Synopsis:
The story revolves around United Nations employee Gerry Lane (Pitt), who traverses the world in a race against time to stop a pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatening to decimate humanity itself. (C) Paramount
Story:
I like the story of this movie, it was suspenseful and you can really feel the tension that they are trying to give the audience. My only problem with the story of this movie is that it was like a "rinse and repeat" at each scene or at each country the lead character goes to. It plays out like this, they went to this country, it was a deadend then a new clue arise then they go after that next country, same sh*t happened and it goes on over and over again, it's like listening to an 8 track album on repeat.
Having said my problem with the story, I however finds some positives on that negative and that is in each scene in each country, they are upping the ante and they upping the stakes. Each scene just gets better and better and each scene just gets more tense than the previous one whether it'll be in an open space or a remote closely tight space. It was engaging and fun to watch. I also love that they called the undead zombies and they are not referred to as 'walkers' or 'undead' or even 'biters'. Just plain 'ol zombies.
Acting:
Solid performances from the cast especially Brad Pitt, unfortunately though, the film suffers from minimum character development as it just focused more on Pitt's character. Brad Pitt's character is family man in this movie and his performance can really convince you, his family is his drive and his inspiration towards the success of his mission although if the family had died earlier on in the movie, it will not affect the movie overall, they are just a way for the character to show that he still retains an attachment to this world and someone to call to if he's doing fine or not.
As I said, the cast turns in a solid performance despite short screen time and development but what really caught my eye in this movie is the performance of the zombies. It was very convincing and honestly very scary. The twitches when they are transforming and the way they make the bite sounds just makes it much more effective and clearly shows that they are hungry and targeting you. This is the performance for a zombie that I haven't seen in any other form of media.
Action/Violence:
This film was action-packed on the second half which gives the film a nice shift in tone. As for the violence, it wasn't brutal per se because most of the zombie bitings or eatings happened offscreen or it was shown from a distance. If it was shown though, there was almost no blood present. This is my minor complaint for the violence in this movie, it was a zombie flick, we need some zombie violence, but we didn't get it. I just hope that we'd get an "Extende/Unrated Cut" I will definitely check that out.
Music:
Marco Beltrami was the one responsible for the score in this movie and as I looked at his track record, it's mostly composed of action films and horror films. His score in this movie is no different except for the fact that it is a mixture of both of these and the outcome is really good. It worked really with the movie and the way it plays in the narrative of the movie was good too because it kept up on the tone of the movie.
Cinematography:
I loved it. It was able to show the grand spectacle of this movie and was able to show how this epidemic had happened globally. But there are three shots that really stood out for me, the first is the transformation of the zombie, it was scary and only glimpses of those shots were shown but it was effective. Second is the pile of zombies just climbing the big wall it was incredible to look at. Lastly is the hallway scene, it was full of tension and one pulse pounding moment.
Direction:
I'm not a fan of Marc Foster because I've only seen few of his films. I think his best work 'Stranger Than Fiction'. His direction of this movie really surprised me, I like the tone he went for the slow start and the fast-paced tone of the second half. The mixture of drama, action and horror was also good and it worked really well. I also liked how he directed the zombies because like I said before it wasn't like any other and he made them scary again.
Overall:
I had a good time watching this movie, it completely surpassed my expectations. It was a fun thrill ride that will make you bite on your nails 'cause of all the tension happening on screen. However the film does suffer from repetitive content but each scene gets better and better. This is a great zombie film that i both refreshing and entertaining, I give this one a 4/5.
Favorite Line:
Andrew Fassbach: Mother Nature is a serial killer. She wants to get caught, she leaves bread crumbs, she leaves clues... Mother nature knows how to disguise her weakness as strength.
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Gerry Lane: If you can fight, fight. Be prepared for anything. Our war has just begun.
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