Certification. 15
Running Time. 1 hour 56 mins
Director. Marc Forster
Cast. Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz, Fana Mokoena, Brad Pitt.
Rating. 70%
World War Z's opening set piece is mightily impressive. With minimal exposition or time to develop a dramatic pretence, an entire city - in this case, Glasgow, passing for Philadelphia - is overrun by a zombie horde. Director Marc Foster develops the sequence masterfully, and by keeping the apparently agile, fast-moving zombies virtually unseen for much of the opening makes the ensuing chaos the major unnerving element of the film's opening. The result is an edge-of-your-seat watch with the audience every bit as bewildered as the characters themselves.
The opening sequence also sets the tone for the remainder of the film. World War Z is a film in which millions of people die, but barely a drop of blood is seen on screen. The horror consists of mild jolts, rather than crass jump-scares or shocking gore.
The subsequent siege of Jerusalem is undoubtedly the film's iconic set piece. Viewed from all perspectives, from the cramped immigration lines of sanctuary-seekers to spectacular aerial views of the ancient city's warren of narrow streets, alleyways and walls, which themselves produce a setting for a thrilling chase sequence.
Brad Pitt delivers a solid performance as Gerry Lane, a former United Nations investigator. Aside from Pitt, the supporting cast mostly consists of little-known actors. For example, Mireille Enos plays Karin Lane, Gerry's wife, Fana Mokoena plays United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Thierry Umutoni and Daniella Kertesz plays an Israeli soldier, Segen. All could have easily been cast with more prominent actors. Only Daniella Kertesz would appear to make the most of the role.
Marc Foster's treatment of the scale of the global zombie apocalypse is truly impressive. World War Z is as far departed from George A. Romero's seminal Night Of The Living Dead trilogy as you can imagine. World War Z is an epic production, intelligent and more aligned with the likes of 28 Days Later, The Girl With All The Gifts and Contagion. But ultimately, the film suffers from the globe-trotting set pieces and geopolitics juxtaposed with the one-man-saves-the-day heroics of Brad Pitt's character. Whilst entertaining, World War Z feels like a series of well-stage set pieces rather than a coherent story.
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