World War Z (2013)
***viewed in 3D***
Starring Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz, James Badge Dale, Fana Mokoena, David Morse, Sterling Jerins, and Abigail Hargrove
Directed by Marc Foster
The great thing about World War Z is that it just jumps right into things without even attempting to provide any modicum of backstory as to why humans on Earth are turning into fast-running, crazed zombies. Dad Gerry (Brad Pitt) is simply taking his kids (Sterling Jerins and Abigail Hargrove) to school and his wife Karin (Mireille Enos) to work when craziness hits Philadelphia and the family finds themselves desperate to find cover from the chaos taking over the east coast. Fortunately, Gerry has recently retired from a job with the United Nations which gets him access to a "safe house" of sorts on a huge aircraft carrier in the Atlantic Ocean. While on the ship, Gerry agrees to travel around the world to try and find the source of the virus that is wreaking havoc on the human race.
While it's true that World War Z doesn't waste any time getting started, it's somewhat unfortunate that the film spends a huge portion of its second act slowing things down and explaining things way too much. I mean, quite honestly, I could care less where this "zombie virus" started and following Gerry from country to country (in an episodic fashion) grows tiresome. That isn't to say that these set pieces -- a journey to Jerusalem, a frenetic plane sequence -- don't create tension, it's just that they're linked so tenuously to one another that the story never feels entirely cohesive. Admittedly, the final act (which apparently faced a huge rewrite months after the film finished shooting) is a success and had me intrigued. Having read what the original ending was, things are certainly infinitely better in the updated version, but the finale doesn't quite make up for a surprisingly lackluster middle hour.
You could certainly fare worse with summer action fare than World War Z and most everything and everyone in front of and behind the camera is solid. Unfortunately, the story just isn't quite strong enough.
The RyMickey Rating: C
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