World War Z Part 2: Quit Your Bitching
For the past 3 years I have read horror (specifically zombies) to the exclusion of almost anything else (barring food box ingredient lists and one accidental slip where I read The Silver Linings Playbook. Yeah, I loved that one too.) The point I'm trying to make is that I had high expectations for this movie because I knew what the genre was capable of, and it payed off.
World War Z is one of the first zombie movies to really be believable. The movie focuses on a "real disease" that moves from person to person through bites and has a frighteningly short incubation period after which the victims become rabid. A few months before World War Z came out in theaters, The National Geographic released an article detailing the possibility of a zombie virus. The article discusses the conditions necessary to create the Rage Virus out of the 28 Days franchise. Thankfully for all of us, it seems that Nature safeguarded us and we aren't going to experience anything like the movies. Then again who knows, I just found this new article about a new strain of rabies.
Looking to the natural world again, the filmmakers patterned their zombies after ants and other animals that exhibit pack and herd behavior. The idea is that the individual becomes less important and the main need is spreading the virus to the next host. This explains their lack of interest in their own physical pain or well-being. The article also includes some cool footage of the zombies taking down a chopper. Speaking of spreading the virus, I was pleased to see that the filmmakers actually made the passing of the virus believable as well. They tamed the zombie virus, and made it follow real world rules. According to the American Red Cross (I used to be an instructor for several of their courses), there are rules that viruses and bacteria have to follow in order to infect people. They are (paraphrased):
1) The virus/bacteria has to be present
2) The host needs to be susceptible (i.e. no immunity OR the right kind of host)
3) The virus/bacteria has to have the right entry method (i.e. bite, scrape, injection, airborne)
4) There needs to be enough of the virus/bacteria to cause infection
For those that don't believe that this movie is in the spirit of Max Brooks' iconic book (including the author himself), put aside your prejudice. Any attempts to be true to the book would require a Game of Thrones-sized undertaking with a huge budget. When you strip away the expectations of the book, the movie is actually really good. In fact, it's the scariest zombie film I've ever seen. Zombies rise as cities fall in this PG-13 thriller. Worried there won't be enough blood? Don't be - there's enough suspense to more than make up for the PG rating. The CGI zombie sequences and makeup are all top notch, and the acting isn't half bad either. Big name Brad Pitt manages to fade into the story, instead of sticking out like a multi-million dollar sore thumb.
In short, don't cheat yourself out of seeing this on the big screen. When you finally put your big-kid pants on and see it, you'll be sorry you missed it on the big screen.
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