Who knew that "World War Z" would turn out to be the biggest surprise this year. The film was predicted, nay, predestined to be a massive failure. Not with rewrites, re-shoots that led to a six month delay, a movie trailer that honestly leaves much to be desired and even an unusual run-in with the authorities; it was easy to doubt that this film would turn heads. But "World War Z" takes a u-turn and makes a huge comeback to prove everyone was wrong about judging it before seeing the final product. It may not be the best zombie, horror, apocalyptic movie ever made but it was definitely much more than what it's supposed to be in the first place.
Former United Nations employee Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) and his family sit in heavy traffic in Philadelphia while the radio reports on a rabies outbreak that has spread internationally. Suddenly, they are attacked by the infected. The Lanes narrowly escape and flee to an apartment complex to be extracted by a helicopter sent by Gerry's former U.N. colleague, Thierry (Fana Mokoena). The family reaches the helicopter and are taken to a U.S. Navy ship off the coast of New York City where a team of analysts and military personnel are analyzing the scope of the worldwide outbreak. A virologist, Dr. Fassbach, argues that the plague is a virus whose origin must be found in order for a vaccine to be developed. The naval commander tells Gerry that he is to investigate the virus and help Fassbach find the outbreak's source. Reluctantly agreeing for the sake of his family's staying on the ship, Gerry leaves on a plane for Camp Humphreys, a military base in South Korea where the word "zombie" was supposedly first used in reference to the outbreak.

"World War Z" may prove its doubters wrong but it doesn't mean it doesn't have flaws. In fact, there are huge head-scratcher moments during the whole film. Overall though, it does more than enough to become a great horror and zombie flick. Amazingly, the massive re-writes and re-shoots didn't seem to affect the final product. If there were, reportedly on the third act, then we didn't notice any gaps on the plot. In fact, the film presents a different kind of zombie apocalypse and a rather inventive and ingenious one. From how the virus spreads to how it is eventually solved, everything feels fresh and new and most importantly terrifying. It's terrifying to see how people are turned to rabid creatures in seconds, it's terrifying to see how they swarm and devour populace and locales and it's most definitely terrifying how they react to sound. The film's atmosphere is its best asset in our opinion - one that feels more like a horror film than a zombie-themed one. In this case, don't be surprised to cover your face or scream in fright at times. The only thing we didn't like with "World War Z" are the massive loopholes its characters take throughout the whole thing. It's unforgivable as it happens numerous times, in almost every setting available. Maybe the film didn't take time to explain why one decision is important over the alternative but most of these decisions are complete non-sense. Some characters are also presented but never developed into something significant. One even seemingly important but only showed himself for a couple of minutes. Overall though, "World War Z" is a recommended watch.

Rating: 4 reels

Why you should watch it:
- riveting, gripping and terrifying atmosphere
- its takes on the zombie genre feels new and ingenious

Why you shouldn't watch it:
- the film is littered with logical loopholes
- characters are left out