World War Z

Even if you start to watch a film and you’re unaware that it has suffered from the old “difficulties” during production, it doesn’t take long for such problems to rear their head. Usually it means the film will come across as disjointed and World War Z is a prime example. Adapting the Max Brooks novel was always going to be difficult due to its style and Matthew Michael Carnahan’s screenplay has been re-written numerous times and the final result is basically just a number of scenes which on occasion can stand alone, but do not add up to a consistent narrative. What storyline there is has Brad Pitt starring as Gerry Lane, an ex-UN investigator who travels the world in an attempt to find an antidote to a zombie plague which is spreading across the globe. It seems to me this film was doomed from the start for a number of reasons. Pitt himself has stated that the whole thing came about as he just wanted to do a film that his children could watch. Hardly a reason to produce a film methinks. Next is the odd choice of Marc Forster as the director. Forster can handle the dramatic elements of a film, but, as proven with Quantum Of Solace, give him a huge budget with action scenes and he’s found wanting. Overall, it seems that no-one could decide what the tone or genre of the film was meant to be, highlighted by a quote from original scripter J Michael Straczynski who identified the film as a Bourne type thrill ride, whereas Forster was mentioning conspiracy thrillers such as All The Presidents Men after he had signed on. No wonder this is a bit of a mess. On the plus side Pitt’s performance is solid enough and there’s good work from the many character actors that pop up throughout the film, but the whole shebang is too soulless for you to actually care if the human race ends up as zombie snacks or not. A few of the scenes hint at what might have been, but even with numerous reshoots the big moments in the film (such as an attack in an airplane mid-flight) don’t deliver the required thrills. Plus, there is a major plot boo-boo in that he protagonists discover early on that the zombies are attracted by loud noises, but Lane appears to forget to pass on this somewhat crucial nugget of information on arrival in certain locations. At the end Pitt mutters “This isn’t the end. Not even close. Our war has just begun”. It’s doubtless you’ll care. Rating: 5/10.