World War Z

glatt · 07-01-2013, 08:04 AM

I slept like crap last night. I kept waking up, thinking zombies were trying to get into the house. Bad dreams.

I saw this film yesterday, and it was surprisingly good. I had read a review that said it's all about managing expectations going in, and I had low expectations, so I was pleasantly surprised. More thriller than action. I recommend it.

Don't let my positive review let you get your hopes up, because then your expectations will be too high. It's really a terrible film, you should go see.

There were a few flaws in the film. When you go see a movie like this, you suspend your disbelief. That's understood. But the film sets up some rules about how the zombies behave. And in a few instances, they violate those rules for dramatic effect. So that bugs me. You gotta follow your own rules. One of the biggest rules is that the zombies are attracted to sound. So you need to be very quiet.

Minor spoilers follow:

In one scene, a week or two after the zombies show up, this one zombie free place with a big protective wall allows some people to make a lot of noise inside the wall, and so the zombies come and make that zombie pyramid you see in the previews to scale the wall. That never would have happened. Everyone would be terrified of the zombies and would be whispering inside the wall.

In another scene, a zombie is quietly hanging out in a closet for a while just waiting to jump out and attack people when the door is opened. Earlier in the film, zombies were smashing their faces through car windows in order to get at the occupants inside. No way would that zombie be quietly hiding in a closet, especially when people were making noise on the other side of the door.

A big quibble I have is that they said that air travel is what spread the zombies in the first place, but that's a problem, because the incubation time of the zombie virus is 10 seconds. You need an incubation time of at least a day in order for the zombies to spread by air travel. They have to look healthy while going through customs after a 12 hour flight. So I don't see the zombies making it across oceans. They needed a better explanation, like an incubation period of several days. Although the 10 second incubation makes for some very exciting action sequences.

Go see it if you can.

Lamplighter · 07-01-2013, 08:39 AM

It did make an impression on Henry Payne

orthodoc · 07-02-2013, 10:10 PM

Zombie movies are strictly out for me. I have a vivid nightmare life that's already well populated by Alaskan brown bears and needs no help from zombies.

That said, the movie virus should have had a LATENT period of twelve hours (infectious, no symptoms) and an incubation period slightly longer than that. That would guarantee global spread within 36 hours. A latent period of 10 seconds would ensure that the nearest and dearest would be infected, but the epidemic would burn itself out quickly through being TOO effective. Just like Ebola and Marburg.

glatt · 07-03-2013, 06:31 AM

Good point. Similar to HIV.

In this movie, infection is through biting only, and they haven't figured out why that is. But Brad Pitt got a mouthful of zombie blood when he killed one on top of him, and he was afraid of infection for 10 tense seconds. But he was fine. The biting is a major plot point.

07-01-2013, 08:04 AM	#1
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	World War Z I slept like crap last night. I kept waking up, thinking zombies were trying to get into the house. Bad dreams. I saw this film yesterday, and it was surprisingly good. I had read a review that said it's all about managing expectations going in, and I had low expectations, so I was pleasantly surprised. More thriller than action. I recommend it. Don't let my positive review let you get your hopes up, because then your expectations will be too high. It's really a terrible film, you should go see. There were a few flaws in the film. When you go see a movie like this, you suspend your disbelief. That's understood. But the film sets up some rules about how the zombies behave. And in a few instances, they violate those rules for dramatic effect. So that bugs me. You gotta follow your own rules. One of the biggest rules is that the zombies are attracted to sound. So you need to be very quiet. Minor spoilers follow: In one scene, a week or two after the zombies show up, this one zombie free place with a big protective wall allows some people to make a lot of noise inside the wall, and so the zombies come and make that zombie pyramid you see in the previews to scale the wall. That never would have happened. Everyone would be terrified of the zombies and would be whispering inside the wall. In another scene, a zombie is quietly hanging out in a closet for a while just waiting to jump out and attack people when the door is opened. Earlier in the film, zombies were smashing their faces through car windows in order to get at the occupants inside. No way would that zombie be quietly hiding in a closet, especially when people were making noise on the other side of the door. A big quibble I have is that they said that air travel is what spread the zombies in the first place, but that's a problem, because the incubation time of the zombie virus is 10 seconds. You need an incubation time of at least a day in order for the zombies to spread by air travel. They have to look healthy while going through customs after a 12 hour flight. So I don't see the zombies making it across oceans. They needed a better explanation, like an incubation period of several days. Although the 10 second incubation makes for some very exciting action sequences. Go see it if you can.

07-01-2013, 08:39 AM	#2
Lamplighter Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Bottom lands of the Missoula floods Posts: 6,402	It did make an impression on Henry Payne Attached Images

07-02-2013, 10:10 PM	#3
orthodoc Not Suspicious, Merely Canadian Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 3,774	Zombie movies are strictly out for me. I have a vivid nightmare life that's already well populated by Alaskan brown bears and needs no help from zombies. That said, the movie virus should have had a LATENT period of twelve hours (infectious, no symptoms) and an incubation period slightly longer than that. That would guarantee global spread within 36 hours. A latent period of 10 seconds would ensure that the nearest and dearest would be infected, but the epidemic would burn itself out quickly through being TOO effective. Just like Ebola and Marburg. __________________ The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. - Ghandi

07-03-2013, 06:31 AM	#4
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	Good point. Similar to HIV. In this movie, infection is through biting only, and they haven't figured out why that is. But Brad Pitt got a mouthful of zombie blood when he killed one on top of him, and he was afraid of infection for 10 tense seconds. But he was fine. The biting is a major plot point.

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