Export thread

World War Z Trailer - UGH

#1

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy



I was honestly excited for this movie...until watching this trailer. Yeah, it looks epic and action packed and all that...

...but they're doing it with fast zombies. Seriously, Hollywood? Seriously? Half the point of the novel was that they weren't fast zombies, but slow and shambling. Hell, there were entire passages about why it was important that they were slow and shambling.

Fuck you, Hollywood. Fuck you.


#2

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

Was Max Brooks not a leading part of the production? How does one get that wrong?


#3

Allen who is Quiet

Allen who is Quiet

A zombie movie that leaves somebody dissatisfied? Can that happen?


#4

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

Allen who is Quiet said:
A zombie movie that leaves somebody dissatisfied? Can that happen?
Click to expand...
About 80% of the zombie films on Netflix. Yes, they can.


#5

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

Allen who is Quiet said:
A zombie movie that leaves somebody dissatisfied? Can that happen?
Click to expand...
I don't know. This isn't like removing Tom Bombidil, a bit character who didn't really serve much for the overall plot, from Lord of the Rings. Half the reason that WWZ worked so well is because Brooks worked with the idea of slow zombies to tell the story. Like the final battle, where the soldiers have single-shot rifles and told to take their time lining their shots because the zoms aren't in any hurry. That's a MAJOR part of the book. Hell, there was an entire chapter about how the first military strike, which was all bombastic, hellfire and brimstone (much like the action in this trailer) failed miserably.


#6

Allen who is Quiet

Allen who is Quiet

Wow. I can't believe it. Dissatisfying zombie movies.

What's next? Wet water?


#7

bhamv3

bhamv3

I haven't read World War Z, but as I understand it the book's about a variety of perspectives into a global zombie apocalypse. How'd they manage to turn that into a story about one man and his family?


#8

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

Allen who is Quiet said:
Wow. I can't believe it. Dissatisfying zombie movies.

What's next? Wet water?
Click to expand...
You're bad at sarcasm and you should feel bad.


#9

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

bhamv3 said:
I haven't read World War Z, but as I understand it the book's about a variety of perspectives into a global zombie apocalypse. How'd they manage to turn that into a story about one man and his family?
Click to expand...
I read somewhere that Pitt's character is actually one of the characters interviewed in the book. A military man. And some of the best - certainly the most action packed - chapters came from that character. I figured that was the way they were going to go with the movie. Just...not like this.


#10

Allen who is Quiet

Allen who is Quiet

Gilgamesh said:
You're bad at sarcasm and you should feel bad.
Click to expand...
I'm just learning so much in this thread. I should start taking notes.



#11

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

Allen who is Quiet said:
I'm just learning so much in this thread. I should start taking notes.
Click to expand...
Keep trying, it's like you're getting it slowly, but too slow.


#12

Jay

Jay

Looks interesting enough but I'm not watching that in theaters. Read the books, enjoyed them immensely and like others, fast zombies? Not for me as the concept worked well in the books maybe not so much as a movie?

I'll watch it once it's on Netflix or something.

Also GG on showing us half the storyline in the preview.


#13

Adam

Adam

I really, really enjoyed the vignette style of the book and some of the character stories, as well as action sets like the Battle of Yonkers would have made for a pretty derivative zombie movie. Instead we have the prequel to I Am Legend, without Will Smith. Ugh.[DOUBLEPOST=1352431458][/DOUBLEPOST]Also... BWAHHHHHHH *horn sound*

Action Cut

BWAHHHHHHHH *horn sound*

Action Cut

BWAHHHHHHHH *horn sound*

Action Cut


#14

Jay

Jay

Zombie tidal wave!


#15

bhamv3

bhamv3

Adam said:
I really, really enjoyed the vignette style of the book and some of the character stories, as well as action sets like the Battle of Yonkers would have made for a pretty derivative zombie movie. Instead we have the prequel to I Am Legend, without Will Smith. Ugh.[DOUBLEPOST=1352431458][/DOUBLEPOST]Also... BWAHHHHHHH *horn sound*

Action Cut

BWAHHHHHHHH *horn sound*

Action Cut

BWAHHHHHHHH *horn sound*

Action Cut
Click to expand...
And then BWAHHHHHHHH *horn sound*

Ending logo

BWAHHHHHHHH *horn sound*
BWAHHHHHHHH *horn sound*
BWAHHHHHHHH *horn sound*


#16

Bowielee

Bowielee

I'm so sick of zombies... really...


#17

Terrik

Terrik

Bowielee said:
I'm so sick of zombies... really...
Click to expand...
We could always go for more vampires instead

:awesome:[DOUBLEPOST=1352434395][/DOUBLEPOST]Or how about zompires.

Or vambies.

Or frankenzompirebats.


#18

Gryfter

Gryfter

Wow.... that was..... wow. :(


#19

Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

ATTACK of the ANT PEOPLE!

:aaah:


#20

Tress

Tress

That looked TERRIBLE. Hopefully this will signal the end of the over-saturated zombie genre.

EDIT: Okay, I took a moment to ponder the trailer a bit more. As a book adaptation, it's complete shit. It's a terrible departure from a great book. However, if you remove the source material from the equation, this looks like a serviceable action flick. It's something I'll watch on Netflix or a movie channel here at my home, but I don't see myself spending the money on a movie ticket.


#21

MindDetective

MindDetective

Somehow they turned poignant stories about people surviving a disastrous plague into Independence Day: Zombie Edition. That's fine, I guess. The movie doesn't have to be like the book. But I already saw Independence Day.


#22

Tress

Tress

After some quick research, I found two interesting tidbits:

1) Max Brooks has zero involvement with this film beyond selling the rights to his book. He had no creative input whatsoever.

2) The original script, which reportedly was amazing, was very faithful to the source material. It was described as having a Children of Men feel to it as it followed a journalist speaking to survivors, gathering their stories, and pondering the meaning of life and civilization after the war. One person who read the first script reportedly implied the film would be in the running for a Best Picture Academy Award.

The studio heard about this and shit all over it.

So this is the new, completely re-written script we're seeing. The studio wanted more action that followed a singular strong character, and this is what we got. They seem to think it's going to be a huge megahit, as indicated by the prime June 21st release date. And you know what? They're probably correct. It sounds like they knowingly traded an Oscar-worthy film with a deep story for an explosion-riddled popcorn flick that would make them more cash. I can't blame them, though I can bemoan the fact they didn't want to try for both.


#23

bhamv3

bhamv3

Maybe they're banking on the "World War Z" name drawing in crowds. Trying to replicate the success of the Hunger Games and Twilight.


#24

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

So basically as usual, we have to judge it 100% on it's own merits and completely forget the source material. Typical Hollywood translation I suppose.


#25

Far

Far

I never finished World War Z. Had the book but left it at a friends place and never got it back.

That said, I don't have much to base this off of source wise but I am interested. Mainly to see the way the hoard functions. Looks very flowy, like water, or as QP said, a swarm of ants. And, while, zombies are tired and played out, even fast zombies, that behavior isn't something I've ever seen handled before. At least not in the volume that is being suggested by those brief moments.

Did the original version, with the travelling reporter, garner more intrest from me? Yeah. Does it suck the source is seemingly being butchered for the name alone? Definitely and for those that were looking for something closer to it, that's gotta sting. I'll still probably see this though. It helps I get free movies but I would undoubtedly pay for this one if I absolutely had to. 28 days later is my favourite of the genre, while not technically zombies, and so far this feels like that, albeit if Jim had been around in the first days of it and the outbreak wasn't localized to the UK.


#26

Espy

Espy

I own the book but I haven't found time to read it yet. Honestly? This looks like a fun action blockbuster type movie that somehow got the name of a book it has almost nothing in common with.


#27

Frank

Frank

I hope Tom Cruise finds his daughter before the aliens get her.


#28

Ravenpoe

Ravenpoe

Frank said:
I hope Tom Cruise finds his daughter before the aliens get her.
Click to expand...
I choose to believe this is about scientology, because it makes me laugh


#29

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

Ravenpoe said:
I choose to believe this is about scientology, because it makes me laugh
Click to expand...
If it were about Scientology, he'd be trying to find his daughter to GIVE her to the aliens.


#30

CynicismKills

CynicismKills

You know what other movie used a license and had almost zero to do with the source material?

Dungeons & Dragons.

Yeah.


#31

blotsfan

blotsfan

I think it looks good. I haven't read the book though.
Then again I enjoyed I, Robot so take it with a grain of salt.


#32

Dei

Dei

CynicismKills said:
You know what other movie used a license and had almost zero to do with the source material?

Dungeons & Dragons.

Yeah.
Click to expand...
The same also applies to "How to Train Your Dragon." Same names, nothing else, and everyone loves the shit out of that movie. So... it can (rarely) go both ways.


#33

CynicismKills

CynicismKills

I actually didn't know How to Train Your Dragon was based off a book. Interesting.

Personally, I would have loved to see WWZ made as a sort of documentary, to preserve the narrative and format of the book. As each new person is interviewed, they become the narrator for whatever story is now being played out. It's sad to see something that was so compelling on page turned into another Michael Bay/loud noises kind of movie.


#34

AshburnerX

AshburnerX

CynicismKills said:
I actually didn't know How to Train Your Dragon was based off a book. Interesting.
Click to expand...
It's actually (loosely) based off a series of books. You could barely call them connected really. The books are...

- How to Train your Dragon
- How to be a Pirate
- How to Speak Dragonese
- How to Cheat a Dragon's Curse
- How to Twist a Dragon's Tail
- A Hero's Guide to Deadly Dragons
- How to Ride a Dragon's Storm
- How to Break a Dragon's Heart
- How to Steal a Dragon's Sword
- How to Seize a Dragon's Jewel

It also has a short story called The Day of the Dreader and the novel How to Train your Viking, which is told from Toothless' perspective.


#35

GasBandit

GasBandit

That's too bad. I would have liked to have seen the movie as written by J Michael Straczynski. ... did I spell that right?


#36

North_Ranger

North_Ranger

I knew it. I just f***in' knew it. The moment I saw that WWZ was going to be made into a film I was so happy, wanting to see this touching new take on the zombie genre on the silver screen.

But the moment I saw they had Brad Pitt as the lead... I knew this was going to be a disappointment. Don't get me wrong, Pitt's got some solid acting under his belt, but no way would a thoughtful, touching, different kind of a film have the budget to cast him as the protagonist. Not unless he's going to get to blow something up or schtoink a love-starved woman.

I would have loved to see WWZ as a documentary-like film, with a selection of narratives portrayed in flashback (especially the Battle of Hope, the Indian soldier's tale, the Battle of Yonkers and the tale of the Chinese nuclear submarine). But no... we're gonna get the Mid-Afternoon Return of the Fast Dead Revisited #3,781.

Fuck you, Hollywood. Fuck you in the neck.


#37

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

I too was VERY much hoping for Pitt to be the Traveling Documentor, and there being clips of each story he's told. That would have been perfect. Who didn't want to see the blind japanese guy's story? That would have been amazing. How about the training for the zombie slayers where they were left in a room of decapitated zombie heads?

It could have been so amazing.


#38

Steve

Steve

The zombie scenes look so unnatural. So much so it doesn't even feel like the threat is real. I don't understand why studios buy the rights to a book when they are going to create something totally different from the source material. Wouldn't it be cheaper just to shoot the movie and call it a different name?
You can't blame the execs for not wanting an Oscar worthy movie. You see movies that are complete crap make hundreds of millions despite bad reviews (Spider-Man 3, Transformers, Star Wars 1-3). As long as the consumer is willing to drop money on garbage Hollywood will continue to churn out this garbage.


#39

Jay

Jay

Had a 20 minute conversation with a coworker today, he was completely uninterested in the movie BECAUSE of Brad Pitt... then he saw the trailer as a zombie lover his interest completely faded out.


#40

Silent Bob

Silent Bob

Did the zombie hoard scenes remind anyone else of the Arachnids from Starship Troopers?[DOUBLEPOST=1352509076][/DOUBLEPOST]
North_Ranger said:
I knew it. I just f***in' knew it. The moment I saw that WWZ was going to be made into a film I was so happy, wanting to see this touching new take on the zombie genre on the silver screen.

But the moment I saw they had Brad Pitt as the lead... I knew this was going to be a disappointment. Don't get me wrong, Pitt's got some solid acting under his belt, but no way would a thoughtful, touching, different kind of a film have the budget to cast him as the protagonist. Not unless he's going to get to blow something up or schtoink a love-starved woman.

I would have loved to see WWZ as a documentary-like film, with a selection of narratives portrayed in flashback (especially the Battle of Hope, the Indian soldier's tale, the Battle of Yonkers and the tale of the Chinese nuclear submarine). But no... we're gonna get the Mid-Afternoon Return of the Fast Dead Revisited #3,781.

Fuck you, Hollywood. Fuck you in the neck.
Click to expand...

100% agreed. As soon as Pitt was casted I knew he'd make the damn movie about him moreso than care about the plot. Don't get me wrong, he's a great actor, but his ego is huge.


#41

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

Silent Bob said:
Did the zombie hoard scenes remind anyone else of the Arachnids from Starship Troopers?[DOUBLEPOST=1352509076][/DOUBLEPOST]


100% agreed. As soon as Pitt was casted I knew he'd make the damn movie about him moreso than care about the plot. Don't get me wrong, he's a great actor, but his ego is huge.
Click to expand...
Exactly why he would have made the perfect -Traveling Narrator/Documentor-


#42

Jay

Jay

So many things I hate about this movie beyond the obvious they didn't give a fuck about the book beyond the name of the movie.

Pitt is a total miscast.
I hate how the preview shows you half the movie.
Hate the fact he's got children to drag with him along with his wife.
Zombies.... what the fuck is that? Horrible CGI, waves of them climbing faster on one another? Faster than 28 days later? What in the fuck?
EVERYTHING


#43

Silent Bob

Silent Bob

Jay said:
So many things I hate about this movie beyond the obvious they didn't give a fuck about the book beyond the name of the movie.

Pitt is a total miscast.
I hate how the preview shows you half the movie.
Hate the fact he's got children to drag with him along with his wife.
Zombies.... what the fuck is that? Horrible CGI, waves of them climbing faster on one another? Faster than 28 days later? What in the fuck?
EVERYTHING
Click to expand...

Yeah, the "wave" is pretty ridiculous. After seeing the trailer again, it's actually more reminiscent of the machine swarm from the Matrix Revolutions than the bugs from Starship Troopers.


#44

Jay

Jay

I was willing to accept the fact this movie wasn't going to meet expectations. I was willing to accept a mediocre yet watchable movie with some flaws and hope that my love for the books don't ruin my immersion in the movie... but it is a movie about zombies.... these aren't zombies.

C'est la crisse de merde


#45

checkeredhat

checkeredhat

I've said it before and I'll say it again. This should not have been made into a movie. It should have been made into a mini series, following the documentary format you usually see on the Space Network or the History Channel.

Aside from the fact this movie clearly has absolutely nothing in common with the book, it just plain doesn't look good. I'd be okay with them meandering away from Max Brooks' story if what they did was at least as good, but it really doesn't look like that's the case here. Bloody shame.


#46

phil

phil

Meh, I'll see it probably.

Is it WWZ? No. But I'll gladly see "Zombie Movie starring Brad Pitt"


#47

Far

Far

Pitt is producing, undoubtedly why he was cast.


#48

Frank

Frank

Yeah, count me into the really shitty zombie CGI department. They look really awful. The scenes with the zombies look like a fan made Left 4 Dead movie.

RIDE THE ZOMBIE WAAAAVE!


#49

Silent Bob

Silent Bob

Frank said:
Yeah, count me into the really shitty zombie CGI department. They look really awful. The scenes with the zombies look like a fan made Left 4 Dead movie.

RIDE THE ZOMBIE WAAAAVE!
Click to expand...

Look at the scene where they're all on the roof-top. The zombie that chases Brad Pitt to the helicopter doesn't even look like a zombie. He looks like a dude wearing make-up.


#50

Silent Bob

Silent Bob

I was really looking forward to something like this:



#51

rac3r_x

rac3r_x

Apparently this is the first in a trilogy.


#52

Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

rac3r_x said:
Apparently this is the first in a trilogy.
Click to expand...
:aaah:


#53

Gryfter

Gryfter

rac3r_x said:
Apparently this is the first in a trilogy.
Click to expand...
Shouldn't they wait for this to bomb before deciding it's a trilogy?


#54

Tress

Tress

Gryfter said:
Shouldn't they wait for this to bomb before deciding it's a trilogy?
Click to expand...
We can piss and moan all we want about zombie crowd physics, fast vs. slow zombies, and the virtues of the book over this trailer... but that's just going to be a bunch of nerdy white noise to everyone else. I guarantee this movie is going to be a massive hit.


#55

Silent Bob

Silent Bob

Tress said:
We can piss and moan all we want about zombie crowd physics, fast vs. slow zombies, and the virtues of the book over this trailer... but that's just going to be a bunch of nerdy white noise to everyone else. I guarantee this movie is going to be a massive hit.
Click to expand...

Probably.

I find it funny though. Usually with a trailer for a movie that's doing something different, the fandom is split into a war of it "looks good" and it "looks bad". Dark Knight for example. Here I think everyone is in agreement that this is a neck stomp on a really good novel.


#56

GasBandit

GasBandit

Jimmy Fallon and his audience: "Man this new Brad Pitt movie, World War Z, looks awesome!" "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"



#57

HowDroll

HowDroll

UGHHHHHHHHHHH. Fuck.

I haven't been this pissed off about anything since I heard Hollywood was planning a Buffy the Vampire slayer reboot movie without Joss Whedon or anyone from the original cast. What a fucking travesty.


#58

Espy

Espy

So is this basically a Brad Pitt Zombie movie that merely has taken the name of a good book I presume?


#59

Cajungal

Cajungal

Let's call it Zombiepile instead.


#60

Ravenpoe

Ravenpoe

Cajungal said:
Let's call it Zombiepile instead.
Click to expand...

Point Break... with Zombies.


#61

North_Ranger

North_Ranger

Interview with A Zombie


#62

Azurephoenix

Azurephoenix

I haven't read the WWZ book... and I still think this movie looks like a pile of shit.

The zombie wave is completely stupid. STUPID. It looks completely moronic and unbelievable. Hell, these zombies look like they're FASTER than people. Dumb.

I also love the giant pile of zombies clambering on top of eachother to climb the wall (looks like a ripoff of a certain scene from starship troopers).

BAD CGI IS BAD CGI! Seriously, can we just have some good practical makeup for zombies? I know they can do pretty magical things with latex appliances. Not everything needs to be stupid ass piss poor looking computer graphics.


#63

Espy

Espy

Couple things about CGI in trailers like this though 1) These are probably not final. The movie isn't out for a bit and even a few weeks/months can have a huge impact on the final look of stuff. 2) Even if it was final there's a good chance it will look way better on the big screen. Even a lot of good cgi looks crappy in a little youtube video.


#64

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

Espy said:
Couple things about CGI in trailers like this though 1) These are probably not final. The movie isn't out for a bit and even a few weeks/months can have a huge impact on the final look of stuff. 2) Even if it was final there's a good chance it will look way better on the big screen. Even a lot of good cgi looks crappy in a little youtube video.
Click to expand...
Why make that part of your debut trailer if it still needs work though? It's the first impression and what people are going to 99% of the time judge you based on.


#65

evilmike

evilmike

Gilgamesh said:
Why make that part of your debut trailer if it still needs work though? It's the first impression and what people are going to 99% of the time judge you based on.
Click to expand...
green meme2.jpg


#66

Necronic

Necronic

I have seen very few movies with Brad Pitt that were bad. Very few. He's not just a pretty face, he's a legitimate actor that knows what he is doing. I am going to hold my derision on the choices made here (like not making it follow the book or having fast zombies) and hope that this movie follows his HIGHLY succesful wheelhouse. I honestly would have a hard time finding an actor that has more consistently come out with GOOD (not just succesful) movies, except for maybe Tom Hanks.

This is the guy that produced:
Kick-Ass
Moneyball
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt for the time being.

And while I think that it's weird, the idea of the "zombie-wave" is kind of interesting, and in all honesty makes a lot more sense than zombies queuing up like a bunch of british pensioners. I mean, they are incredibly simple animals. They think like bugs basically, if even that. They swarm.


#67

GasBandit

GasBandit

Troy? Burn After Reading? A River Runs Through It? Cool World? Legends of the (urk, gak) Fall? Kalifornia?


#68

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

I agree with most of those, except Burn After Reading. It was neither a bad movie, nor a bad performance by Pitt.


#69

IronBrig4

IronBrig4

I liked a River Runs Through It.

Fast zombies aren't necessarily bad. In fact, Zombieland is one of my favorite movies. But one thing they kept emphasizing in the book was the fact that zombies are SLOW. They ditched a great script in exchange for a popcorn flick to compete with Iron Man 3.

Will this be a good zombie movie? Yeah, probably. It might even be a great movie. But it's not World War Z. Perhaps one day they'll take Stracynski's script and finally give it a shot.


#70

Espy

Espy

Gilgamesh said:
Why make that part of your debut trailer if it still needs work though? It's the first impression and what people are going to 99% of the time judge you based on.
Click to expand...
It happens all the time. Like I said, it's possible that the cgi would look better on a big screen, although I suspect this is just early stages stuff so it wouldn't.


#71

Bowielee

Bowielee

I'm sorry, but even without having read the books (and therefore have no care one way or the other how faithful it is), this just looks bad through and through. The idea of water-like waves of zombies, no matter how well done the CGI is is just stupid to me.


#72

Necronic

Necronic

Why? Why should zombies walk in an orderly manner?

It looks strange to me but when I really thought about it it does make sense that they would move like a swarm of beetles crawling over each other to get to the meat.


#73

GasBandit

GasBandit

Because I already had to use up my entire repertoire of mental gymnastics to accept "fast zombies" as a valid paradigm... "fast, smart zombies" might as well not be zombies.


#74

AshburnerX

AshburnerX

Zombies can ether be fast (Dawn of the Dead, 28 Days Later) or smart (Day of the Dead, Land of the Dead), but not both. When they are both, it raises the question how anyone can survive.


#75

GasBandit

GasBandit

AshburnerX said:
Zombies can ether be fast (Dawn of the Dead, 28 Days Later)
Click to expand...
The original dawn of the dead didn't feature fast zombies, that was just the zack snyder remake. 28 days later, they were living infected that eventually starve to death. Left 4 Dead made me begrudgingly accept this paradigm, but they will never be true archetypical zombies, meant to convey horror and dread through creeping inevitability.


#76

Bowielee

Bowielee

Necronic said:
Why? Why should zombies walk in an orderly manner?

It looks strange to me but when I really thought about it it does make sense that they would move like a swarm of beetles crawling over each other to get to the meat.
Click to expand...
Because what they're presenting if physically impossible. Beetles have multiple sticky legs, that's why they can swarm the way they do. If they did move in huge packs like this, it would result in a huge pile of disjointed bodies scraping over each other, not like waves of water.

It's F'n retarded.

If you want to go waste your money to see this dreck, be my guest. I've simply decided that I'm through supporting trash and will give them none of my money. There's a reason I've seen only a quarter of the films this year than I have in years past. The fact that we accept these shitty movies is the reason they keep getting made.


#77

Ravenpoe

Ravenpoe

GasBandit said:
they will never be true archetypical zombies
Click to expand...
Well, if we want to go by the CLASSICAL definition of a zombie, that being an undead servant risen by voodoo, then there hasn't been a true zombie movie since Weekend at Bernie's 2.


#78

bhamv3

bhamv3

AshburnerX said:
Zombies can ether be fast (Dawn of the Dead, 28 Days Later) or smart (Day of the Dead, Land of the Dead), but not both. When they are both, it raises the question how anyone can survive.
Click to expand...
I am Legend got into that. Well, the movie version did. AFAIK the book's monsters didn't count as zombies.

Also, a zombie would not feel fatigue, or pain, or any need to conserve energy or maintain their own well being. So to me it makes sense that zombies would be able to sprint faster and longer than humans.

Having said that, though, if I wanted to watch Left 4 Dead: The Movie, I would just go play Left 4 Dead.


#79

Silent Bob

Silent Bob

IronBrig4 said:
I liked a River Runs Through It.

Fast zombies aren't necessarily bad. In fact, Zombieland is one of my favorite movies. But one thing they kept emphasizing in the book was the fact that zombies are SLOW. They ditched a great script in exchange for a popcorn flick to compete with Iron Man 3.

Will this be a good zombie movie? Yeah, probably. It might even be a great movie. But it's not World War Z. Perhaps one day they'll take Stracynski's script and finally give it a shot.
Click to expand...
Just emphasizing? I think the entire plot of World War Z and the Z - survival guide revolves around slow zombies.


#80

Espy

Espy

Silent Bob said:
Just emphasizing? I think the entire plot of World War Z and the Z - survival guide revolves around slow zombies.
Click to expand...
This pretty obviously has no connection to the book anymore. It's a Brad Pitt Action Movie Extravaganza. Be that good or bad, it's what it is now.


#81

Bowielee

Bowielee

bhamv3 said:
I am Legend got into that. Well, the movie version did. AFAIK the book's monsters didn't count as zombies.

Also, a zombie would not feel fatigue, or pain, or any need to conserve energy or maintain their own well being. So to me it makes sense that zombies would be able to sprint faster and longer than humans.

Having said that, though, if I wanted to watch Left 4 Dead: The Movie, I would just go play Left 4 Dead.
Click to expand...
The monsters in the book were vampires.


#82

evilmike

evilmike

Bowielee said:
The monsters in the book were vampires.
Click to expand...
Wasn't the monster in the book human? ;)


#83

Jay

Jay

No point in complaining as the movie is set and done. I had a high promise on the movie after I read the book but was apprehensive that Pitt was attached. Saw the trailer, not interested.

I'll watch it when it comes on the Movie Network though.


#84

Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

IronBrig4 said:
They ditched a great script in exchange for a popcorn flick to compete with Iron Man 3.
Click to expand...
If the release date for this is actually running up against Iron Man 3, I don't think be seeing the returns they were hoping for.


#85



Jamesdawn

I am not big fan of horror movies. But i will watch this movie because Brad Pitt is playing the role as Gerry Lane and i am big fan of Brad Pitt.


#86

bhamv3

bhamv3

Jamesdawn said:
I am not big fan of horror movies. But i will watch this movie because Brad Pitt is playing the role as Gerry Lane and i am big fan of Brad Pitt.
Click to expand...
But to watch Brad Pitt playing the role as Gerry Lane, and you are big fan of Brad Pitt, you must sit through horror movie. Worth it exchange?


#87

Tress

Tress

New trailer:


#88

Frank

Frank

Fart noises.


#89

Silent Bob

Silent Bob

Frank said:
Fart noises.
Click to expand...


#90

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

I feel like grabbing a surfboard and riding that wave, dude!


#91

Azurephoenix

Azurephoenix

Pile of doody.


#92

CynicismKills

CynicismKills

Let's take a book with a great narrative style, license it, and then throw out everything that made it interesting.

Brilliant.


#93

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

The funny thing? The whole "zombies crawling over the dead bodies of each other up a wall" bit? That's actually in the book.

Except they do it slowly, many of them slip, trip, or stumble. And it's still scary not because they're fast (which they're not), but because of the sheer number of them that just keep coming.


#94

CynicismKills

CynicismKills

Yeah, it's just doing it like this is so sad. I actually listened to the audiobook, and it's fantastic. Listening to the doctor who treated patient Zero, the families stranded out in the cold, Mark Hammil as the army vet who fought in one of the last pushes of undead extermination...it was all so compelling. But this just looks like another disaster-porn setpiece-by-setpiece movie.


#95

Jay

Jay

....BWAAAAAMMMMM ... <close-up of brad pitt's face>
... BWAAAAMMMMMM ... <cgi zombies at superspeed climbing onto eachother like athletes during the olympics>
... BWAAAMMMMMMM ... <needless romantic other saying 2 words like "Come back!"?
... BWAAAAMMMMMMMMMM ... <WATCH OUT, death count clock is rising with supreme accuracy>
... BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMM ...

WHAT THE FUCK!


They should have made an HBO series out of this, not this run of the mill cheap CGI family summer thriller bullshit.


Season 1 - "The Great Panic"

Open as the book does in the rural China. Move to the different settings where the outbreak started the most fierce, focusing on individual stories of survival this could include, the initial outbreak in South Africa, China (as it is supposed in the book,) the kid in Japan and so on. This would end with China's plan and the begin the Submarine story, General Rajh Singh and the last stand in India. Epic battle at Yonkers would make such a great ending to season 1. Include a few but very few regular heroes and focus on story.

Season 2 - "The Redeker Plan"

Open with Israel and the Middle East and their solution of self Quarantine, move on to things like the Russian Decimations, the Chinese wall of humanity solution. The American retreat west, the floating cities as witnessed by the Chinese Sub. The Indian final trek across the Himalayas bringing back General Raj Singh. This season would include the great human survival stories, the air pilot, the Russian Priest, the stories of the "safe zones" and the patrols there. The battle on the Pyramids in Mexico. Season ending is set at the Hawaii conference and the new U.N and lots of drama between nations.

Season 3 - "Total War"

Covering the stories of reclamation. Starting with France with a creepy scene of the French Divers going into the catacombs and the Z's swarming them. Initially focus on the Chinese sub's conclusion since its awesome. Have the stories of the K's, the Chinese Revolution, the "Mad Max" like bunkers and warlords across the US and Cubas new found affluence. It would move to the war effort in Russia and America but I think that it would be something like the battlefronts where they start moving, and then wrap it up in a jump to the Future. Add drama as fuck and this could easily extend another season if the rating are high.

And then... ... BWAAAAMMMMMM ...


... BWAAAAMMMMMM ...

... BWAAAAMMMMMM ...

... BWAAAAMMMMMM ...

... BWAAAAMMMMMM ...

... BWAAAAMMMMMM ...


#96

Necronic

Necronic

Does the wave of zombies look different or is it just me?


#97

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

Necronic said:
Does the wave of zombies look different or is it just me?
Click to expand...
The one they showed in the first trailer was likely before they were finished gussying up the CGI.


#98

Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

The animators really loved their floppy body effect.


#99

Frank

Frank

It continues to look ridiculous.


#100

IronBrig4

IronBrig4



#101

Necronic

Necronic

I dunno. I'm still holding out. You would have to be stupid to have thought they could have remained very true to the book. It's too big. But it does look like they are taking the global perspective. I wonder if Pitt is supposed to be the Man with the Plan (whatever his name was) in the books, or some version of him.


#102

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

Necronic said:
I dunno. I'm still holding out. You would have to be stupid to have thought they could have remained very true to the book. It's too big.
Click to expand...
That's not the problem, the problem is that it could have been done documentary style with amazing stories from around the globe. Pitt could have easily been the narrator/interviewer. It was an easy and perfect set-up ruined by Hollywood execs wanting Michael Bay style films.[/quote]


#103

Necronic

Necronic

There is no way you could fit that documentary into 1.5 hours.


#104

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

Necronic said:
There is no way you could fit that documentary into 1.5 hours.
Click to expand...
They didn't have to cover every single story. Just keep the premise of what made the book so fascinating.


#105

Necronic

Necronic

They could do justice to maybe 3 stories. Which would have sucked. The whole premise of the story was that there were so many stories, so many angles. What do you cut? The New York/Hollywood House? The Canadian stories? The South African stories? Or maybe the stuff talking about the cleanup/Colin Powell? Or the Israel/Palestine stuff, or the stuff on the boats in India? Yonkers? Pick 3 of these and make it as good as the book. You can't.

Each one of these plays off the other to create a tapestry of the human experience. You can't remove most of them and have it still work.


#106

Tress

Tress

Of course, they could have gone the Peter Jackson route.* They could have kept almost everything in, cut the whole thing into three separate movies, market the whole thing as a trilogy, and (if it was done well) reap the profits.

*I'm thinking Lord of the Rings, not The Hobbit.


#107

Charlie Don't Surf

Charlie Don't Surf

I don't get the backlash. I thought Walking Dead has proven that y'all will watch literally anything with zombies in it, no matter - how bad the plot is, how uninteresting every character is, and how community theater the acting is?


#108

Tress

Tress

Charlie Don't Surf said:
I don't get the backlash. I thought Walking Dead has proven that y'all will watch literally anything with zombies in it, no matter - how bad the plot is, how uninteresting every character is, and how community theater the acting is?
Click to expand...
Take your smug, hipster bullshit somewhere else, asshole.


#109

Charlie Don't Surf

Charlie Don't Surf

Tress said:
Take your smug, hipster bullshit somewhere else, asshole.
Click to expand...
keep going, I'm almost there[DOUBLEPOST=1364309757][/DOUBLEPOST]also for the record, "yall" isn't halforums, but just the buzz/internet community at large.


#110

Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

Charlie Don't Surf said:
also for the record, "yall" isn't halforums, but just the buzz/internet community at large.
Click to expand...
Sure.


#111

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

Necronic said:
Each one of these plays off the other to create a tapestry of the human experience. You can't remove most of them and have it still work.
Click to expand...
That's just it, they removed all of it and made this instead.


#112

Espy

Espy

Charlie, stop the blatent trolling. Everyone else don't comment on it. If it stops everyone gets to keep hating this movie nicely. If it doesn't then... you know the drill.


#113

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

Charlie Don't Surf said:
keep going, I'm almost there
Click to expand...
First of all, Charlie, thank you. *very deep, emotional hug* Because of this comment, I can finally, finally, finally say this without it being self-depreciating because...

SOUNDS LIKE MY PROM NIGHT! :D


#114

AshburnerX

AshburnerX

Gilgamesh said:
That's just it, they removed all of it and made this instead.
Click to expand...
Basically this. They were provided with a script that would have done justice to the source material but instead they opted to re-write the entire thing and turn it into summer block buster to make a shitload of money. When your choosing money over awards, your studio is ether on the brink of collapse or populated by idiots.


#115

Charlie Don't Surf

Charlie Don't Surf

AshburnerX said:
Basically this. They were provided with a script that would have done justice to the source material
Click to expand...
Is the script public anywhere? I'm not asking this to troll, I'd honestly be interested in reading it.

ashburnerx said:
When your choosing money over awards, your studio is ether on the brink of collapse or populated by idiots.
Click to expand...
Having different priorities doesn't make you an idiot. If they choose money over awards, and then make a shitload of money, they did what they wanted and succeeded.


#116

AshburnerX

AshburnerX

Charlie Don't Surf said:
Is the script public anywhere? I'm not asking this to troll, I'd honestly be interested in reading it.
Click to expand...
The version I'm talking about was leaked online sometime in 2008. You want the one by J. Michael Straczynski, not the one rewritten by Matthew Michael Carnahan.


#117

Necronic

Necronic

I also would like to see the script, because it doesn't look like they scrapped everything in the book to make this movie. I'm still seein national scale responses and somethig similar to the Orange Plan or whatever it was called. Where can I find the script that you guys have all read?


#118

Charlie Don't Surf

Charlie Don't Surf

It's illegal / leaked. I'm not going to try to find it during work hours


#119

blotsfan

blotsfan

ThatNickGuy said:
First of all, Charlie, thank you. *very deep, emotional hug* Because of this comment, I can finally, finally, finally say this without it being self-depreciating because...

SOUNDS LIKE MY PROM NIGHT! :D
Click to expand...
Thats what you said to the driver of the car you hitchhiked in after being thrown out of the limo?


#120

Frank

Frank

http://movies.yahoo.com/news/brad-pitts-world-war-z-200-million-production-203112362.html

Ha ha ha, holy shit this movie sounds like it's going to be a real winner (I mean, it will be financially, because ZOMBIES !).

Choice quotes

"It was, like, wow. The ending of our movie doesn't work," Evans recalled after watching a director's cut of the blockbuster hopeful. "I believed in that moment we needed to reshoot the movie."
Click to expand...
Incomplete script, an incoherent ending, massive re-shoots, millions of dollars in budget overages, and even a Hungarian SWAT team raid are apparently just a few of the issues plaguing Pitt's troubled production
Click to expand...


#121

Jay

Jay

Too bad he didn't stick to the script of the book.


#122

Tress

Tress

Jay said:
Too bad he didn't stick to the script of the book.
Click to expand...
Typical Hollywood stupidity: people really love the source material for our new movie, so we decided to change everything.


#123

fade

fade

I agree this looks terrible. I've resisted entering this discussion so far because I didn't really think much of the book either, and I know how much you guys like dissenting opinions. But geez, when you've pared your movie down to the most interesting 90 seconds and it still looks like crap, that doesn't bode well.


#124

Frank

Frank

fade said:
I agree this looks terrible. I've resisted entering this discussion so far because I didn't really think much of the book either, and I know how much you guys like dissenting opinions. But geez, when you've pared your movie down to the most interesting 90 seconds and it still looks like crap, that doesn't bode well.
Click to expand...
The book wasn't high literature but it was definitely a fun, compelling read in my opinion. I have no idea how you'd turn it into a movie. Obviously Pitt and company didn't either.


#125

Jay

Jay

fade said:
I've resisted entering this discussion so far because I didn't really think much of the book either... STOPPED READING CAUSE FADE
Click to expand...
5Ev4QQ6.gif


#126

checkeredhat

checkeredhat

Frank said:
The book wasn't high literature but it was definitely a fun, compelling read in my opinion. I have no idea how you'd turn it into a movie. Obviously Pitt and company didn't either.
Click to expand...
You don't. You turn it into a miniseries. But that'd never do for someone like Brad Pitt.


#127

Necronic

Necronic

It may have been hard to make a miniseries out of it with Walking Dead already out, but its a better platform.


#128

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

I just don't understand. They HAD a really great script by J. Michael Straczynski, which was getting some great buzz, including possible Best Picture possibilities. It was stylistically compared with Children of Men, which is pretty appropriate for the book. Now it just looks like a crap boom fest, instead of engaging character profiles and political commentary.

It's one thing to badly adapt a book into a movie. That happens all the time. It's another to actually have a well-received script adaptation and then scrap it to make something terrible.


#129

Frank

Frank

ThatNickGuy said:
I just don't understand. They HAD a really great script by J. Michael Straczynski, which was getting some great buzz, including possible Best Picture possibilities. It was stylistically compared with Children of Men, which is pretty appropriate for the book. Now it just looks like a crap boom fest, instead of engaging character profiles and political commentary.

It's one thing to badly adapt a book into a movie. That happens all the time. It's another to actually have a well-received script adaptation and then scrap it to make something terrible.
Click to expand...
Damon Lindelof.


#130

AshburnerX

AshburnerX

ThatNickGuy said:
I just don't understand. They HAD a really great script by J. Michael Straczynski, which was getting some great buzz, including possible Best Picture possibilities. It was stylistically compared with Children of Men, which is pretty appropriate for the book. Now it just looks like a crap boom fest, instead of engaging character profiles and political commentary.

It's one thing to badly adapt a book into a movie. That happens all the time. It's another to actually have a well-received script adaptation and then scrap it to make something terrible.
Click to expand...
It's what happens when the people running the movie studios don't know anything about the product they put out. It's the same problem going on in the video game industry. They are trying to turn a creative endeavor into a BUSINESS, which is why the products are crap.


#131

Tress

Tress

AshburnerX said:
It's what happens when the people running the movie studios don't know anything about the product they put out.
Click to expand...
That has nothing to do with what happened. This was a calculated move on their part. They believe a dumb action flick will earn them more money than a moving drama. It's not that they don't know anything about the product, but rather they know the movie audience so well that they know people will buy tickets to a PG-13 action flick more than an R rated drama with action elements.


#132

Jay

Jay

I hope this shit bombs.


#133

Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

Considering the shitstorm going on behind the scenes with the finances, I'm not sure how Paramount will be doing afterward if this movie tanks.


#134

checkeredhat

checkeredhat

Quotemander Prime said:
Considering the shitstorm going on behind the scenes with the finances, I'm not sure how Paramount will be doing afterward if this movie tanks.
Click to expand...
Well, they're also in charge of Star Trek Into Darkness. So They'll probably be alright.


#135

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler

ThatNickGuy said:
I just don't understand. They HAD a really great script by J. Michael Straczynski, which was getting some great buzz, including possible Best Picture possibilities. It was stylistically compared with Children of Men, which is pretty appropriate for the book.
Click to expand...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_of_Men
Despite a limited release and low earnings at the box office compared to its budget,
Click to expand...
Children of Men was a good story and was nominated for tons of awards. It made crap at the box office. Most film-making studios are in the business of making money, not art.


#136

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

The limited release likely didn't help it, I imagine. Plus, World War Z is much more well known to the general public as a book first. But yeah, I know. Doesn't mean I have to like it. :(


#137

Silent Bob

Silent Bob

ThatNickGuy said:
The limited release likely didn't help it, I imagine. Plus, World War Z is much more well known to the general public as a book first. But yeah, I know. Doesn't mean I have to like it. :(
Click to expand...
Nope. I disagree. I believe limited release has nothing to do with it (or is at least influenced by what I'm about to say). The general public is genuinely stupid, and corporate popcorn flicks sell more than art films ergo most "good" films are often limited release.

For example, there's been this ongoing debate about why Adam Sandler keeps pumping out stupid movies despite actually having shown a degree of quality acting range. Spanglish (while not Gone with the Wind) is considered a respectable drama: $55,041,367 worldwide revenue. Grown Ups is pretty dumbed down with a shallow plot and one dimensional characters (it's fun don't get me wrong): $271,430,189 worldwide.

People don't want to see insightful films that make them question the value of their lives; see triumphs or failures of the human spirit, or think about what it means to be human/explore art/ peer into various genre. They want sex, low-brow toilet humor, and violence. And, yes, I realize some low-brow stuff is great too, but I really wish that a serious source material that actually does attempt to make literary insight into societal structure etc. would be adapted as such to the big screen. Unfortunately, studio execs translate movie earnings like Grown Ups into movie adaptations like World War Z.



#138

Zappit

Zappit

There's one thing, and only one thing, that stands any chance of saving this movie. Somebody needs to actually surf on the zombie tidal wave.


#139

Tress

Tress

Here's the summary from Rotten Tomatoes:
It's uneven -- and fans of the book may be annoyed by how thoroughly it diverges from the source material -- but World War Z still brings smart, fast-moving thrills and a solid performance from Brad Pitt to the zombie genre.
Click to expand...
Currently at a "69% Fresh" rating.


#140

bhamv3

bhamv3

Why couldn't they have called it anything other than World War Z then? It feels almost like deception.


#141

strawman

strawman

bhamv3 said:
Why couldn't they have called it anything other than World War Z then? It feels almost like deception.
Click to expand...
I, Robot.
The Help.
The Bourne Identity.

movie =/= book


#142

bhamv3

bhamv3

stienman said:
I, Robot.
The Help.
The Bourne Identity.

movie =/= book
Click to expand...
True, true.

And yet, all of those movies kept the fundamental themes and characteristics of the books intact. World War Z, from what I've heard, largely does not.


#143

Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

My mom wanted to see this from the trailer, until she found out from a co-worker that it's a zombie movie.

Before that, she couldn't tell.

I can't blame her.


#144

strawman

strawman

I had the same problem - it wasn't until the end that they hint at it. Until then it just seems like yet another action dad leaving his family to save the world.


#145

Tress

Tress

I'm sure that was done on purpose, since obviously some people have reservations about the zombie genre.

I've decided to go see it tonight. I'll post my thoughts afterward, from the perspective of someone who loved the book.


#146

Tress

Tress

So. That was... interesting. I'm still refining my opinion of the film (I may like it more/less as time passes), but here are my early thoughts.

Potential spoilers ahoy!

First of all, this is NOT World War Z. Not in the book sense, anyway. I loved the novel, and this has very little to do with it. If you go in expecting it to stay true to the source material, you will be disappointed.
  • The zombies are fast.
  • There is some attempt to travel and interview people to find the source of the story's events. However, it has a "race against the clock" slapdash element to it, whereas the book focused on a more intellectual and methodical approach to explaining how things went down.
  • Many of the fascinating side stories, the ones that really gave the book its character, are largely absent. This is the Brad Pitt Show, and only The Brad Pitt Show.
  • This is a fast-paced, action-packed adventure. The drama and struggle of what human society means is gone.
Now, if you are willing to put aside the fact that this has little to do with the book, you may find yourself entertained. The story is solid despite a few logical potholes that create bumps along the way. The actors are believable and effective, though no one is getting an Oscar nomination from this. The action sequences are quite good overall. The movie does a good job creating tension. You may even get a few effective jump scares along the way.

The zombie wave we complained about was not as bad as it seemed in the trailer. It was only in a handful of scenes. Either they tightened it up, or the big screen makes it better. Having said that, there are two distinctly ridiculous moments with the zombies and how they break past defenses. To go along with that, there are moments where conflicts in the story are resolved in way-too-convenient ways. This is even more true for the end, which involves some questionable science and a silly amount of luck that pushed way past my ability to suspend belief.

In summary, this is a big-budget remake of 28 Days Later or 28 Weeks Later. Aside from the title, it has very little to do with the book. However, it's a good flick with a few minor flaws. I would give it a B-, maybe a B.[DOUBLEPOST=1371806216][/DOUBLEPOST]Oh, and don't bother with 3D. It was the only option for me, but I don't feel it added anything to the experience (surprise, surprise). If you want to see this and have the choice, just go with standard format instead of 3D.


#147

AshburnerX

AshburnerX

So what your saying is that if this wasn't called World War Z it would be a decent movie. But because it is, it's a fucking travesty? I can accept that.


#148

Tress

Tress

AshburnerX said:
So what your saying is that if this wasn't called World War Z it would be a decent movie. But because it is, it's a fucking travesty?
Click to expand...
That's a huge exaggeration. I'm just saying that it does not have much to do with the book, so if you are specifically looking for a faithful adaptation you will be disappointed. If you can ignore all that, it's a good movie.


#149

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

AshburnerX said:
So what your saying is that if this wasn't called World War Z it would be a decent movie. But because it is, it's a fucking travesty? I can accept that.
Click to expand...
Pretty much, yes.


#150

AshburnerX

AshburnerX

Tress said:
That's a huge exaggeration. I'm just saying that it does not have much to do with the book, so if you are specifically looking for a faithful adaptation you will be disappointed. If you can ignore all that, it's a good movie.
Click to expand...
Considering this movie is probably going to kill any chance we ever had of getting a faithful adaption of the book, I'd probably say it's still a travesty. They took out all the stuff I cared about and replaced with it with mindless shlock.


#151

IronBrig4

IronBrig4

I saw it tonight. As far as zombie flicks go... not bad at all. Compared to the adaptation, though? Complete crapola.


#152

Just Me

Just Me

I haven't seen it and I surely won't see it, but here's The Oatmeal's Venn diagram for it: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/wwz



#153

SpecialKO

SpecialKO

Is it worth seeing in theater versus watching at home? Keep in mind that movies are $12-15 where I am.

I can make my peace with the idea that it's representing itself as something it's not, as long as it's entertaining and relatively decent.


#154

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

Because the book was popular enough that we wanted to make a movie out of it... that had nothing to do with the book.

Ahh Hollywood execs, how smart you are.


#155

Tress

Tress

SpecialKO said:
Is it worth seeing in theater versus watching at home? Keep in mind that movies are $12-15 where I am.
Click to expand...
Assuming you have a decent television and entertainment setup, I would say it can wait until it's on blu-ray or whatever you use to watch movies at home. It's entertaining, but it's not something you must see in theaters.


#156

GasBandit

GasBandit

Gilgamesh said:
Because the book was popular enough that we wanted to make a movie out of it... that had nothing to do with the book.

Ahh Hollywood execs, how smart you are.
Click to expand...
Big fuckin' spider.


#157

Tress

Tress

Just Me said:
I haven't seen it and I surely won't see it, but here's The Oatmeal's Venn diagram for it: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/wwz
Click to expand...
Wow, that sums it up perfectly.


#158

IronBrig4

IronBrig4

Movies are $4.50 here if you have a student ID, so I didn't mind watching it in theaters. It's not worth $12-15 by any means.

Apparently they had to change the outbreak's origin. In the book, the first zombies are from China. The studio executives decided to meddle and relocate the outbreak's origin so Chinese censors wouldn't ban the film. Chinese audiences are now a force to be considered. They didn't register a blip on the radar screen back when they were melting down their own cookware for the Great Leap Forward.


#159

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

So I watched it today for free thanks to some friends in the Drafthouse, which I usually do when there's a movie I want to watch but not give any money to the studio.

As a standard movie: 3.5/5 or 7.5/10
As a horror movie: 2.5/5 or 5.5/10
As a zombie movie: 2/5 or 5/10
As a World War Z adaptation: 0.5/5 or 2/10

It was a nail biting thriller, hence the higher rating as a standard movie.
There was little to no horror in it, hence the lower.
The zombies were barely shown and the ones that were left much to be desired, hence even lower.
The reason I didn't flat out give it a 0 as a WWZ adaptation were due to very very small nods to the book such as calling them Zekes and using bicycles to help with sound at one point. The end.


#160

Frank

Frank

So, all in all, you give it 1 7th and 3 32nds out of 128 bits and a half?

Oh I like this one better.

Gil writes Polygon's first movie review.


#161

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

Frank said:
So, all in all, you give it 1 7th and 3 32nds out of 128 bits and a half?

Oh I like this one better.

Gil writes Polygon's first movie review.
Click to expand...
Well I was going for the 5 star vs 10 star review style.


#162

Cog

Cog

Now this is a movie 100% different to the original book and I don't perceive even a fraction of the hate produced by Transformers, GIJoe or TMNT.


#163

Bowielee

Bowielee

bhamv3 said:
True, true.

And yet, all of those movies kept the fundamental themes and characteristics of the books intact. World War Z, from what I've heard, largely does not.
Click to expand...
You watched I, Robot, right?


#164

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

Cog said:
Now this is a movie 100% different to the original book and I don't perceive even a fraction of the hate produced by Transformers, GIJoe or TMNT.
Click to expand...
That's because it stands alone as a decent film as opposed to the others. I went in expecting NOTHING of WWZ and got a decent film out of it. Same with GIJOE.

TF on the other hand? Was just a bad film regardless.


#165

Tress

Tress

From Rotten Tomatoes:
This Week's Top Story


SEQUELS POSSIBLE FOR APOCALYPTIC HITS WORLD WAR Z AND THIS IS THE END

Destruction is a big thing this summer. Man of Steel is the most obvious, and where most of the press goes, but it's not the only movie to score well at the box office in June with calamitous events, and it's not the only such movie with sequel buzz either. After months of pre-release bad buzz about reshoots (and a six month release delay), World War Z opened this past weekend to $66 million in North America, and $111.8 million worldwide. Paramount Pictures is claiming it as "the best opening for an original live-action tentpole since Avatar," which is a bit weird because it was based on a bestselling novel. Anyway, there's been talk for a while of a possible World War Z trilogy, and those numbers were enough for Paramount and Brad Pitt's Plan B to officially start development on a sequel. All of this is arguably at least partly due to the surprisingly positive reviews for World War Z, and they were possibly due to the drastic changes to the film's plot. This link tells you about added scenes in the first hour of the film, and this detailed article describes the completely different third act. It also explains why that one guy looked like Matthew Fox. The quasi-reality-based apocalyptic comedy This is the End has also been quietly doing well (opening to over $20 million against Man of Steel), and Seth Rogen's codirector Evan Goldberg is already talking up his idea for what a sequel could be like, which sounds like it veers crazily off into movie-within-a-movie territory. Which is not to say that a sequel has actually been greenlit, of course (but it's at least being talked about).
Click to expand...
(emphasis mine)[DOUBLEPOST=1372485651][/DOUBLEPOST]Wow, the ending they describe in that link is fucking terrible. If that really was what they planned on using I understand why they did the re-shoot.


#166

bhamv3

bhamv3

Ok, just got back from it. The wife wanted to see it, and I tend to do what my wife says.

Short review: Average movie, not great, but not horrible. However, it could have made an awesome Left 4 Dead: The Movie. Seriously, just a few tweaks and it would've made a lot of L4D fans jizz in their pants.


#167

Frank

Frank

Gilgamesh said:
Well I was going for the 5 star vs 10 star review style.
Click to expand...
It was just more me making fun of Polygon's constantly changing review scores.[DOUBLEPOST=1372487088][/DOUBLEPOST]
Tress said:
From Rotten Tomatoes:


(emphasis mine)[DOUBLEPOST=1372485651][/DOUBLEPOST]Wow, the ending they describe in that link is fucking terrible. If that really was what they planned on using I understand why they did the re-shoot.
Click to expand...
How the fuck do you make a sequel to This is the End?

Spoiler alert, it's about the apocalypse.


#168

Tress

Tress

Frank said:
How the fuck do you make a sequel to This is the End?

Spoiler alert, it's about the apocalypse.
Click to expand...
Seth Rogen wakes up, sees James Franco in the shower, and realizes it was all a dream?


#169

CrimsonSoul

CrimsonSoul

Tress said:
Seth Rogen wakes up, sees James Franco in the shower, and realizes it was all a dream?
Click to expand...
Yeah it could be like final destination! He was suppose to die but because of the rain is in now death is out to get him during the apocalypse or something stupid like that


#170

Necronic

Necronic

86% by viewers on rotten tomatos (67 by critics, many who complain abou the book.) Ok so they bastardized the book. But is this another case of fanboy hate that can't appreciate the movie as an independant work? I mean, ok why is it independent but has the same name. I always felt the book was more or less unfilmable.

But yeah. 86% by viewers. That's probably not a bad movie.


#171

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

Necronic said:
But yeah. 86% by viewers. That's probably not a bad movie.
Click to expand...
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/twilight/

You were saying? ;)


#172

Necronic

Necronic

42% of critics != 67%

You were saying?


#173

AshburnerX

AshburnerX

Necronic said:
42% of critics != 67%

You were saying?
Click to expand...
It's still only a D+. You show that grade to any parent and they'd ground their kid.


#174

Necronic

Necronic

I'm just saying that the combined total of 67 vs 86 will be does not really indicate a bad movie in any way.


#175

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

Necronic said:
42% of critics != 67%

You were saying?
Click to expand...
But yeah. 86% by viewers. That's probably not a bad movie.
Click to expand...
That was your quote. That's what I quoted in my post. That was the comparison of my link. Had nothing to do with critic response.


#176

Necronic

Necronic

Ok fair enough. I'm just not willing to write it off because it deviates from the book. The book was effectively unwriteable, and apparently it does follow one main shared theme of "this is what happens when civilization collapses overnight"


#177

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

Necronic said:
Ok fair enough. I'm just not willing to write it off because it deviates from the book. The book was effectively unwriteable, and apparently it does follow one main shared theme of "this is what happens when civilization collapses overnight"
Click to expand...
Oh I didn't write it off for that either. I gave it the reviews I did for reasons completely unrelated to the book.


#178

bhamv3

bhamv3

It's not a bad movie, to be honest, but I don't think it's a great one either. It's pretty average and forgettable. It's got spectacular visuals, and the cast's acting is pretty good, but the plot and the writing are lackluster, and some of the directing choices were baffling. For example,

The scene where Gerry's trapped in the freezer, and there's a zombie outside waiting for him. Every time the zombie did that clicking thing with his teeth, the audience in my theater cracked up. Completely ruined any possible tension in that scene.


#179

Tress

Tress

bhamv3 said:
It's not a bad movie, to be honest, but I don't think it's a great one either. It's pretty average and forgettable. It's got spectacular visuals, and the cast's acting is pretty good, but the plot and the writing are lackluster, and some of the directing choices were baffling. For example,

The scene where Gerry's trapped in the freezer, and there's a zombie outside waiting for him. Every time the zombie did that clicking thing with his teeth, the audience in my theater cracked up. Completely ruined any possible tension in that scene.
Click to expand...
Then you were surrounded by a shitty audience. Nothing like that happened in the theater I attended.


#180

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

No Tress he's right. My theater was laughing every time the zombie did the clicking thing too.


#181

CynicismKills

CynicismKills

Haven't seen it, don't plan to, but I've heard from a few friends that happened in their theater too (as well as on other message boards).


#182

Bowielee

Bowielee

I don't know, I originally raged against I, Robot, but once I was able to divorce it completely from the Isaac Asimov books, it was actually a pretty decent flick.


#183

Ravenpoe

Ravenpoe

Bowielee said:
I don't know, I originally raged against I, Robot, but once I was able to divorce it completely from the Isaac Asimov books, it was actually a pretty decent flick.
Click to expand...





#184

Bowielee

Bowielee

I'm not getting the first image, only the one from Wayne's World.


#185

Ravenpoe

Ravenpoe

Bowielee said:
I'm not getting the first image, only the one from Wayne's World.
Click to expand...
It's not showing up? I'll rehost it.


#186

Bowielee

Bowielee

Better.


#187

Tress

Tress

Gilgamesh said:
No Tress he's right. My theater was laughing every time the zombie did the clicking thing too.
Click to expand...
Like I said, I missed out because I was in a shitty theater where no one did that. Geez, can't you guys read?


#188

Charlie Don't Surf

Charlie Don't Surf

just rollin up to say that Rotten Tomatoes' percentage isn't like. a grade on how good it is. It's measuring what percentage of reviewers liked it. A movie could get 80% and almost all of that 80% is like "eh, it was alright" and a movie could get 60% and everyone that didn't like it, thought it was the worst thing ever made.


#189

Tress

Tress

Charlie Don't Surf said:
just rollin up to say that Rotten Tomatoes' percentage isn't like. a grade on how good it is. It's measuring what percentage of reviewers liked it. A movie could get 80% and almost all of that 80% is like "eh, it was alright" and a movie could get 60% and everyone that didn't like it, thought it was the worst thing ever made.
Click to expand...
I'm just so glad you came by to explain that, since I'm incapable of rational thought or basic levels of understanding. Were it not for your condescending lecture on the simple system RT uses, I might have gone through life thinking that a number on a website was a natural law. Thank you, Charlie. Thank you.


#190

Ravenpoe

Ravenpoe

Tress said:
I'm just so glad you came by to explain that, since I'm incapable of rational thought or basic levels of understanding. Were it not for your condescending lecture on the simple system RT uses, I might have gone through life thinking that a number on a website was a natural law. Thank you, Charlie. Thank you.
Click to expand...


AshburnerX said:
It's still only a D+. You show that grade to any parent and they'd ground their kid.
Click to expand...
Charlie just hates to use quotes when he replies to a single comment a page back.


#191

Charlie Don't Surf

Charlie Don't Surf

quotes are for boats, dock 'em at the bay


#192

Bowielee

Bowielee

Tress said:
I'm just so glad you came by to explain that, since I'm incapable of rational thought or basic levels of understanding. Were it not for your condescending lecture on the simple system RT uses, I might have gone through life thinking that a number on a website was a natural law. Thank you, Charlie. Thank you.
Click to expand...
Honestly, I'm all for calling Charlie on his douchebaggery, but his post was perfectly civil.


#193

Bowielee

Bowielee

If there's condescension in that post, you're putting it there. If you keep jumping on Charlie's posts when they're civil, it's not going to encourage him to do it very often.


#194

Dave

Dave

I saw this movie Saturday and went in knowing it would be nothing like the book, so I just didn't worry about it.

I liked it to an extent. It was different from your normal zombie movies for a number of reasons, but the biggest is the tone & focus of the movie. Because the dead aren't rising (a person who is not infected dies they stay dead) and this is due to a virus of sorts, the movie was not about X number of people trying to get to safety and just survive. The movie is about Brad Pitt's mission to backtrack and find where Patient Zero originated and see if there was an underlying reason and possible cure. And that changes the whole genre. I can't think of another zombie movie where the focus wasn't just survival. (There may be one - I'm not the biggest Zombie movie guy.)

So I liked that it was different, even though
the plane crash where only the two people we know survived was very Giant Eagle.


#195

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

Bowielee said:
If there's condescension in that post, you're putting it there. If you keep jumping on Charlie's posts when they're civil, it's not going to encourage him to do it very often.
Click to expand...
No matter what you respond to Charlie, he's always going to post the same way. Even when you correct him with facts against his made-up opinions, he will just move on and continue saying the same things in another thread. You should know that by now.


#196

Bowielee

Bowielee

Gilgamesh said:
No matter what you respond to Charlie, he's always going to post the same way. Even when you correct him with facts against his made-up opinions, he will just move on and continue saying the same things in another thread. You should know that by now.
Click to expand...
Would you two just get it over with and screw already?


#197

Ravenpoe

Ravenpoe

Bowielee said:
Would you two just get it over with and screw already?
Click to expand...

I feel this needs to happen, now.


#198

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

Bowielee said:
Would you two just get it over with and screw already?
Click to expand...
I would, but he's not my type. Still though, funniest poster in HF.


#199

Jay

Jay

Gilgamesh said:
I would, but he's not my type. Still though, funniest poster in HF.
Click to expand...
50252_366754943046_4141775_n.jpg


#200

bhamv3

bhamv3

Dave said:
I saw this movie Saturday and went in knowing it would be nothing like the book, so I just didn't worry about it.

I liked it to an extent. It was different from your normal zombie movies for a number of reasons, but the biggest is the tone & focus of the movie. Because the dead aren't rising (a person who is not infected dies they stay dead) and this is due to a virus of sorts, the movie was not about X number of people trying to get to safety and just survive. The movie is about Brad Pitt's mission to backtrack and find where Patient Zero originated and see if there was an underlying reason and possible cure. And that changes the whole genre. I can't think of another zombie movie where the focus wasn't just survival. (There may be one - I'm not the biggest Zombie movie guy.)

So I liked that it was different, even though
the plane crash where only the two people we know survived was very Giant Eagle.
Click to expand...
I feel like the story of the Korean Doctor was tacked on just to say that "Yes, these are actual zombies, they are actually rising from the dead. Well, one of them did." Because otherwise we see no evidence they're actually undead. Instead, they seem more like virus-fueled rage monsters, a la Left 4 Dead or 28 Days Later.


#201

strawman

strawman

Gilgamesh said:
I would, but he's not my type. Still though, funniest poster in HF.
Click to expand...
But..but... You said I had a good shot at being the funniest poster...!


#202

Frank

Frank

I thought WWZ was a huge and mighty EHHHH. It was alright I guess.

You know what I am sick of? Trailer for that Clap Phantom movie before everything I see. Clap Phantoms and the Carrie remake (which shows the entire progression of the film). Fuck Clap Phantoms.

I realize that Clap Phantoms is actually called The Conjuring, I just like the name Clap Phantoms better.


#203

Chad Sexington

Chad Sexington

stienman said:
But..but... You said I had a good shot at being the funniest poster...!
Click to expand...

Malcolm Tucker said:
Half an hour ago, you were in with a shot. Now it's half an hour hence. We've fucking time travelled, yes? We're in a new and wonderful world where everything is different. Maybe, outside, there are fucking robots knocking about. Maybe Davina McCall's the new Pope. Maybe you can download rice.
Click to expand...


#204

Hailey Knight

Hailey Knight

Frank said:
I thought WWZ was a huge and mighty EHHHH. It was alright I guess.

You know what I am sick of? Trailer for that Clap Phantom movie before everything I see. Clap Phantoms and the Carrie remake (which shows the entire progression of the film). Fuck Clap Phantoms.

I realize that Clap Phantoms is actually called The Conjuring, I just like the name Clap Phantoms better.
Click to expand...
Because The Conjuring sounds so generic.


#205

Chad Sexington

Chad Sexington

I'm just annoyed that The Conjuring might lend any credence to the work of Ed and Lorraine Warren, charlatans.


#206

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

stienman said:
But..but... You said I had a good shot at being the funniest poster...!
Click to expand...
Currently 4th behind Gasbandit and Chippy. Still that's pretty good ;)


#207

strawman

strawman

Gilgamesh said:
Currently 4th behind Gasbandit and Chippy. Still that's pretty good ;)
Click to expand...
Well... I'll just keep trudging along then, hoping... waiting... yearning...


#208

Frank

Frank

Chad Sexington said:
I'm just annoyed that The Conjuring might lend any credence to the work of Ed and Lorraine Warren, charlatans.
Click to expand...
I'm annoyed it isn't called Clap Phantoms.


#209

GasBandit

GasBandit

stienman said:
Well... I'll just keep trudging along then, hoping... waiting... yearning...
Click to expand...
You'll never best me, scrub. Though it is laudable you would wish to try.


#210

Tinwhistler

Tinwhistler


X


Top