'World War Z'

WORLD WAR Z MUSE CONCERT PIECE

FIRST TRAILER

SECOND TRAILER

FEATURETTE

Brad Pitt introduction at CinemaCon 2013

Press images

LONDON PREMIERE (June 2, 2013)

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 02: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK TABLOID NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 48 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME. MANDATORY CREDIT PHOTO BY DAVE M. BENETT/GETTY IMAGES REQUIRED) Actors Angelina Jolie (L) and Brad Pitt attend the World Premiere of 'World War Z' at The Empire Cinema Leicester Square on June 2, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Dave M. Benett/WireImage for Paramount)

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 02: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK TABLOID NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 48 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME. MANDATORY CREDIT PHOTO BY DAVE M. BENETT/GETTY IMAGES REQUIRED) Actors Daniella Kertesz (L) and Mireille Enos attend the World Premiere of 'World War Z' at The Empire Cinema Leicester Square on June 2, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Dave M. Benett/WireImage for Paramount)

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 02: (EMBARGOED FOR PUBLICATION IN UK TABLOID NEWSPAPERS UNTIL 48 HOURS AFTER CREATE DATE AND TIME. MANDATORY CREDIT PHOTO BY DAVE M. BENETT/GETTY IMAGES REQUIRED) Director Marc Forster attends the World Premiere of 'World War Z' at The Empire Cinema Leicester Square on June 2, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Dave M. Benett/WireImage for Paramount)

PARIS PREMIERE

June 3, 2013

PARIS, FRANCE - JUNE 03: Angelina Jolie takes a photo of herself with a fan's camera as she poses with fans upon her arrival for the Paris premiere of "World War Z" at Cinema UGC Normandie on June 3, 2013 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images For Paramount)

PARIS, FRANCE - JUNE 03: Brad Pitt addresses television reporters as he arrives for the Paris premiere of "World War Z" at Cinema UGC Normandie on June 3, 2013 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images For Paramount)

PARIS, FRANCE - JUNE 03: Jimmy Jean-Louis poses as he arrives for the Paris premiere of "World War Z" at Cinema UGC Normandie on June 3, 2013 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images For Paramount)

PARIS, FRANCE - JUNE 03: Julia Levy-Boeken posse as she arrives for the Paris premiere of "World War Z" at Cinema UGC Normandie on June 3, 2013 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images For Paramount)

SYDNEY PREMIERE

June 9, 2013

1. SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 09: Jai Rodriguez and Jacinta Gulisano arrive at the "World War Z" Australian Premiere at the Star on June 9, 2013 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Caroline McCredie/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures) *** Local Caption *** Jai Rodriguez; Jacinta Gulisano

2. SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 09: Rhiannon Fish and Reece Mastin arrive at the "World War Z" Australian Premiere at the Star on June 9, 2013 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Caroline McCredie/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures) *** Local Caption *** Rhiannon Fish; Reece Mastin

3. SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 09: Jason Dundas, Rey Vakili, Hoda Waterhouse and Tom Waterhouse arrive at the "World War Z" Australian Premiere at the Star on June 9, 2013 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Caroline McCredie/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures) *** Local Caption *** Jason Dundas; Rey Vakili; Hoda Waterhouse; Tom Waterhouse

4. SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 09: Emma Birdsall arrives at the "World War Z" Australian Premiere at the Star on June 9, 2013 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)

5. SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 09: Jonathon LaPaglia arrives at the "World War Z" Australian Premiere at the Star on June 9, 2013 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures) *** Local Caption *** Jonathon LaPaglia

6. SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 09: Alyssa McClelland arrives at the "World War Z" Australian Premiere at the Star on June 9, 2013 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)

7. SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 09: Nikki Phillips arrives at the "World War Z" Australian Premiere at the Star on June 9, 2013 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures)

The wife and I saw it last night, and since we're still talking about it today, we must have liked it. Some thoughts:

* The movie was action, action, action, and ran helter skelter from country to country (showing the breadth of the problem), but the focus for much of the movie was on small moments and people interactions. It was a good balance, because endless fighting-zombies/running-away-from-zombies could get boring.

* One of the things that bothers me about The Walking Dead is how implausible it is that their world collapsed due to the slow, shambling zombies whose bite turns you in ... oh, about 12 hours. That's plenty of time to put an axe in a bitten someone's head before they turn. Or chain/rope them up, just in case. Or throw them out of your Army base (I'm looking at YOU, stupid Army people who got killed by The Governor because you couldn't hang on to your base, which would be well provisioned and have a convenient fence). It disturbs me that some rubes from Georgia can successfully fight off "slow" zombies for three seasons in TWD, but the actual military couldn't. But THESE zombies? They're even faster than 28 Days Later zombies, their bite turns in 10 seconds and they move in unison like a well-drilled army -- or army ants. I can well believe they'd overrun a city in an hour or so. There is no defense.

* They don't gussy Pitt up, and he looks his fortysomething age, so I'm glad they hired an actress who was age appropriate for his wife. If he'd had some gorgeous, twentysomething ingenue as a wife, that would have irked me. Especially given their two kids, one of whom appears to be 12-ish.

* Speaking of which, I think the actress playing Pitt's oldest daughter in the movie had a growth spurt. In early scenes, she's about four feet tall. Later in the movie, she stands nearly at Pitt's shoulder. In one scene she swings her leg onto a bunk bed, and that leg is as long as her younger sister. I'm not saying she "blossomed" -- she didn't -- but her height isn't consistent. Given that this movie was in production for nearly two years, it's only surprising that this doesn't happen more often with tweenage actors.

* Pitt's character can take a beating and thinks well on his feet, but he's no superhero. When he's badly injured, he passes out. When he's running through Jerusalem with Israeli soldiers and they're attacked, he stays (cringes?) in a corner while the soldiers do the fighting.

* One complaint: There's a scene where Pitt has to pick a drug from a bunch of them, half of which will kill him on the spot. It was very dramatic and all, but in the context of the scene, he would have certainly discussed this with experts beforehand and know what he was looking for. You'll know the scene when you see it, and be able to judge whether I'm right.

* As long as I'm complaining, there's a stairwell scene where the zombies should have caught them. The zombies are inhumanly fast and strong, and Pitt and his wife were burdened with two children while running upstairs. Eventually Pitt made a stand and fought a delaying action, but up until that point the way it was filmed it didn't seem plausible they weren't lunch.

* I loved the zombies. They looked an awful lot like TWD zombies; I guess there's only so much you can do with makeup. However, they moved differently -- they literally led with their mouths. Their almost looked like kids playing airplane, with their heads thrust forward and their arms flapping uselessly behind them as they ran. The idea about this zombie virus is that the infected have an urgent need to pass on the infection (not, as in TWD, to eat you). So their prime directive is to bite. And the actors look like they're trying to do exactly that.

* Speaking of the biting, there were some scenes of frustrated zombies snapping their jaws when separated from their prey. Sometimes it was horrific, but often it was funny. Was it intentionally funny? I don't know, but it worked.

* Rumor has it that Pitt wants this to be a franchise, and it is his production company (Plan B) that made it, and you can tell from the photos I've posted from some of the premieres that he has shown up for just about all of them worldwide (and Angelina Jolie has tagged along for some of them). So he's going all out, and more power to him. But I can't imagine how they could do a sequel. It is "just the beginning of the fight," as Pitt intones in a V/O at the end, but I don't know how they'd make the rest of the fight -- wiping out zombies, rebuilding civilization -- interesting in a series of movies. A TV show, sure, with lots of time for dialogue and character interaction. But two-hour chunks every couple of years that require a lot of action? I don't see it.

* My wife asked why Pitt needed a franchise at this point in his career. Maybe because Robert Downey Jr. made $50 million on Avengers alone, and has bragging rights? :)

What did y'all think?

Replies

Captain Comics June 23, 2013 at 1:29pm

The wife and I saw it last night, and since we're still talking about it today, we must have liked it. Some thoughts:

* The movie was action, action, action, and ran helter skelter from country to country (showing the breadth of the problem), but the focus for much of the movie was on small moments and people interactions. It was a good balance, because endless fighting-zombies/running-away-from-zombies could get boring.

* One of the things that bothers me about The Walking Dead is how implausible it is that their world collapsed due to the slow, shambling zombies whose bite turns you in ... oh, about 12 hours. That's plenty of time to put an axe in a bitten someone's head before they turn. Or chain/rope them up, just in case. Or throw them out of your Army base (I'm looking at YOU, stupid Army people who got killed by The Governor because you couldn't hang on to your base, which would be well provisioned and have a convenient fence). It disturbs me that some rubes from Georgia can successfully fight off "slow" zombies for three seasons in TWD, but the actual military couldn't. But THESE zombies? They're even faster than 28 Days Later zombies, their bite turns in 10 seconds and they move in unison like a well-drilled army -- or army ants. I can well believe they'd overrun a city in an hour or so. There is no defense.

* They don't gussy Pitt up, and he looks his fortysomething age, so I'm glad they hired an actress who was age appropriate for his wife. If he'd had some gorgeous, twentysomething ingenue as a wife, that would have irked me. Especially given their two kids, one of whom appears to be 12-ish.

* Speaking of which, I think the actress playing Pitt's oldest daughter in the movie had a growth spurt. In early scenes, she's about four feet tall. Later in the movie, she stands nearly at Pitt's shoulder. In one scene she swings her leg onto a bunk bed, and that leg is as long as her younger sister. I'm not saying she "blossomed" -- she didn't -- but her height isn't consistent. Given that this movie was in production for nearly two years, it's only surprising that this doesn't happen more often with tweenage actors.

* Pitt's character can take a beating and thinks well on his feet, but he's no superhero. When he's badly injured, he passes out. When he's running through Jerusalem with Israeli soldiers and they're attacked, he stays (cringes?) in a corner while the soldiers do the fighting.

* One complaint: There's a scene where Pitt has to pick a drug from a bunch of them, half of which will kill him on the spot. It was very dramatic and all, but in the context of the scene, he would have certainly discussed this with experts beforehand and know what he was looking for. You'll know the scene when you see it, and be able to judge whether I'm right.

* As long as I'm complaining, there's a stairwell scene where the zombies should have caught them. The zombies are inhumanly fast and strong, and Pitt and his wife were burdened with two children while running upstairs. Eventually Pitt made a stand and fought a delaying action, but up until that point the way it was filmed it didn't seem plausible they weren't lunch.

* I loved the zombies. They looked an awful lot like TWD zombies; I guess there's only so much you can do with makeup. However, they moved differently -- they literally led with their mouths. Their almost looked like kids playing airplane, with their heads thrust forward and their arms flapping uselessly behind them as they ran. The idea about this zombie virus is that the infected have an urgent need to pass on the infection (not, as in TWD, to eat you). So their prime directive is to bite. And the actors look like they're trying to do exactly that.

* Speaking of the biting, there were some scenes of frustrated zombies snapping their jaws when separated from their prey. Sometimes it was horrific, but often it was funny. Was it intentionally funny? I don't know, but it worked.

* Rumor has it that Pitt wants this to be a franchise, and it is his production company (Plan B) that made it, and you can tell from the photos I've posted from some of the premieres that he has shown up for just about all of them worldwide (and Angelina Jolie has tagged along for some of them). So he's going all out, and more power to him. But I can't imagine how they could do a sequel. It is "just the beginning of the fight," as Pitt intones in a V/O at the end, but I don't know how they'd make the rest of the fight -- wiping out zombies, rebuilding civilization -- interesting in a series of movies. A TV show, sure, with lots of time for dialogue and character interaction. But two-hour chunks every couple of years that require a lot of action? I don't see it.

* My wife asked why Pitt needed a franchise at this point in his career. Maybe because Robert Downey Jr. made $50 million on Avengers alone, and has bragging rights? :)

What did y'all think?

This reply was deleted.