientist

[00:09:46] who's locked behind the glass door,

[00:09:48] and he pushes his face up close,

[00:09:52] and is making that chattering sound with his teeth.

[00:09:59] Every time I get there,

[00:10:00] I'm like,

[00:10:00] oh man,

[00:10:01] I forgot how lame this third act is,

[00:10:04] and how it just goes nowhere.

[00:10:07] And then there's that final little epilogue.

[00:10:11] That's kind of the ending I wish I had seen.

[00:10:13] Maybe that was part of what they were originally shooting,

[00:10:17] I don't know,

[00:10:18] but that epilogue is what I wish could have been expanded upon,

[00:10:22] and then the Brad Pitt tiptoeing sequence was condensed.

[00:10:31] Besides that,

[00:10:32] I don't know if there's a whole lot else to say.

[00:10:34] I would recommend it.

[00:10:35] I feel like it's one that a lot of people bring up

[00:10:37] when favorite zombie movies are covered.

[00:10:42] My guess would be that's mainly because it's so broad and commercial

[00:10:47] and accessible,

[00:10:49] which, hey,

[00:10:49] that's an accomplishment on its own.

[00:10:54] I wish they had made a sequel in whatever way.

[00:10:57] I don't know if that's ever going to happen.

[00:10:59] It might.

[00:10:59] I heard talks about it,

[00:11:00] but I feel like with the budget and the success that it did not have,

[00:11:08] so that one is a light four out of five.