World War Z Review
RYAN: This is the new zombie summer blockbuster starring Brad Pitt and I like him. The buzz has been so mixed around this film because it has notoriously had production problems. Expectations have been lowered, budgets have gone up; reshoots, etc… but I liked it. I kept waiting throughout the film to decide it was a bad movie and I just never did.
CHUCK: I was thinking the same thing during it, “When is it gonna tank?” But I had a good time. It’s not AMAZING but thoroughly enjoyable. Brad Pitt is aging well. He’s the Robert Redford of his generation.
RYAN: He’s choosy. He’s not making three movies a year. He makes good choices and he’s terrific here.
CHUCK: And he really spearheaded the making of this film. He’s been working on this for several years.
RYAN: It’s not a 10, or really a must see, though I am recommending seeing this in the theater if you’re interested in it because I liked it and the 3D conversion is surprisingly good.
CHUCK: 3D conversion is consistently bad but this one was actually decent.
RYAN: Whereas Man of Steel was the worst 3D conversion job in a movie, Star Trek Into Darkness was the best and this is up there too. I recommend this in 3D.
CHUCK: You lose a bit of the 3D with some of the fast movements though.
RYAN: I didn’t like the shaky-cam direction and close-ups in 3D. That was a challenge to focus on. I loved all the stuff coming out at you in 3D but the things crossing in front of you were distracting.
CHUCK: Some of that was a blur and your brain can’t process that much at once. But if you’re a fan of 3D, this is a good one.
RYAN: I did expect a bit more from the effects and the swarm of zombies. It was kinda cool but not super impressive. And even the zombie makeup was a typical. The transition from human to zombie was awesome though. And it’s more suspenseful than it is action.
CHUCK: It’s a thriller more than an action or horror film.
RYAN: Because it’s not rated R, it’s PG-13, they couldn’t really be too scary or graphic and I was actually wanting that while watching the movie. I was actually wondering why they didn’t show some of the explicit violence or gross stuff and then you know it’s because it’s PG-13. I would have liked it more if it were rated R.
CHUCK: There’s more gore in TV’s The Walking Dead on AMC.
RYAN: That’s uncool.
CHUCK: Mireille Enos is Brad’s wife in this and I love her. She was in Big Love and she’s now on AMC’s The Killing. She’s great.
RYAN: Very good. The beginning of the film is incredible. When everything is just normal and then it all hits the fan it’s magnificently entertaining.
CHUCK: That was a brilliantly directed scene. You didn’t know what was happening at first and discovered it with the characters.
RYAN: It actually reminded me of what it was like in NYC on 9/11 because people reacted the same way. The city stopped; everyone was out on the street trying to see what was going on. That was real.
CHUCK: Successful 3D, direction, cinematography all in that moment.
RYAN: But here’s the one question I have – why is there always one person in a suspenseful movie who has asthma?!?!
CHUCK: [laughs’ Maybe suspenseful movies are sponsored by asthma medicine?
RYAN: It’s become a complete cliche!
CHUCK: Honestly though, as for the zombie genre, I get more scares on TV out of The Walking Dead.
RYAN: That may be, but here the zombies really jump out at you. You have to dodge zombies in this movie.
CHUCK: I may have screamed like a little girl.
RYAN: Please. I grabbed onto you at one point. But here’s the thing… Without giving anything away, I didn’t like the ending. But still, that didn’t ruin the movie for me.
CHUCK: It’s a classic summer popcorn thriller.
RYAN: It’s certainly better then the hype. It has shades of movies like Contagion or Outbreak. It’s smarter than the average zombie movie.
