Directed by Marc Foster
Written by Matthew Michael Carnahan, Dean Goddard and based on the novel by Max Brooks
Starring Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, David Morse, Daniella Kertesz, Matthew Fox
In the months before the release of WORLD WAR Z, the buzz was it was a colossal misfire. Pitt and Foster reshot, reedited and rewrote scenes down to the weeks before its release. And guess what, I found it to be one of the most intelligent action movies of the summer. I think that part of the reason for its success with me was that Brad Pitt plays an intelligent man trying to solve a problem with his head instead of his fists. Like with Matt Damon’s character in CONTAGION, we believe in the possibility that he can succeed.
Fans demanding nonstop action in their summer thrillers may be disappointed, but those more interested in an investigatory approach will be rewarded. Not that there isn’t a plethora of creepy, scary sequences to keep you alert.
Brad Pitt plays Gerry Lane, a retired UN trouble-shooter. He and his wife (Enos) and two kids are driving through Philly when bedlam breaks loose. There have been warnings of apocalyptic events across the globe, but nothing to prepare the people on the streets of Philly for what comes their way. They take temporary sanctuary in a tenement but soon Gerry is called back to help deal with the fast-moving zombies that have quickly permeated the entire world. Trading the safety of his family for this new assignment, he spends the rest of the movie following clues to the nature of the event, the location of its first victim, and a final solution to it. Each step in his path makes sense.
I thoroughly enjoyed WORLD WAR Z.
Patti Abbott