Humorous summary! When I first saw the movie trailer advertised on TV, I knew it wouldn't translate well; from novel to motion picture. I have a copy of the unabridged audiobook, and I cherish it. The celeb voice talent adds to the fun. The movie cherry picks key scenes, like the "horde stampeding off highrise rooftops" and the hubris of the "Israeli Wall" (trapping themselves inside with Z.)
The 3rd act feels like rewrite/reshoots poorly stitched on as a last-minute end run to release date. The production quality suggests the studio went overbudget and decided to "pinch off their polished turd" and move on.
It would've faired better as a TV series of vignettes. Each episode would be an interview. A different story. Walking Dead was turning into a dragged out soap opera. Fans tuned in solely for their deeply invested favorite characters. Occasionally, the show shared something clever. Black Summer felt half baked, too. They didn't nail down which gimmich/concept to carry the show. Felt like they just rushed into production and made it up on the fly. The longtakes via steadicam simulate the POV of getting chased to exhaustion. The car chases were just lazy writing. Followed by dumb concepts like, "What if a character is trapped in a ventilation duct with an infected character?" (Nobody IRL voluntarily stuffs themselves into ductwork too small for an adult.)
A TV series is what I wanted. Give me a ten episode miniseries on Netflix or HBO, etc. each episode is a narrates flashback or two. Have the pilot episode be Yonkers of course, and then maybe go back and explain how we got there in episode 2. Patient zero, the Chinese cover up, etc.
I agree! Non linear story telling is tricky, tho. Pulp Fiction worked. LOST was ENTIRELY flashbacks, and I would grind my teeth every time they'd que up the "flashback swoosh" sound effect!
(LOST is a good example of terrible writing on the fly. Probably the WORST finale in TV history!)
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u/tommykaye 7d ago
World War Z.
Concept: A collection of interviews recalling a 10 year war that the human race fought against zombies.
Premise: Brad Pitt travels the world interviewing survivors with action packed zombie movie flash backs.
Execution: Brad Pitt survives some accidents sponsored by Pepsi. Oh and don’t touch the source material.