I was interested to see how this one played out. PG-13 zombies? Based on a novel that reads like a bland social studies textbook (which was frankly difficult to get through, didn't see the appeal of Max Brooks' successful novel). Amazingly, the movie works---like a hybrid Hollywood action version of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, some five decades later. The zombies are fast and furious (shades of 28 Days Later) and move like organized ant colonies in many cases (as demonstrated in the scene where they're climbing over a wall in Israel). Brad Pitt is cool as the lead dude (a United Nations negotiator), lured back into an old job he quit (for family time, naturally) to help in finding a cure for the zombie outbreak, the origins which are never really defined (another nod to Romero). The characters aren't too annoying in the movie, the action is steady (with a heady slice of terrorism paranoia thrown into the proceedings, per usual) and the plot keeps you watching. The Big G (Government) agrees to shelter Pitt's family while he assists in finding the origins or a cure for the zombie outbreak, so he jets off across the globe to witness the zombie virus globally,trying to find a point of origin for the virus that reanimates the dead. Along the journey, there are plenty of cool setpieces where Everyman Brad barely escapes, Indiana Jones style. There's a sequence with zombies on a plane that is downright spine-tingling and some other close calls that will keep your heart racing. I liked the ending of this movie too, and the discovery Pitt makes by simply being observant, not some kind of scientific genius. Nicely done, and while the movie is left open for the inevitable sequels, this one works well as a stand-alone zombie epic. Zombie gorehounds are advised to stay away, but if you're a fan of 28 DAYS LATER and Hollywood action movies with zombies as the baddies, you'll dig on this one. Was actually a lot better than I expected, and as a viewer, I had kinda burned out on the zombie sub-genre many years ago (it's just been OVERKILLED, DONE TO DEATH, to me, no pun intended!), but this one was a fun spin on a tired concept.
I was interested to see how this one played out. PG-13 zombies? Based on a novel that reads like a bland social studies textbook (which was frankly difficult to get through, didn't see the appeal of Max Brooks' successful novel). Amazingly, the movie works---like a hybrid Hollywood action version of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, some five decades later. The zombies are fast and furious (shades of 28 Days Later) and move like organized ant colonies in many cases (as demonstrated in the scene where they're climbing over a wall in Israel). Brad Pitt is cool as the lead dude (a United Nations negotiator), lured back into an old job he quit (for family time, naturally) to help in finding a cure for the zombie outbreak, the origins which are never really defined (another nod to Romero). The characters aren't too annoying in the movie, the action is steady (with a heady slice of terrorism paranoia thrown into the proceedings, per usual) and the plot keeps you watching. The Big G (Government) agrees to shelter Pitt's family while he assists in finding the origins or a cure for the zombie outbreak, so he jets off across the globe to witness the zombie virus globally,trying to find a point of origin for the virus that reanimates the dead. Along the journey, there are plenty of cool setpieces where Everyman Brad barely escapes, Indiana Jones style. There's a sequence with zombies on a plane that is downright spine-tingling and some other close calls that will keep your heart racing. I liked the ending of this movie too, and the discovery Pitt makes by simply being observant, not some kind of scientific genius. Nicely done, and while the movie is left open for the inevitable sequels, this one works well as a stand-alone zombie epic. Zombie gorehounds are advised to stay away, but if you're a fan of 28 DAYS LATER and Hollywood action movies with zombies as the baddies, you'll dig on this one. Was actually a lot better than I expected, and as a viewer, I had kinda burned out on the zombie sub-genre many years ago (it's just been OVERKILLED, DONE TO DEATH, to me, no pun intended!), but this one was a fun spin on a tired concept.
