I don’t often write full-out movie reviews, but I have a lot of thoughts about this flick. I am a fan of the zombie genre. I am a loyal reader and watcher of The Walking Dead. I especially like inventive takes on the genre. I thought Warm Bodies was a revelation, paying homage to Romeo and Juliet and spoofing Twilight. I will defend to the death Zombie Strippers as a brilliant flick, as who would’ve thought you could adapt Eugène Ionesco’s Rhinocéros with zombies and porn stars playing strippers and make a commentary on the American government?

Being a fan of inventive zombie fiction, World War Z by Max Brooks (son of Mel and Mrs Robinson) is one of my favourites. I’ve read the book and listened to the audio several times. It is not an action tale. Inspired by Studs Terkel’s The Good War, it comprises of personal accounts of The Zombie War. It’s an engaging and chilling tale of the collapse and rebuilding of civilization due to a zombie plague.

Just to put this up front: I was NOT thrilled with the idea of the movie. The book is such a product of its medium, I knew it wasn’t going to translate to film. It is not popcorn movie blockbuster flick material. One of my favourite chapters is actually about Arthur Sinclair Junior from “Department of Strategic Resources” describing the conservation of resources and the retraining of the potential workforce from CEOs to repairmen. It comes off as something more suited to an apocalyptic West Wing (Which is aided in the audio by the character of Arthur Sinclair Junior being played by Alan Alda). Actual battle scenarios, fighting against the zombies, are actually few and far between, focusing on the human survival and socio-political ramifications of such an outbreak. That is what made World War Z unique. The only way to do a proper adaptation would have been as a pseudo-documentary miniseries, in the style of Ken Burns. Having people recount their stories with pictures and footage (both “real” and “recreated”) punctuating the narrative.

However, I thought I’d give the movie a shot. I knew it wouldn’t be like the book, but maybe, possibly it would be a decent zombie flick. The fact I wasn’t too thrilled about it can be seen that it’s been out for a while and I’m only getting to it now. But I thought I’d give it a chance.

Nope.

Despite stripping away everything that made the book unique in favour of an action-packed popcorn flick, it’s boring. The fighting is dull and mostly just people running while a shaky camera follows them.  The parts without zombies are tedious.

(SPOILER WARNING! I’m giving the entire plot away. But the movie is so tedious, I’m saving you fourteen dollars and two hours of your life)

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