Movie Review - World War Z

World War Z is a novel by Max Brooks which received good reviews after taking a very original and intelligent approach to the well worn zombie apocalypse story.  The movie rights were purchased by Paramount Pictures in 2006 (the same year the book was published) for use by Plan B Entertainment, which happens to be Brad Pitt's own production company.  After several rewrites filming finally commenced in mid 2011.  Why am I telling you all this spurious trivia?  Read on and find out.

World War Z (the movie) sees a mysterious epidemic sweeping the globe.  Infection is spread by bites and the victims become, you guessed it, zombies.  Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) is an ex United Nations investigator who had enough of travel to the world's most dangerous hot spots and wants to live in domestic family bliss.  It's not long before he has his first encounter with zombies and a well timed call from his former boss, Thierry Umutoni (Fana Mokoena), gets him and his family to the safety of a naval vessel.  There he finds out the reason for the call.  They want him back in the field to help find the source of the epidemic to see if there is a cure.  If he refuses then he and his family will be sent back to the mainland to face the ever increasing horde.

I am not going to try to compare the events of the movie with the original source material.  There really is no point as the only similarity is the title.  The above history lesson is really just to show that between inception and completion there has been a number of changes.  This is readily apparent in the movie as there are scenes where essentially stuff happens for reasons.  You get the feeling that something more was meant to occur in relation to these events but they are just left there as random scenarios that seem significant but ultimately have no bearing on the story.

But is the movie any good?

World War Z is an exciting movie to watch and there is plenty of intense, if uneven, action.  Also, considering the theme of the movie, it was released as PG-13 in the US (it's an M in Australia) so there is very little blood and none of the normal dismemberment zombie flicks are infamous for.  There is some gore saved for special occasions but there is only one scene that reaches any level of gruesomeness.  It almost makes it a good movie to ease someone into the horror genre... almost.

The zombies are just as uneven.  These aren't your shambling slow menaces, they are lightning fast and super agile with creepy screams and gnashing teeth, except when important characters need to escape, then they drop down a gear and take things a bit easier.  Since this strange phenomenon occurs quite early in the movie some of the tension is lost since it is obvious the main players are never going to be in serious danger.  That's not to say there aren't some tense moments.  It's just that the actual danger seems to be to anyone unlucky enough to be sharing the scene at the time.

Strangely the atmosphere completely changes about two thirds of the way through and the intense pace up to that point just disappears and the movie transforms to a more focused and contained survival horror.  It really feels that the slower paced, claustrophobic atmosphere is what was originally intended before someone said more action was needed.  Strangely the zombies also stop screaming and instead issue this strange squawking sound. It's also worth noting that at this point Doctor Who appears, sorry a W.H.O. Doctor played by Peter Capaldi.

Forget about logic though.  My alternate title for World War Z is "Brad Pitt Saves The World With Sudden Realisations".  There are moments where in amongst all the chaos in the early parts (and the chaos starts in the first 10 minutes) he can keenly notice fine details and retain them which allows him to leap to a sudden conclusion for plot reasons.  If there was a leap of logic sporting event then Brad would be the world champion.  The conclusion his character reaches is just rendered nearly unbelievable because it's that character that comes up with it.  Of course this is really a Brad Pitt vehicle, he is the only major player and everyone else is relegated to supporting cast.  Luckily he puts in a decent performance since everything is riding on his shoulders.

This is not a movie that you should put too much thought into, which is also it's biggest flaw since it appears the original intent was to create something thought provoking and more in the spirit of the original novel.  There is no denying that it is still an enjoyable experience and is a more accessible horror film since even the more squeamish viewers should be able to get through it without too much difficulty.

In a word - sqauwk

The New Doctor - A Look At Peter Capaldi's Geek Pedigree

For those who may have missed it the next actor to play Doctor Who was announced earlier today.  Peter Capaldi is one of those actors who have been around for a long time with an impressively eclectic range of appearances and roles.  For a quick taste here is the announcement and subsequent chat with the man himself.

I have seen many stories listing his many roles and referencing his appearances in Doctor Who and Torchwood but how much of that is relevant?  Don't we really want to know about what we will see from Mr Capaldi as The Doctor?

In an effort to address these very important questions I have feverishly scoured his IMDB page in an effort to find the roles most appropriate to this morning's announcement.  So without further ado, let's check out Peter Capaldi's roles with any tenuous link to Doctor Who...

The Lair Of The White Worm (1988) - Angus Flint

I know this first one is a stretch, but take away the nudity and gore (and strangely entertaining song in the trailer) and you have something very reminiscent of an old school Doctor Who episode.  Just check out the trailer below, especially Mr Capaldi's amazing hair.  He doesn't say much, just a scream and looking crazy.

The Cloning of Joanna May (1992) - Isaac

A strange (but all so British) piece of science fiction, and again rather tenuous but every little bit helps right.  In this trailer you get to see Peter in a brief intimate scene with the titular Joanna May and soon after get hit by a car.  He even gets a little dialogue in this trailer!

Neverwhere (1996) - Islington

And here we have our first real link to Doctor Who.  Neverwhere was a BBC adaptation of the novel by none other than Neil Gaiman.  True it was a few years before he penned any Doctor Who stories but still.  Be warned, the clip below is a major spoiler for the 1996 TV series, but if you want to see Peter Capaldi in action, well, here you go.

Doctor Who - The Fires of Pompeii (2008) - Caecilius

Well, you can't get more relevant than this.  After quite an extensive sojourn into police drama and comedy Peter finally came back to the science fiction fold with an appearance in the very show where he will soon be playing the lead character.  I'll address the "how can he be the Doctor and Caecilius" concern a little later on.  Come on guys, be patient!

Torchwood, Children of Earth (2009) - John Frobisher

Peter Capaldi took on a much more significant role in the Doctor Who spinoff show, Torchwood as demonstrated in this rather chilling clip from the Children of Earth mini-series.  So that's two characters in the Who-verse.  Paradox?  No of course not, but as stated previously I will be addressing that later.

World War Z (2013) - W.H.O. Doctor

Okay, this is another big stretch but, seriously, look at that character title.  Prophetic or what.  No clips available for Peter's actual performance in the above movie, so here is an interview where he briefly talks World War Z.

So will Peter Capaldi be a good Doctor?

I am cautiously optimistic and I feel this is a chance for the show to take a step back from the frenetic pace that has been a staple for the past three seasons.  From Christopher Eccleston's scarred from battle seriousness (and running around a lot), through David Tennant's happy go lucky but down to business when required performance (and running around a lot), to Matt Smith's exuberant, yet almost fatherly, concern for his companions (still with heaps of running around) the time is right for a more considered and poised Doctor.  I have already seen a number of comparisons with Jon Pertwee and while I don't think we are ever going to see a return to full on old school Doctor Who we will certainly be seeing a story leading towards the ultimate reveal... who is the Doctor.  This can't happen without a chance to reflect, and reflection requires a slower pace and greater consideration.  We'll have to wait until the 50th anniversary special to see if Peter is in fact the thirteenth incarnation of our favourite Time Lord, and if so that means he will be taking us on The Doctor's final journey... or through the magic of timey-wimey wibbly-wobbly jiggery-pokery the number of regenerations will end up being irrelevant.

Now let's finish up by addressing the major concern from the big announcement.  Is it a paradox to have the Doctor played by someone who has already appeared in the series?

Of course not, for any of the following well considered (and not at all thought up on the spur of the moment) reasons:

1)  Considering the billions of people that ever lived, is it really that much of a stretch that the Doctor may bear a striking resemblance to at least one human that ever lived?

2)  There have been previous episodes where a case of mistaken identity, either involving The Doctor (eg Black Orchid, The Romans) or one of his companions (eg also Black Orchid, The Aztecs), which really just strengthens point 1...

3) Either Caecilius or Frobisher (or both) are The Doctor who is forced back into hiding via the pocket watch first used in The Family of Blood, which rather ironically would mean The Doctor saved himself from the eruption of Vesuvius.  This seems unlikely, but would be handy if the producers want to bring back another hidden Time Lord... Romana perhaps.

4) Wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey jiggery-pokery stuff!

I rest my case!