Half-decent medical action thriller, mashing up the medical disaster genre (see Dustin Hoffman’s Outbreak (1995) or Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion (2011)) with the aggressive, fast zombies of I Am Legend (2007) plus some competently tense Brad Pitt horror action and grandiose CGI set pieces. Just don’t go in expecting Walking Dead-style depth of character study, or exploration of themes such as the depravity of humankind (the living being worse than the undead), the soullessness of materialistic society, American isolationism, or for that matter, any real fidelity to the critically acclaimed source material (Max Brooks’ novel). Director Marc Forster is clearly leaving all that on the table for a future visionary to craft the definitive next-gen apocalyptic zombie flick. Until then, World War Z is a fun, big budget diversion (sequel already on its way)
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12 Years A Slave (2013, dir. Steve McQueen): showing us the closest thing to a living Hell on earth
Addendum: After it’s well-deserved Academy Award for Best Film, and further reflecting on the movie, I’d have to remark that being a non-white in the 19th century American South was the closest thing to a living hell on earth. In every way as horrifying, de-humanizing and fundamentally evil as the Holocaust.
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Posted by Jokersmiley on January 25, 2014 in Film Reviews, Passive Media, Social Commentary
Tags: 12 Years A Slave, Academy Award, Best Film, Brad Pitt, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Oscars, Solomon Northup, Steve McQueen