Daily Archives: June 22, 2013

It’s the end of the world as we know it, part 2: ‘World War Z’

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I’ve been pretty vocal here about my concerns that Marc Forster’s “World War Z” would vary so much from Max Brooks’ terrific 2006 novel that it wouldn’t possibly capture the essence of the book. And to be sure, adapting Brooks’ book faithfully would be nearly impossible.

Brooks’ book is episodic in the extreme in its record of the zombie apocalypse, moving from China to India to New York to Denver to the Great Plains. Although a narrator – writing an oral history of the zombie war from the perspective of 10 years later – is present throughout the book, nearly every chapter features new characters and a new setting. A couple of years after I read the book, some scenes stand out in my mind: A downed flier is guided through the wilderness by a mysterious voice on a radio. Astronauts watch the end of the world from the International Space Station. The military is humbled in the Battle of Yonkers.

So when the makers of “World War Z” the movie said Brad Pitt would play a U.N. troubleshooter jetting around the globe to find a means of turning back the zombie virus, I thought: Well, that might be fun, but that’s not the plot of the book.

Upon seeing “World War Z” today, I thought two things:

I want to read the book again soon.

Forster and Pitt made a pretty good end-of-the-world movie. There’s little resemblance to Brooks’ book, but it’s a pretty fun suspense thriller along the lines of “The Andromeda Strain” and “Outbreak” and “Contagion.” Maybe even like the first book in “The Strain” series.

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Pitt is called out of retirement in Philly with his wife (Mirielle Enos) and daughters when the outbreak begins. At first, it’s uncertain what’s happening. Zombies? That can’t possibly be real, can it?

But the U.N, gets with the program fairly quickly and sends Pitt jetting around the world, looking for Patient Zero and clues to how to stop the epidemic. He goes from South Korea to Israel to, eventually, Wales. The last section of the movie is a pleasant change from the “Brad flies in and all hell breaks lose” feel of the first two-thirds of the movie. It’s a nail-biting “how do we get from point A to point B and avoid being bitten?” story and it’s very good.

Pitt is fine here, although the part could have been played by anyone from Will Smith to Clive Owen (two actors with plenty of apocalyptic experience).

The real highlights of the film are the suspenseful scenes leading up to a zombie outbreak and/or attack. Forster builds tension quite well and interjects some good scares.

The zombies here are not the slow walkers of George Romero’s “Living Dead” films or TV’s “The Walking Dead.” They’re not precisely like the sprinting zombies of “28 Days Later” or the “Dawn of the Dead” remake. They’re fast but they’re more like lemmings or ants, throwing themselves against barriers and off the roofs of buildings, piling up in a grinding mass in their efforts to reach their prey.

“World War Z” is a disappointment to anyone hoping for a faithful telling of Brooks’ book. But it’s a good, suspenseful action take on the end of the world.

It’s the end of the world as we know it, part 1: ‘This Is The End’

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It’s a big year for the end of the world, with “World War Z” and “This Is The End” and the ongoing apocalyptic TV drama “The Walking Dead.” Later we can expect director Edgar Wright’s “The World’s End.”

It’s safe to say that few end-of-man stories besides “The World’s End” and co-directors Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s “This Is The End” play the end of existence for laughs.

And while my expectations for “The World’s End” are high, I wasn’t sure quite what to expect from “This Is The End.”

Some of the early reviews indicated it was gut-bustingly funny, while others said the overdose of crude humor was just that.

I thought “This Is The End” was pretty funny, but your reaction to it will depend totally on your tolerance for penis and ejaculation jokes, as well as the modern-day Rat Pack of Rogen and other young actors that include Jay Baruchel, Craig Robinson, James Franco, Jonah Hill and Danny McBride.

A big part of the joke here is that the actors play themselves, or at least versions of themselves. Baruchel comes into L.A. to visit Rogen. Baruchel doesn’t like Los Angeles or the crowd that Rogen hangs with – including most of the above-mentioned bold-faced names, plus others – and is reluctant to go to a party at Franco’s house.

They do go, however, and Baruchel reluctantly mingles with the likes of Rhianna, Aziz Ansari, Mindy Kaling, Emma Watson and, most memorably, Michael Cera, playing a (presumably) warped version of himself as a bullying, sex-crazed cocaine user.

During the Franco party, something happens: A firestorm rolls over L.A. People are pulled up into the sky in shafts of blue light. The ground opens up and swallows some people whole.

Earthquakes and even a zombie apocalypse get the blame, but Baruchel comes to believe it’s the real apocalypse, as in the Biblical end time. That would explain the disappearance, into heaven, of all the good people – none of whom are at the party, by the way – and the eventual appearance of otherworldly beasts.

Much of the comedy derives from the contentious relationships between the group of “friends” who survive. They argue over the meager provisions that are left, over the sleeping arrangements and over the pecking order.

Rogen and Baruchel and their relationship are the core of the movie, but Hill – as a supernaturally nice guy who nonetheless gets on everyone’s nerves – and McBride as just an awful human being get the biggest laughs.

Some of the funniest moments come from not only the group’s reactions to the seemingly impossible happenings but also to each other.

One standout scene occurs when Watson takes refuge with the group and the hapless Baruchel initiates a discussion, unfortunately within her earshot, about making sure she’s at ease being the only woman in a house full of men. Before long, the others are accusing him of suggesting they rape her. Watson overhears and, wielding an axe, takes things into her own hands.

As trendy as the main cast and supporting actors are, there are a couple of cameos – I won’t reveal them here – that are surprising even in the context of this story.

As apocalyptic comedies go, “This Is The End” ranks pretty high. It’s quite crude but absurdly funny.