World War Z - A Pandemic of Epic Proportions

World War Z was a different and interesting take on the classic zombie apocalypse.  The film focuses less on the zombies individually and more on them as a unit which makes the movie feel more like it’s about a pandemic rather than the flesh eating undead.  Based on the movement and behavior of ants, the zombie hordes flow through cities and areas like a flood, at times moving in a very fluid like manner.  Brad Pitt plays Gerry Lane, a former UN employee who is tasked with finding the source of the disease and possible solutions after his family is rescued by helicopter from a building top in Newark, NJ.  Safely aboard a US aircraft carrier in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, Gerry must come out of retirement and attempt to make sense of the world wide disaster in order to secure his families safety aboard the ship which consistently flies people off the deck and around the world to different refugee camps.  While the story line is pretty simple the film takes off from 0 to 60 in the first 10 minutes which is nice and makes the viewer feel as though they are one of the confused mass of people running blindly from something they know nothing about.  Pitt’s acting is great as usual and certain core zombie concepts are different such as the rate at which people change which is refreshing in a time when the zombie theme has been beaten to death (pun intended).  Even though the movie is about zombies, it still maintains a real sense of believability which is difficult with the zombie theme; and ends up having a solution which is creative and unique.  Packed with suspense, horror, and action the film has everything you want in a big budget blockbuster and successfully keeps you guessing as you root for Brad Pitt to save the day.