ACTION; 1hr 56min
STARRING: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, David Morse, James Badge Dale
Running scared: Pitt (middle)
World War Z slams into battle with the ferocious immediacy of a heavyweight zombie roll-out that knows exactly which road to hell it’s hurtling down. Director Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace, but don’t hold that against him) keeps a tight focus on a dedicated Pitt, who, as Philly-based former UN investigator Gerry Lane, is swept up in the enveloping insanity of a viral pandemic that turns those bitten into plug-ugly, murderous undead. The societal unhinging is fast and chaotic: with his bewildered wife (Enos) and two panicked daughters in tow, Gerry is forced to outwit the wolfish munchers by instantly transitioning, blockbuster-style, from mild-mannered family man to badass vigilante. Whoa!
As if he hasn’t suffered enough, to keep his clan safe on a US aircraft carrier, Gerry must then go to global, zombie-eradicating work. It’s a case of bad vs worse, most notably in Jerusalem, where the z’s hive-scale a protective wall, on a flight out that brings a new dimension to hijacking, and in a beset Wales research facility. Through every anarchic scene, Pitt is a rustproof anchor. His is the energy you’re drawn to, as the unwavering eye of an evilly spawned storm.
