Let There Be Movies

Review by Elliott

The first thing that should be mentioned about World War Z is that this isn’t a zombie movie. In your typical zombie movie you have 3 things.Close encounters that result in a gory mess (aka, shotgun to the head), stupid characters making stupid decisions(no, stop, don’t open that door), and zero plot. These stereotypes in no way describe World War Z. There are a few close encounters but there isn’t any gratuitous violence and gore. For the most part the characters make intelligent decisions and the plot although not mind blowing is believable(well, as believable as it can be considering the zombies). I would place this in the thriller cubby hole rather than horror. The focus of the movie is on finding a cure to an epidemic that has killed billions of people.

Overview

Gerry Lane(Brad Pitt) is a former United Nations employee who has quite his former job so that he can be closer to his family. The movie begins with them driving thru Philadelphia on what appears to be a normal day, until they are nearly ran over by a trash truck. It’s at this point that the chaos begins. A few people start acting weird and then change… They then start attacking other people who change, and so on. Gerry and family flee city try to get away from the outbreak. While in route Gerry receives a phone call from the deputy secretary, who tells them that they are going to send a rescue party to pick them up. Although not without difficulty, they are picked up and brought to the military HQ. From this point on the movie focuses on trying to find out how this happened, where did it come from and can we cure it.

Application

After escaping to the outskirts of town, they come across a grocery store. All around them people are running, screaming and stealing. This brings up an interesting moral dilemma. Is it ever ok to loot? We hear about it almost everytime there is a natural disaster or mass riot. Think back to hurricane katrina or the riots in greece. In both cases people were breaking into stores and looting. Is it ok if it’s for food or medicine? In the case of this movie the main characters take asthma medicine. What do you think?

After leaving the store, Gerry and his family search for a safe place to hid for the night. They search an apartment building looking for an empty room. A family spots them, invites them in and shares their space and food. Despite the chaos and uncertainty of the world around them, this family reached out to help another. Are we as willing to help others, when life is uncertain and busy?

Gerry had had a good job, one that no doubt provided a lot of income and prestige, but we see at the beginning of the movie that he had quit in order to be closer to his family. He prioritized his life, so that his family was first. This is a problem we see all too often. In our society we see more and more, the breakdown of the family. In 1 Tim. 5:8 it says, But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. God puts an emphasis on family. In this verse, the word provide don’t just mean monetarily I think we should look at this in much broader terms. It’s our role to make sure our family is taken care of both physically and emotionally, but more importantly spiritually. That sometimes require sacrifice or putting off what we want, to better serve our family.

Summary

I’m not a huge zombie fan. I do enjoy the TV series The Walking Dead, but aside from that rarely watch zombie movies. With that in mind, I really enjoyed this movie. If you’re expecting this to be a typical zombie movie then you will be disappointed. It feels a lot like the movie I Am Legend with Will Smith. The movie is well paced, it goes along at a quick pace, leaving little down time. That said, it’s not so fast paced you can’t enjoy it. Although not deep, I found the plot interesting and enjoyed. Two themes that I noticed pop up multiple times were that of family and sacrifice. If you didn’t get a chance to see it in theater, it should be out for rental in a few months. I would definitely recommend it.

My rating: 4 out 5.

This scene made me and most of the other people in the theater laugh.