Janine McCaw's Blog: SUPERNATURAL CENTRAL - Posts Tagged "wwz"

Regular readers of this blog probably thought I'd be first in line for this one, but the truth is, I'm not big on open weekend crowds. I hate those seats up front and I am way too cheap to pay the extra bucks to reserve a seat. It's bad enough Cineplex charges extra $$ to layer the butter. But I digress. We're here to talk about the horrors of zombies, not the horrors of corporate greed. I think. It's now weekend deux for this flick, and July holidays are upon we North Americans; Canada Day and the 4'th of July. Pick up your tickets at Costco while you're BBQ shopping. They're less expensive there.

The quick storyline from IMDb:

United Nations employee Gerry Lane traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments, and threatening to destroy humanity itself.

Starring Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz, with brief appearances by David Morse and Matthew Fox. Based on the novel by Max Brooks.

Okay, so here's the deal. If you don't like the zombie genre, then it is a given that you will probably not like this film, because it is all zombies all the time, and they are intense dudes. And unlike the d-uh zombies we are used to, these ones can run really fast and like to head-butt car windshields. If you kill one of their kind, they get rather angry about it.

Here's what you will learn:

1. If you are not part of a special forces team, or a U.N. official like Brad Pitt's character Gerry Lane, then you are pretty much toast. Look at poor Gerry, he tried to leave all this world saving nonsense behind him to make pancakes for his adorable kids, but you know what they say, "you can check out any time you like…"

2. RV's seem like a good idea, but as we know from JUST ABOUT EVERY ZOMBIE MOVIE EVER MADE…they just lead to trouble.

3. Never believe your best buddy co-worker when he says "your family is safe with me."

4. Zombies have studied the military prowess of ants. Just watch them outside the wall in Jerusalem. (As Plan-Man, my partner in crime, pointed out.)

5. Snakes on a plane? Puh-lease.
This zombie movie takes itself seriously. Some may say too seriously. It's grittier than TWD and edited so the first 10 minutes of the movie come at you hard and fast. There's a virus out there that is turning the world's population into zombie-like killers. They don't really die and come back to life, they just turn into flesh eaters in as quick as 12 seconds. Gerry Lane is pulled back into active United Nations duty to try and figure out what is behind this latest version of "serial killer Mother Nature."

SPOILER ALERT: If you HAVE seen the movie and think there's no bona fide science behind the hypothesis, then ask my secretary Ms. Google to show you the video of how doctors really are curing terminal illnesses like leukemia with…well, if you've seen the movie, then you know.

I really liked the movie. Yeah, I jumped at least once. I don't think it's easy to portray this genre sincerely. Even Zombieland, (which I think is great) is more tongue-in-cheek than anything. World War Z barely cracks a smile in that regard. Brad Pitt's performance isn't anything earth shattering, but HE'S BRAD PITT so I'm okay with that. David Morse probably had a day's work on the set. I'm surprised they hired a name for the role. The same with Matthew Fox. You're going to remember Michael Jenn's performance as WHO Vault Zombie the most.

I thought the WHO segment ran a little long. Just kill them already and take what you need. And I don't get the bicycles, and I don't know where the dead guy on the cargo ramp went, but I sum it up to crazy times make for crazy decisions. Make no mistake, this is no PLANTS vs. ZOMBIES, so make sure your kids can handle a TWD marathon if you plan to take them. There is always the upcoming COCKNEYS vs. ZOMBIES for those looking for campier fare.

Supernatural Central gives WORLD WAR Z Four out of five howls.