Dawn of the Dead, Zombieland, Warm Bodies. We’ve seen plenty of zombie flicks hit the big screen in the last few years, but none quite like World War Z. This smart action-thriller builds more tension through the potential of the loss of loved ones than it does through the straight fear of zombies. Constantly pulling you back to family ties, it forces you to consider the lengths you would go to in order to keep your family safe.
The story starts in Philadelphia when Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) and his family find themselves in the middle of a zombie outbreak. Once a zombie bites someone, it only takes twelve seconds for that person to turn into a crazed maniac who wants to kill every person in site. Lane and his family manage to get out of the city, but it seems that no matter where they go, they run into more zombies.
Officially it’s called a pandemic, and governments around the world are searching for ways to bring it to an end, or at least a way to slow its spread. Lane is a former United Nations investigator, and is called upon to guide an infectious disease specialist through countries worldwide as they seek out the source of the outbreak. Lane is offered a safe place for his family to stay in exchange for heading to South Korea and facing the crisis there.
As his travels lead him through Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and ultimately to a remote office of the World Health Organization, Lane begins to notice a potential weakness that all of these creatures seem to share, but concludes that the only way to find out if he’s right is to put his theory to the test, and to put his our life at risk in the process.
This is a heart-pounding suspense thriller that will keep you engaged with its twists and turns. An overly abrupt ending brings the story to a close more quickly than necessary, but the rest of the story is well thought out and developed. Scary moments and frequent attacks make this more intense than your average PG-13 movie, but for those seeking a quality adventure-thriller – this is a great choice. 3 1/2 out of 5 stars for World War Z.
-Danika Peterson
