"Better a fallen rocket than never a burst of light."
~ Tom Stoppard, The Invention of Love

Monday, November 25, 2013

World War Z (2013, PG-13)

 
I’ll level with you:  I don’t do well with zombies.  It’s the infection angle, the idea that, if I were bitten by a zombie, there’d be nothing I could do to prevent myself trying to infect other people around me, including the people I love.  Even with vampirism, those who are turned usually maintain at least a modicum of agency.  But if I were a zombie, I would be able to help it.  This is the reason that, despite numerous recommendations from respected sources, I still haven’t read the book this film is based on or seen The Walking Dead.  Heck, I haven’t even seen the comedies like Warm Bodies, Shaun of the Dead, or Zombieland!
 
World War Z is of course the big blockbuster zombie-apocalypse movie from this past summer, in which Brad Pitt plays a stalwart father/ex-UN ninja who’s pulled from retirement to find a solution to the plague.  That focus, I suppose, makes it nominally better than the usual zombie fare, where the entire cast gradually succumbs and it takes people forever to figure out that it’s spread through the bites.  At any rate, I could watch it without any major scarring, although I’ll admit to multitasking through most of the non-PC parts.
 
It takes a long time to get to PC, but his sequence is one of the best parts of the film in my biased opinion.  He plays a doctor for the World Health Organization, and if you’ve spent any time on PC’s IMDb page or poked your head into the Who fandom since August, you know that his character is amusingly labeled “W.H.O. Doctor.”  Now that that’s taken care of, let’s move on.
 
It’s a nice performance, well characterized despite a general lack of attention.  The doctor is exhausted and frightened, at his wit’s end, but he’s still clever and resourceful.  Willing to entertain out-there ideas, he’s instrumental in helping our hero on his mission.  Definitely someone worth having around in a zombie apocalypse.
 
Lastly, a few nitpicks.  First, fast-moving zombies are like vampires who don’t burn in the sunlight – from a storytelling perspective, it’s just cheating.  Also, the longest incubation period for anyone in this movie is ten minutes (and nigh-instantaneous is more likely.)  So how in the world did this thing manage to cross oceans?  Who lets a zombie on a plane?
 
Accent Watch
 
Scottish.
 
Recommend?
 
In General – Maybe, if you’re a zombie fan.  The nitpicks listed above are annoying, but it’s a different, decently-made, take on the genre.
 
PC-wise – Possibly.  Despite the limited screentime and the long wait, PC does an effective job.
 
Warnings
 
Some swearing, and oodles of zombie violence, though there’s nothing especially gruesome.
 
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Sorry for the lack of update yesterday.  After Saturday's festivities, I was in a Whovian stupor.  Like so:
 

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