Film Review: World War Z (2013)

A couple of years back, a friend recommended me a book he had not long finished - "World War Z" by Max Brooks. It was about a man from the UN, who, after the zombie apocalypse, interviews survivors. This book is their stories. So, of course, when the movie was announced, i was curious. How could you turn this into a film? There isn't a focal character. Hmmmm......


My mind went elsewhere when i got linked to an application form to be an extra. I almost filled it in as well. A couple of weeks later and i spotted this sign......

I almost went crazy! I made it my goal to get onto the set and see some filming. This was a once in a lifetime chance and it happens to be a film based on a book that i've read. For people who don't know, George Square is in the center of Glasgow, Scotland. News spread fast, and before long most shops had sold out of the book and crowds gathered at the fences, hoping to see some filming, Brad Pitt or both. Me, I was there for the filming, i'm not a huge fan of Brad Pitt. 

Crowds gathered to see the action (And/Or Brad Pitt)

It wasn't actually as hard as i thought to get on set, and i was down there pretty much every day, snapping away. One day though, the whole set was pretty much open (this was near the end of the filming) and i forgot my camera!! What kind of photographer am i??? But i had my phone which was something, at least. I have photos of pretty much everything, from cars, to mail boxes/newspaper stands, to the extras, to even the guy with the little clipboard that says take x on it!! I was especially pleased with that one. This was one of the last days of filming and this was the scene where people are running across the square being chased by zombies (its in the trailer). I got to watch two takes of this being filmed, it was so fun!!

Send in the army

Spoiler Alert: If you haven't clicked on yet, it's not Philadelphia, it's Glasgow. Sorry to destroy the illusion. We laughed anyway when watching the movie because, though they changed everything to look like Philadelphia, they left the Glasgow logos on the bus stops. I don't think Philadelphia has history about The Bell That Never Rang, The Tree That Never Grew, The Fish That Never Swam and The Bird That Never Flew. Would be weird if they did. Anyway, i'm off topic now. Back to the film. So yeah, it was cool. I never saw Brad Pitt, but as i said, i wasn't fussed about that.

So the film as a whole, what did i think? Well, i wasn't impressed. But i didn't think i would be. As a fan of the book, i knew it would be nothing like it. In the end, all the book and the film had in common was the title and zombies. That's it. People who like this movie and go off and buy the book are in for a shock!

One of the RV's driven by Pitt 

It was your typical zombie movie with nothing new really added. I felt i had seen most of this before, pieced together in different movies over the years. The only main attractions to this movie i had was that i had read the book and seen the filming.

Well, actually, it wasn't totally bad. The effects were pretty good and i have Muse stuck in my head for the rest of the day (which is fine with me, being a fan of Muse).

I may not have really enjoyed it, but at the end of the day, i don't regret seeing it. When the movie ended, i said to my friend; read the book, watched the filming, met the author, seen the movie. Case closed.

CRASH!!

There isn't much left to say. Is it worth watching? I really don't know how to answer that. If you wanna see it, then go have a look. It's not a film i would hugely recommend though. But i'll let you make up your mind about it on your own.