To be completely honest, I was skeptical to the point of almost passing over seeing World War Z. As a fan of the original novel, I knew that a big-budget adaptation starring Brad Pitt would differ greatly from the unique narrative style Max Brooks utilized in his book. Due to these preconceived notions, I didn't have very high hopes when I finally did get around to checking this zombie film out, and I found myself pleasantly surprised.
The film did change things up quite a bit when compared to Brooks' source material. It tells the story of Gerry Lane, an ex-UN worker who is brought back into service when the world goes to hell thanks to a disease that is transforming the majority of the population into fast, flesh-eating zombies (a word which, unlike The Walking Dead, World War Z is not afraid to use multiple times throughout the film. Gerry sets out to help track down the source of the infection, and potentially aid in the creation of a vaccine.
Similar to Brooks' novel, World War Z does feature various locales and cities around the globe, but instead chose to stick to Gerry's story instead of using the multiple POV's incorporated in the book. When I first heard about a World War Z film, I was hoping for a documentary-style film which would tell at least some of the stories in the novel. Since the book itself is written in a documentary/interview style, this seemed like an accurate way to adapt it. However, it doesn't surprise me that a huge blockbuster film would choose to approach this story in a different way. By centering on Brad Pitt's character, the audiences are given someone to root for and care about throughout the film. While I personally wanted to see something closer to the source material, World War Z did a pretty good job of changing up the story, while keeping the scope and world of the novel in tact.
As for the look and feel of the film, World War Z hit the nail right on the head. This film looks incredible, and truly utilized the immense budget to bring some really awesome visuals onto the screen. Huge sets like Israel, Philadelphia, and large indoor facilities like the climactic and tense ending help make World War Z look and feel like the real world, which only makes the zombie narrative that much stronger and realistic.
Overall, World War Z was a great new zombie film to kick off the summer season, and was able to appeal to fans of Max Brooks' novel along with moviegoers around the world. Behind Man of Steel, World War Z is definitely the film to see when you feel like taking a trip to the movies early this summer.
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