Brad Pitt's Zombie Apocalypse Stuck on Loop in 'World War Z'

Brad Pitt and his family attempt to survive the zombie apocalypse in World War Z. 

With AMC's The Walking Dead commanding the cable air waves and The Last of Us making its mark on the Playstation 3 several weeks ago, zombies definitely continue to be the trending facet of apocalyptic fiction in recent years.

Enter onto the summer blockbuster stage World War Z, based on the Max Brooks novel of the same name, which combines the star power of Brad Pitt with thousands of undead CGI co-stars. Pitt takes on the role of Gerry Lane, a former United Nations investigator sent back into the field after several zombie outbreaks occur around the world. Even with minimal information provided about the lead character, World War Z boils down into a non-stop battle between Pitt and zombies.

World War Z is yet another notch in a long list of Brad Pitt action movies 
which aren't necessarily much more than maintain the entertainment status quo. There's plenty of real potential in World War Z with several sequels to follow, but rarely does anything spark beyond redundant escapes around the world. Pitt is placed in the most dire of situations, yet he always manages to come out on top with seconds to spare.

The few instances hold their weight with summer popcorn entertain, but when the backdrop is all that's being swapped out for another showdown between Pitt and his undead adversaries, the tension freefalls from investment to borderline boredom. That's not to say that watching zombie go through the motions day in and day out is a total loss, but perhaps if director Marc Forster tinkered with the plot instead of less inspiring placeholders, World War Z could have been more compelling.

Brad Pitt is fine as lead action star who evokes the trope of the invincible action hero except in one particular scene in the middle. But it's Brad Pitt - action hero. Pitt's in the same boat as Tom Cruise as his name outweighs the actual reality of the film and stripping him down to a humanized level is a near-impossible feat for any creative minds working in Hollywood.

Forester exhibits the same confidence in telling a high-budget action flick like he did in 2008's Quantum of Solace, even if he allows sequences of incomprehensible cinematography slip through the final cracks in the product. Many times throughout World War Z, Pitt is maneuvering through labyrinthine series of passages in a compromised building and the frame captures the intensity without losing focus on what is actually going on onscreen. The broad range of cinematography certainly hints at the fact that issues and reshoots during production were true.

Damon Lindelof (Star Trek Into Darkness) and Drew Goddard (Cabin in the Woods) contribute to the writing, particularly the final action set piece in the film, which conveys a polarizing vibe to the initial 80 minutes. Without any buildings crumbling to the ground or any indication of an apocalypse happening, the last act of World War Z successfully isolates itself from the repetitive action sequences.

World War Z emerges as just as a singular chapter in the apocalyptic struggle against zombies. The source material acts more of an anthology of the accounts against the zombies, which Forster diverges in spinning his cinematic iteration of World War Z, but it might just riddle the senses to know more about the burning questions in what's disguised as a simplistic summer action film.

With little time to spare for character development or deep plotting, all World War Z does for two hours is change which zombies are attacking Brad Pitt at any given time and occasionally construct an attachment with his wife and his children, who remain on a naval vessel clear of any undead strikes.

Just like Tom Cruise's Oblivion earlier this year,  World War Z is a small movie inhabiting the shell of what's intended to be a much larger, expansive world with so many opportunities and headlined by a star whose reputation exceeds the boundaries of the film.

World War Z will benefit from a sequel or two, divulging the entire zombie apocalypse story. Until then, it's as if there's a soul down deep in the film that hasn't been sparked just yet. 

GRADE: B- (7/10)