World War Z and Inspiration

Remember when this movie was first announced and people lost their minds?  They were screaming up and down that it was going to be horrible and nothing like the book.  Then, when they announced that Brad Pitt was going to be in the movie, it was like someone announced zombies really had started walking the planet.  It was a huge ordeal. 

Personally, I don’t know what the issue was.  No movie is ever like the book.  It used to bother me for a long time, but then I attended a panel at a convention that talked about the differences between the two.  They are two separate mediums that are trying to accomplish two different things.  Movies can do things that books can’t, and books do things movies can’t.  It’s unfair to expect a movie to be something it’s not, you have to accept it for what it is.

But I digress.  I didn’t really get excited about World War Z until I saw the first trailer.

It blew me away!  I didn’t care if Brad Pitt was in it; I like Brad Pitt.  Then, I went and saw it in the theater.  That’s a pretty big deal for me.  I don’t have a lot of time, so I’m very picky about what I spend it on.  It was amazing!  Although, I have to say I wasn’t very excited about it being in 3D.  In some scenes, the action was so fast it blurred so I couldn’t see anything.

Yeah, it has some issues, but on the whole, it's fan-freaking-tastic!  This film is what inspired me to write my nonfiction book.  It holds a special place in my heart.  I bought the bluray when it came out and watched it again.  It’s still an amazing movie.  My spouse says it’s his favorite zombie flick.  It definitely ranks pretty high on the list for me, too.  And I’ve seen a lot of zombie films.  I’ve seen a lot of really bad zombie films (Zombies vs. Strippers or Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies, anyone?).  It’s refreshing to watch something smart and entertaining.  Again, it’s not perfect, but it doesn’t have to be.

People are entitled to their own opinions, and I’m sure there are many out there who didn’t like this film.  That’s fine.  There are plenty of things out there that I don’t like that other people loooooove.  But that’s why there is an array of things to choose from.

So what about this film inspired me?  You know, I’ve been thinking about it since I saw it and can’t really put my finger on what it was.  I don't think it was one thing.  The science in the film was fun, the way the virus worked was intriguing.  It was one of those movies that could be enjoyed on an intellectual level and an entertainment level.  Everything about it just clicked and worked.

The most important thing to remember, though, is that World War Z is a zombie flick.  Good or bad, I would have ended up watching it eventually!