I was surprised at how well this movie worked and how much I ended up enjoying it. It's not a great film but it's a highly entertaining film, or at least I thought so and was entertained throughout.
It's probably the first zombie film I've seen that's centered around a family and where family is the number one priority. This theme or focus is never forgotten about and adds a lot to the character Brad Pitt plays. The movie is all the better for this focus, as it gives Pitt's character plenty of motivation and never do his actions feel forced because they are driven by his desire to protect and provide for his family. I'm not going to say his family is fully fleshed out as they seem more presented in the typical cliche ways but at least they tried, I will give them kudos for that. I think if they had tried harder to flesh them out more I think Pitt's character would have been even more endeared to the audience and his journey seem all the immediate and necessary.
The investigation he proceeds to go on to find out about the zombies is intriguing and the mysteries he finds out about the zombie epidemic fuels the overall story. The movie doesn't pander to the audience in exposition or pointless narration but instead treats the audience as intelligent while it forces the audience to pay attention to the visuals. Visually this movie explains things, not in a pretentious, low-budget, art house kind of way but in a story telling way where the visuals help to tell the story line. This has become a lost art in Hollywood. Where they continue to treat the audience as stupid while they repeat and repeat and repeat plot points in pointless conversations that serve no other purpose than to drive the narration forward, with little or no character development sought only the next over-the-top action set piece. I've not saying this movie doesn't have this sort of thing but it doesn't have them in the same sort of abundance that seem to dominate most Hollywood movies. And the actions set pieces that are there don't feel forced but seem more in tune with the story in an organic sort of way instead of a cut and pasted sort of way.
One of the best things I liked about this movie was "the real world" perspective the story took to a zombie invasion that wipes out about 80-90% of the world population and how the world would possibly respond to this sort of epidemic. This is done with an intelligence not seen in most Hollywood movies. Even the military people in this movie are handled with intelligence and not the typical tyrannical, out to rule the world type of military that Hollywood seems to think the military is. Not in this movie, they are highly trained and highly deadly and when they are on screen Pitt's character is pushed to the background and he doesn't even attempt to be an action hero, which is how it would be if he were in that sort of situation. The movie holds true to his character as some sort of highly trained investigator for the UN. This UN part is probably my only big thing I don't like about the movie. The movie portrays, easily, one of the most corrupt and inept organizations on the earth as intelligent, caring, and not greedy, which is completely opposite of what they really are. But all that aside I didn't really care because the over all mystery of the zombies and Pitt's character pushed a lot of this to the side as I was carried away with the story.
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