World War Z (aka "The Walking Dead on steroids")

I'll state right up front that I have not seen this movie, nor am I likely to except under duress. I know, I know...I'm probably missing out on an amazing sci-fi, shoot-em-up thriller...but I'm okay with that. Thus, this review is a compilation of what I could gather from my two teens that saw it last week while the two youngers and I were much more entertained at Monsters University.

Noah is the most verbal of the two, so what follows is primarily from him, but he and Abbey both summed up their review of World War Z with this same statement: "It's The Walking Dead on steroids!"

I don't watch The Walking Dead either, so this didn't help me understand much. After some interviewing of Noah, here's what I could piece together. The Walking Dead uses live actors, made up to look like zombies and he prefers this far more than the fake CGI zombies of World War Z. It sounded as if there wasn't much of a storyline other than Brad Pitt shooting up zombies too. He couldn't tell me how the outbreak began or if it ended with the movie, but he did understand how the fighters could protect themselves from becoming zombies. Apparently, The Walking Dead has a more engaging storyline and you actually grow to care for the characters.

The best thing I got out of the interview and that they were both most excited about was a Doctor Who connection with World War Z. Apparently, Doctor Who is filmed mostly in Cardiff when a sound stage is needed. The "Doctor Who Experience" is also located in Cardiff. [This is an interactive experience for Whovians in Great Britain.] But at some point in World War Z, a part of the movie takes place in Cardiff and revolves around doctors from the World Health Organization...yes, doctors from W.H.O. or W.H.O. doctors. 

We have no clue if this was intentional or sheer happenstance...but I think it's fun to see my kids' brains putting trivia pieces together like Dale and I do. They are definitely our children...no doubt about it!

AnyWHO (pun intended!), if you're really into Brad Pitt, zombies, the apocalypse or any combination thereof, you may like this movie. But my teens are zombiephiles (if there is such a thing) and yet they would only give it about a B-.