REMEMBER PHILLY!
On the eve of a massive, international zombie outbreak, former U.N. field operative Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) is hired to join a military team headed for a base in South Korea where it looks like it all began. Max Brooks’s more complex account of a war between humans and zombies was distilled into this simpler 3D summer blockbuster that was plagued by a troubled production and runaway costs. Still, if you take it for what it is, it works like a charm as a straightforward, perfectly paced, very suspenseful action movie. The PG-13 rating might deter genre fans, but the film nevertheless has plenty of scares and intriguing set-pieces.
2013-U.S. 116 min. Color. Widescreen. Produced by Ian Bryce, Brad Pitt, Jeremy Kleiner, Dede Gardner. Directed by Marc Forster. Screenplay: Matthew Michael Carnahan, Damon Lindelof, Drew Goddard. Novel: Max Brooks. Cast: Brad Pitt (Gerry Lane), Mireille Enos (Karin Lane), James Badge Dale (Speke), Daniella Kertesz, Matthew Fox, David Morse… Peter Capaldi, Ruth Negga.
Trivia: Ed Harris and Bryan Cranston were allegedly considered for roles.
Last word: “I basically chose ‘World War Z’ because I was fascinated with the idea of using zombies as a metaphor. I was attracted to the opportunity to tell a story that would be fun and entertaining for viewers and at the same time provide a potential second layer for others. I think it’s a lot of fun for everybody because everyone will have their own interpretation of the movie, for some people it will just be pure entertainment and some people will read more into it.” (Forster, The Daily Free Press)
