WORLD WAR Z

Plagued by development problems and last-minute re-shoots, ‘World War Z’ emerges as a surprisingly lucid end-of-the-world thriller. Unremarkable in most regards, it’s competent in its aims and broad in its appeal. Making the shambling horrors of ‘Warm Bodies’ seem positively stomach-churning, the focus here is very much on ridiculous non-stop action and special FX set-pieces in the grand, sweeping scale favoured by Roland Emmerich, circa 1999. While it styles itself on meatier fare such as ‘Children of Men’ and ‘War of the Worlds’, there’s more than a touch of ‘Godzilla’ to some of its more turgid flourishes (the scrambling floods of writhing CGI corpses among them).

Rather ironically, the film’s fierce insistence on mass-market appeal all but robs its primary threat – the zombies – of any real bite. Director Marc Forster (‘Quantum of Solace’, rivaling ‘Die Another Day’ as the least effective of the Bond canon) goes out of his way to ensure his flesh-eaters are as bloodless as possible: they snarl and scream, hurtle themselves against doorways and windows, and leap out of shadows for a satisfying jolt, but do seemingly little else. Gunfights are strictly of the "bang-bang, you’re dead" variety, and almost every instance of possible viscera is presented deliberately off-screen. While off-screen violence can often be employed for horrific effect, the intention here seems blatantly self-censoring. This is a zombie film bled of its blood and guts, and it’s a curious (if cynical) artistic proposition.

Undead purists will debate whether the film’s monsters actually meet the criteria for such a lofty and venerated title, but the emphasis here is strictly on thrills rather than chills. ‘World War Z’ would function just as well if its chief concern was, say, alien invaders, or giant sentient ants. The “zombies” here are merely a stand-in for the peril that inhibits the procedural mystery at its heart. That mystery sees Pitt’s increasingly death-defying investigator scramble from one exotic location to another – a frantic, unnecessarily episodic chase that resembles nothing so much as a series of linear video-game levels.

Ultimately, the film’s decision to embrace scale and spectacle over characters and meaningful narrative robs it of any real tension. The zombies may as well be angry marathon runners for all the visceral threat they present, and the film’s rules and logic regarding them balks against any kind of casual scrutiny. Only a small-scale sequence late in the final act offers anything in the way of genuine suspense, adhering (finally) to the conventions of good zombie cinema for maximum impact.

Still, ‘World War Z’ is an undemanding diversion. It’s not often a zombie apocalypse ends on what could be called a heart-warning note, nor does it do so with such a careful and considered mass-market agenda. ‘World War Z’ won’t set the world on fire, but its own burning world is a mindless, engaging, and occasionally spectacular place to lose your brain.