Why World War Z is the most insulting movie of the year

[onemanfilmcrew]

I just need a place to vent, as World War Z has angered me in a way that no other film ever has. And since this is about the only forum I'm on, I'm going to vent here. I hope that y'all don't mind.


Why World War Z is the most insulting film of the year.
By Derek Slaton

A couple of disclaimers before we being. The most obvious is that there are going to be a ton of spoilers in this article, so if you haven't seen the movie you have been warned. The other is that I will concede right here that the fact the makers of this movie took one of the most beloved zombie book ever written and proceeded to burn it, salt it, and desecrate its remains is indeed insulting to those of us (like myself) who hold the book in high regard. That said my statement that WWZ is the most insulting film of the year has nothing to do with that fact, and rather is based solely on the movie that was released. This movie insults the viewers intelligence on an epic scale and needs to be called out on it. Oh, and before you ask, yes I'm a screenwriter that has never been able to get anything of mine even looked at, which is why I get all riled up and begin to rant when such stupid material gets $200 million dollar budgets.

1. How did nobody know about the zombies?

We live in a digital age, where everybody has a video camera on their phone and a vast network that gives them the ability to instantly upload that video to the internet. Yet when South Korea goes dark, the only clue that is available is a lone email that has the word "Zombie" in it. I could buy this if the movie took place in the 1960's, but this is 2013. When a meteor landed in Siberia recently there were several hundred videos that were available within minutes. Are we really to believe that the entire country of South Korea (which is much more technologically advanced that the small town in Siberia) didn't capture a single video of the zombies rampaging through the streets? I guess nobody in the military or the government intelligence agencies have access to youtube.

2. How did the outbreak cross oceans?

When the Philly outbreak occurs, Gerry is able to determine that the time between bite and transformation is 12 seconds. With that in mind, how did the outbreak cross the oceans? It's not like most zombie movies where there is a long incubation period so somebody could hide a bite. And it is highly unlikely that they were able to stow away on every single flight coming out of South Korea. And even if they were do you think the pilots would just land those planes and radio into the tower with "hey guys, the entire population of the back cabin has turned into crazed cannibals, so we're going to go ahead and set this thing down and let everyone off, OK?" The only explanation is "magic"

3. How was the zombie outbreak able to strike virtually every city at once?

With the previous question still in mind, how was the zombie outbreak able to strike virtually every city at once? Once they get to the aircraft carrier command center you get a quick look at the world map. Just in the USA alone it hit Philly, D.C., New York, and a half dozen other major cities. In fact it happened so quickly and so unexpectedly that Gerry's contact at the UN mentions that not only did they barely make it out alive, but the President and most of the government was wiped out. It's almost like there were direct flights out of South Korea just before the country fell that all had zombies hiding in the baggage compartments that all landed at the exact same moment in all of these cities. The only way that would be possible is if the flights took off as the airport was being overrun (like in the Israel scene) and one was able to sneak aboard. Of course if that were the case then why did none of the pilots mention "hey, our nation was just overrun with zombies, you guys may want to make preparations".

4. Why did Gerry go to Newark?

After Philly Gerry's daughter had an asthma attack, so naturally he needed to get her medication. Great, I'll buy that. What I don't buy is the fact that shortly after escaping Philly by the skin of their teeth, Gerry (who remember is supposed to be the smartest, most valuable member of the UN) takes his family to Newark, which is not only a major city but is in the shadow of the largest city in the nation. Again, this is 2013 and asthma medication is common and widespread, so wouldn't it make more sense to hit a small town pharmacy rather than go into a panicked zombie infested city? He knows he has a military helicopter coming to get him, so wouldn't it make more sense to go to a sparsely populated area and have them land in the field?

5. Why send Gerry out to find a vaccine?

When Gerry is taken to the command center to get up to speed, there is a brief shot of a counter that estimates the number of dead/infected. It is already over 3.5 Billion. 3.5 Billion. That's half the worlds population that has been wiped out in the span of a day (or if you go from the initial breakout, 12 days). Even after having that information Gerry is still forced out into the world to find "patient zero" so that the few remaining scientists can create a vaccine. Even in best case scenarios, a vaccine can take months to produce. Half the population is already dead in less than two weeks, so who in the world is going to be left to take advantage of a vaccine? For that matter, what is the point of a vaccine at that point? If it worked as a vaccine typically works, it would prevent the host from being infected upon a bite. Of course it's safe to assume that the zombies would continue to bite them, or given how they move would trample them to death. So right off the bat Gerry's mission is a pointless one.

6. The scientist and the phone.

These are two minor points, but still infuriating. The brilliant scientist who uttered what is quite possibly the only intelligent thing in this entire movie (i.e. the speech about Mother Nature) dies when he slips and falls on the lift gate and shoots himself. It's a movie about the world being overrun with zombies, and they kill off the smartest character by having him slip? I understand that this is Gerry's movie, but come on there are better ways to off a character. Oh, and seriously, Gerry is supposed to be the best and the brightest, yet he forgets to turn off his cell phone before trying to sneak past all the zombies.

7. The Israeli wall and inept military.

So we get to Israel, and somehow based on a single email that has the word "Zombie" in it, a Mossad guy has been able to convince his government to build a wall about what appears to be the entire city of Jerusalem. Not just build a wall, but a forty foot high wall. Oh, and they built it in less than two weeks time. Even if we assume they had the manpower and machinery to undertake that kind of project, where did they get all of the material from? Jerusalem is roughly 48 square miles, which means if they covered the entire city it would be nearly 200 miles of fencing. And yes I realize there is already a fence in place, but it isn't a 40 foot high security wall and it isn't impenetrable, which for this project to be successful it would need to be.

And yes, in this movie the Israeli military is completely inept. Once the noise level got high enough the zombies started climbing the walls. Now there are military choppers flying in circles above the city, and not one of them noticed it until they were at the top? To their credit, once they noticed they began to open fire and knock down the climbing zombies, yet a handful of them did make it to the top where they fell forty feet onto a bus. There were dozens of armed military guards in the courtyard that should have been able to easily take out a few of these zombies, but instead of laying waste to them they were overrun in a matter of seconds. And twenty minutes later the entire city fell.

8. After the plane crash, why leave the last zombie alive?

The plane has now crashed in Whales (within walking distance of their destination no less) and the only two characters on the plane with names have survived. Fine, I'll buy that since it's a movie. As they are leaving however they notice a lone zombie that survived the crash, and it is still strapped into the seat. Why, when it would have taken all of ten seconds with any one of the dozens of available sharp objects around, would you leave it alive? They are out in the middle of the country that doesn't appear to have been impacted by the zombies yet, at least until that one gets loose.

9. Why was the WHO lab not taking safety precautions?

The final act has Gerry and his one handed Israeli soldier sneaking into the cordoned off wing of the WHO research facility. When they ask what happened they are shown a video of some of the world's top scientist working with blood samples when an accident occurs and he becomes infected. Now this is without a doubt the deadliest virus in the history of mankind, yet they are working on open air stations with no bio suits and no safety precautions whatsoever. They are treating this like it's 3rd period chemistry rather than something that can kill them in an instant. I mean they keep the curable deadly diseases under lock and key, but this stuff is just wide open.

10. Why weren't they given the security code?

So Gerry and his team gets separated in the zombie infested wing of the WHO, and it's Gerry who ends up finding the correct storage unit. Just before he attempts to break the lock the phone rings, where the scientist on the other end gives him the pass code. One would think that if you were going to be sneaking into an area that is filled with zombies who react to sound that you might want to know what the security code is instead of waiting on a phone call to get it.

11. Why didn't Gerry ask which deadly virus to inject himself with?

As stupid as that scene was, it did establish that someone was watching Gerry and that they had a way to communicate with him. The supposedly brilliant Gerry does absolutely nothing with that knowledge. When he becomes trapped he grabs a vial of an unknown deadly virus and injects himself with it in the hopes that it will camouflage him from the zombies. Before he does however he writes a brief note that says "tell my family I love them". Why doesn't he hold up a vial of the deadly virus to the camera, then a sign that says "take this one? Call if yes". rather than just blindly taking something?


12. Why wasn't Gerry already immune?

The big thing that Gerry figures out is that the zombies don't attack non-healthy people. There was the bald kid who we assume has cancer, the old man, the drunken bum, and the military man with the bad leg. The military guy is the key here since his only defect is he has a bad leg, and with that bad leg he was able to stand in the middle of a room full of zombies and fight them without them paying him any attention. In the plane crash Gerry had a large shard of metal go completely through his gut, presumably injuring some vital organs. This is evident when he hits the zombie in the head with the crowbar and doubles over in pain. Regardless of the specific injuries, he is at least as injured as the soldier with the bad leg, which leads to the question of "why wasn't he immune to the zombies already?" Gerry should have been able to waltz right in and grab the viruses without any issues.

13. How did nobody else figure the "solution" out?

So the big solution that Gerry had to go to the ends of the earth to find is that the zombies ignore the sick. Now it is established early on that the command center is still in contact with a lot of places in the USA, which begs the question of how did nobody notice this before? If we are to believe the "rules" set in place here, that the zombies don't attack the non-healthy, then this should be very obvious almost immediately. I mean the radio guy asks an unknown person if they've encountered anyone who has survived a bite, and at some point somebody would have probably mentioned that the entire cancer ward at the hospital was unaffected, or that the zombies bypassed the retirement homes.

14. With the "solution" in place, the war is officially over.

The solution completely ends the threat of the zombies, at least once it is distributed. With people now immune to the zombie interest, they can simply walk around and pick them off one by one. Instead of fighting the zombies in an epic war, all that's left to do is cleanup.

[muhanad]

Lol buddy wrote a essay

[onemanfilmcrew]

Hehe. What can I say, when I get rolling I can't stop.

[Sasha_Blue]

Didn't read, too long. Although I can tell you it is garbage without even seeing it. The book was much better.

[Jmustang1968]

#1 and #2 were explained in the movie.

So points you made were good ones, others you can nitpick on ANY movie about similar things.

[BoneSnapDeez]

I am damn sick of zombies by now. Enough is enough.

[MrPopo]

I am damn sick of zombies by now. Enough is enough.

Agreed. When I first saw that thesis statement that this movie shat all over the book the only thing I could think of was "and this is bad?"

[Retrodude]

Oh, and before you ask, yes I'm a screenwriter that has never been able to get anything of mine even looked at, which is why I get all riled up and begin to rant when such stupid material gets $200 million dollar budgets.

So you're jealous, then? 'Cause that what it sounds like to me. Listen, I'm a filmmaker myself and while it would be nice to get noticed by actual film executives, I'm savvy enough to know it probably won't come easy. If none of your original ideas get a bite, pick something you like (a novel, comic strip, Broadway show, etc.) and pitch an adaptation since those sell better anyway. But don't bitch about your lack of success because that makes people not want to take you seriously.

[Valkyrie-Favor]

I mostly ignored the vampire and zombie fads, so I still can still enjoy a well-made story with those monsters without throwing up in my mouth.

World War Z movie was not a well-made story.

[Nyukki]

I read the full OP, haven't seen the film but it sounds like one of those so-bad-its-funny films, might have to check it out.