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Your usual Zombie film done on a grander scale.
To be perfectly honest, the only reason I saw this film was because of Ruth Negga. But, for the rest of you, I assume Brad Pitt could be the reason for seeing this movie. Though many could be drawn by the source material or just because you got an itch to see some zombies? Either way, let’s get to it!
The amount of developed characters in this film are nil, but you at the very least are given a name and title to identify them by. Naturally, Brad Pitt has the lead role and he plays Gerry who seemingly is a former Special Forces soldier trying to more so protect his family than save the world. However, in order to do so, he has to aide Thierry (played by Fana Mokoena), the UN deputy secretary general, in his quest to find patient zero or a cure. Outside of those two, the only other character worth noting is Daniella Kertesz’s Segen for she helps Gerry on his quest. I mean there is also Gerry’s wife Karin (played by Mireille Enos) and the lovely Ruth Negga who plays a WHO (World Health Organization) Doctor, but she is not given a name.
Story wise, at the end of the movie I got a sort of I Am Legend vibe from it. I don’t know why though, for it resembles 28 Days Later much more. So, with that said, as you can imagine Brad plays this former soldier who is in the process of trying to live a normal, low-key life, but then something happens which forces him to show why people high up in government know who he is. In most cases the reason for the call would be a terrorist, but in this case it is a Resident Evil style outbreak which seemingly has no exact origin. So, after Brad makes sure his family is safe, he goes off to S. Korea, Israel and, ultimately, Wales to find something to save the world. All the while, he manages to get by hundreds of thousands of zombies and only ends up swallowing a little of their blood. So, basically it has the same workings of 90% of all action movies.
Now, one thing I did like was the role of Segen played in this movie. The reason I point her out is because often in action movies, the women are either the hot chick the guy has to end up saving by the end, or the woman who seemingly is modeled to void any sense of femininity type of femininity as if the character can’t be strong and still have feminine qualities. In this film though, I felt with Kertesz’s Sergen, we were given a female character in an action movie who didn’t necessarily need to be saved, doesn’t play someone who is a liability, but truly plays someone who gives you the complete human experience. I say this because, unlike Brad, she doesn’t come off invincible. She makes mistakes, pays for it, but still keeps fighting. For me, she was more interesting hero than Brad Pitt was throughout the movie.
Which is kind of the main issue. Brad Pitt, like many other stars, doesn’t have the type of acting ability where you forget it is them on screen. Add onto that, I will never understand Brad Pitt’s appeal as a leading man. He acts so stiffly to me, and I find myself not being able to really get into his character at all. Yeah, we are given background, see his family and all that, but he doesn’t really have the acting skills to really make you care. In comparison, Will Smith can be damn near alone a whole movie, barely talk about himself, and only have a dog for a co-star and put on a better performance.
Overall: TV Viewing
To be quite honest, every single monster out there from zombies to vampires has been done to the point where seeing them in a movie sets the bar really low for none of them really try to take you to new places or liven up a monster that has been around for, perhaps, centuries. World War Z is really no different. To me, the only difference between World War Z and other films like it is that this has a bigger budget and the benefits that come from that are seen through the look of the zombies and the locals. As for the story and acting, outside of the character of Segen, no one really stands out. Everyone really feels interchangeable and even Brad. I mean, Bruce Willis could play his role and I wouldn’t see a major difference. Hell, damn near anyone with a decent amount of talent, and looks, could have played Brad’s role and it wouldn’t make a major difference. Overall though, there is really no need to rush to see this movie. I would probably best recommend it for background noise for when you want to take a nap.
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