Review of World War Z (2013)

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The Unrated Cut runs about 7 minutes longer than the Theatrical Cut, and primarily contains additional action shots (nothing major). Director Marc Forster has said that the Theatrical Cut IS the Director's Cut, which also unfortunately means that we will not be seeing any footage from the discarded Battle of Moscow (except for a few quick scenes in the closing montage) and the Matthew Fox subplot.

The UNRATED Cut is the one to get! It contains slightly more gore (but not gratuitously so) than the Theatrical Cut, and the action scenes are more fluid and less choppy.

I've listed the primary differences between the Unrated Cut and the Theatrical Cut below. Note, SPOILERS follow below, so read at your own risk.

1) When zombies are shot/stabbed/curb stomped/etc.., they spew CG black blood. When people are bitten, there's more CG red blood.

2) During the opening scene in Philadelphia, there are more scenes of pandemonium and zombies getting shot and/or biting humans. The segment with the red T-shirted male ("Here comes the Number 12 Train...") being bitten and transformed into a zeke is longer and more violent.

3) At the NJ Mart, when Gerry is looking for albuterol for his daughter, the camera pans down to show a dead body lying in a pool of blood, suggesting that the pharmacy employee shot him.

4) The chase scene from the alleyway to the apartment is longer and more harrowing. Gerry headshots a zombie and shoots a few others, also crushing a security guard zombie with a filing cabinet. In the theatrical cut, this zombie chase scene is instead used during the Lanes' early morning escape to the apartment's rooftop.

5) The escape scene to the apartment rooftop is now longer and more violent. Gerry bayonets, shoots, or rifle butts many more zombies. In a surprising twist, Tomas saves Gerry from a zeke, rather than Gerry himself shooting the zeke in the theatrical cut. Matthew Fox's parajumper character also shoots a few more zombies and there's more zombie blood when they're shot.

6) When Dr. Fassbach trips and accidentally shoots himself in the head, the wound is more graphic. Chunks of his back skull are blown into the air and gore covers the exit ramp of the C-130. Although this description sounds graphic, the camera cuts away quickly so that only brief glimpses of gore are seen by the audience.

7) David Morse's character graphically pulls out his last remaining tooth in the Unrated Cut. This is not shown in the Theatrical Cut.

8) The Battle for Jerusalem has additional action shots. It's now a thrilling and intense sequence in the Unrated Cut! More IDF soldiers shooting zekes, more zekes biting people, grenades blowing up zekes, etc..

9) When Gerry cuts off Segen's hand in the Unrated Cut, we see the bloody stump as well as geysers of CG blood. This is definitely graphic and not for the faint of heart.

10) The zombie attack on Belarus Airways is now more intense with passengers getting bitten left and right. There is more CG blood too, but nothing too explicit since most of the shots are very quick.

11) Gerry takes down a few zekes in the WHO facility more graphically. He clotheslines one zeke with a crowbar and stomps on the face of another. More CG black blood.

Prior to watching World War Z, I had mixed feelings about the movie based on the trailers I had seen. Fast zombies? Blasphemy.

I ended up enjoying the movie, even with Damon Lindelof's rewritten third act. The ending on a quiet, but hopeful note was a better conclusion than the rumored Battle of Moscow. The idea of using a temporary, but curable disease as camouflage was a unique plot point. Can't wait for the sequel, even if it has very little to do with Max Brooks' original books.

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World War Z is Brad Pitt's zombie epic about the spread of a virus that turns people into the undead, but instead of walking they sprint and create chaos with every step. Pitt plays Gerry Lane, a former UN investigator who is called into action by an old friend when the human race is on the brink of extinction. While he risks his life to look for a cure, his family (with his wife Karin played by the incredible Mireille Enos) is on a US Navy Carrier out at sea. Nations fall, people turn on each other, and it seems all is lost. But, this is not the case as Gerry begins piecing together clues and starts a search that will change everything, leading to the "war."

WWZ is a truly impressive movie, especially considering it's a PG-13 zombie movie. While I do like the gore in a zombie film, this movie proved you don't need it. The zombies were frightening, the realistic science was there, warfare is taken into account, and overall it just felt like what would really happen if the zombie apocalypse happened. Marc Forster's directing was superb, showcasing both the epic scale of a global panic and war, while showing us the smaller battles and struggles that are happening everywhere else. This movie has the perfect transition, going from the massive blockbuster to a classic zombie movie setting. When it comes to acting, it was great. There were only two moments where the dialogue didn't quite match (when Gerry talks to Warmbrunn about the wall in Jerusalem), and even though there won't be any Awards the acting was still great. The visuals were happily polished, being more realistic, especially having both CG and practical zombies, with amazing make-up. You can see my review of the musical score on the soundtrack's page (by Marco Beltrami). But then there is the cinematography. Words cannot describe how impressive it was to see all the locations and sites, especially Jerusalem. Plus, this is only the start. WWZ kick-starts what should and can be a trilogy, just showing us the outbreak, spread and beginning struggles with the undead. There is so much more to come. World War Z is not for everyone, but anyone who appreciates well-made action movies, a thrilling epic, or some good freak-out moments, this is your treat. The beginning of a new epic, and it paid off in full

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I've read the book "World War Z" and it's a superb book. When I heard they would be turning it into a movie, I figured it would be a narrative film like Pitt's "Interview with the Vampire" in order to keep with the structure of the book or a different film altogether that only shares a name. It is indeed the latter but that's completely acceptable for a variety of reasons. It would be tough to copy it word for word from the book, turn it into a movie, and keep the film under 4 hours.

Zombie films have become sort of repetitive. Either the zombies are these slow moving undead (like The Walking Dead, which is a 5 star show IMHO) or they are fairly fast moving (like 28 Days/Weeks Later). Instead, these zeds move and act almost superhuman. At points, they work almost like fire ants; they cluster together and flood themselves into whatever it is they are going after. Sure, some fall a distance that would cause every bone and organ to explode out of their skin. But if your read the book, those are the type of zeds the soldiers were fighting: superhuman strength, speed, agility, anger, and the ability for their bodies to take all the abuse you could throw at it. The film recognizes that and makes these undead the most dangerous zombies ever. If you were to encounter a herd of these, there isn't a kukri, machete, sword, or anything short of a few thousand M1 Abram tanks that would slow them down (even then, I don't think it would help).

As far as the lack of violence, or rather zombie slaying, the film itself is a different take on zombie films. There is plenty of zed killing but it keeps it to a PG-13 rating in regard to the amount of violence, blood, and gore. Instead of slaying herds and waves of undead, it focuses on finding out what and who caused it so a cure could be found. In a true zombie situation, this is exactly what the WHO and the CDC would do. To me, that is an excellent idea in order to create a fresh and new approach to zombies. While the rest of us would be fighting and killing the zeds, there would be someone trying to create a cure or find out how to keep us safe. Consider it the more technical side of the zombie apocalypse. The film does implement some "jump" scenes very well while other times, you see it coming. It also puts our dear hero in bad situations in certain places that if a zombie outbreak were to occur in those places, most of us would simply **** our pants and cry like a little child. It also pulls some stuff from Brook's other book and from popular zombie websites. Unfortunately, they use some dialog that is cringe worthy and unoriginal: most notably bug out bag, preppers, and other terms that make you think who ever wrote the film simply searched internet forums to find cliche terms regarding the whole zombie culture (at least nobody says "Get my IFAK!"). They are few and far between but they are still there. And don't worry; Pitt never screams "YOLO!" before putting himself in harms way.

As far as the characters (and their actors), nobody jumps out at you. Sure you might cheer Pitt on or have sympathy for some people. But for the most part, they aren't truly memorable......with the exception of David Morse's character (who should of had a much longer part in the film) and a few other people later on in the film. You never become attached to any of them. So if a character gets bitten, you really have no sympathy or much care due to the lack of depth for each person. But then again, our hero isn't there but for one reason and it isn't to save their lives. But Pitt still nails it and does a bang up job delivering the film.

If you are into slash and run zombie films, then you are probably not going to find this as entertaining as Dawn of the Dead or The Walking Dead or 99% of other zombie films. If you are expecting this to be a dead on version of the book, then understand it isn't even close. But it is indeed a great zombie action flick that has plenty of moments of action, suspense, thrills, humor, and terror. It's a "summertime" movie. Big budget, big name actors, lots of suspense, plenty of action, and most importantly, 2 hours to escape reality and be entertained.

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I've heard a lot of reviews written by fans of the book by Max Brooks and many of them are negative, because they were expecting to see the book made into a movie. Simply put, this is not the same story from the book, however it's still a great zombie film. In fact, it's easily one of my favorite zombie movies of all time. If you're a fan of zombies, whether you've read the book "World War Z" or not (I recommend reading it btw) you will definitely have a good time watching this film. While there's not a lot of gore as in most zombie films, the zombies are pretty creepy and there's lots of 'em and there's enough tension to keep things interesting throughout. If you're on the fence about seeing this movie, let me give you a small nudge to check it out. You won't be disappointed. Just don't expect to see the book made into a movie.

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This movie is a great standalone zombie apocalypse movie, carrying over a few themes from the book. I would say this movie is "inspired" by the book rather than "based" on it.

Still, this movie has its merits. Decent acting, amazing visuals, fairly coherent story. There are a few 'why would he/she/they do that?' moments, but they don't detract from the fun.

Though this unrated version has more blood and guts than the theatrical release, it still doesn't come close to other movies or zombie fare (I think it has less gore than a movie like 'Dredd' or the series "The Walking Dead").

Notable differences: more graphic zombie headshots, a more intense (i.e. bloody) version of the hand removal scene in Israel, and a few more zombie body obliteration sequences.

This version did not contain the original ending everybody is hoping to eventually see.