World War Z

We have seen in our past and present a plethora of zombie related films, and I'm sure there is no end any time in the foreseeable future. We've seen horrific, "Dawn of the Dead", light drama, "Warm Bodies", we've even seen comedic "Shaun of the Dead" and "Zombieland". Now we have a version of that genre that takes the zombie, and turns it into a vicious, contagious virus ridden being that turns people lethal thus rapidly causing a global catastrophe against humanity aptly titled "World War Z".

When former U.N. investigator Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) and his family, wife, Karin (Mireille Enos) and two daughters get stuck in urban gridlock, he senses that it's no ordinary traffic jam. His suspicions are confirmed when, suddenly, the city erupts into chaos. A lethal virus, spread through a simple bite, is turning healthy people into something vicious, unthinking and feral. As the pandemic threatens to consume humanity, Gerry, along with Captain Speke (James Badge Dale), and Segen, an Israeli soldier, (Daniella Kertesz) leads a  worldwide search to find the source of the infection and, with luck, a way to halt its spread all culminating at the W.H.O. Research Headquarters where he is assisted by a handful of W.H.O. doctors.

Others to round out the cast are Ludi Boeken as Jurgen Warmbrunn, Matthew Fox as  Parajumper, Fana Mokoena asThierry Umutoni, David Morse as an ex-CIA Agent, Elyes Gabel as Dr. Andrew Fassbach, Peter Capaldi as W.H.O. Doctor, Pierfrancesco Favino as W.H.O. Doctor, Ruth Negga as W.H.O. Doctor, Moritz Bleibtreu as W.H.O. Doctor, Sterling Jerins as Constance Lane, and Abigail Hargrove as Rachel Lane as Gerry's and Karin's daughters.

This was directed by Marc Forster ("Loungers" '95, Everything Put Together" 2000, "Monster's Ball" '01, "Finding Neverland" '04, "Stay" '05, "Stranger Than Fiction" .06, "The Kite Runner" '07, "Quantum of Solace" '08, "Machine Gun Preacher" '11). By his very resume, it would be difficult to pigeon-hole this guy. He directs action, drama, fantasy, comedy and does so with panache. This is creatively written by Matthew Michael Carnahan, Drew Goddard and Damon Lindelof, based on a story by Carnahan and J. Michael Straczynski, which is based on the novel by Max Brooks. With the exceptions of very few choppy areas, this story is a real nail-biter and has one wondering what's going to happen around the next corner. Making this with a storyline whereas these people have an extremely contagious virus than that of just being zombies was definitely a clever move.

The visual effects predominantly created by MPC (Moving Picture Company), ILM (Industrial, Light & Magic) and Cinesite along with the 3D process were seamless. Whether one is into the zombie genre or not, there is something for everyone here. And as it seems like a hopeless situation, this leaves you with a somewhat bittersweet ending that will make you think.

Out of 4 Stars: 3                        Rated: PG-13                        115mins.