Rant #994: Not a Disaster

This weekend, with the weather not so great in my neck of the woods, my family and I decided to go to the movies.

We hadn't been to the movies in several weeks, and now, with the summer upon us, the big summer flicks are out and about, so now is the time to go to the movies.

We had originally wanted to see the Superman movie, but the times weren't good for us, so we chose to see the big disaster movie of the summer, which we found to be not much of a disaster at all.

"World War Z," starring Brad Pitt, harkens back to those disaster films of my youth--remember "Earthquake"?--and it is quite a stimulating experience.

For two-plus hours, it is zombies, zombies and more zombies.

Brad Pitt--who is also co-producer of the film--stars with a basically no-name cast as a World Health Organization-United Nations specialist who is summoned to help combat a virus which is spreading throughout the globe, turning everyday people into zombies.

And like every good disaster picture, Pitt is the consummate hero, fighting this evil at every turn, in spite of great odds against him.

Finally, through his heroic efforts, he is able to withstand the peril caused by the zombies, and the world once again becomes safe.

Yes, I am skipping over much of the film, because I really don't want to give it all away.

And yes, there are holes in this movie the size of craters, but I will try not to give that away, too.

But Pitt is very good in this film, and it is actually a very family oriented flick, because he does what he does entirely for the safety of his family.

He is your typical reluctant hero, but he does what he does because he fears for the safety of his family if he doesn't do what the government wants him to do.

Yes, there are lapses--how do the greatest scientific minds the world has to offer overlook the one thing that Pitt, who is not a scientist nor a doctor, discovers as the cure for this virus, which, without giving it away, is sort of a reverse "War of the Worlds" solution--but all in all, the movie kept the audience we were in pretty spellbound until the end.

People cheered when the credits began to roll, and I haven't heard that type of reaction at the movies in quite a while.

And if you decide to see this movie, do not waste your money on 3D.

We didn't, and quite frankly, there is no reason to see this film in 3D. Maybe a zombie coming at you looks better in 3D, but you can live with the 2D, so don't spend the extra money.

So, in my opinion, "World War Z" is well worth seeing, although I was perturbed that our local movie house raised its ticket prices, not just for this film, but for all of its films.

To me, that is the real "World War" going on now, rising prices on everything without our paychecks rising along with the prices.

We should all fight back, and one way is to not see this film in 3D.

But go see the film, I guarantee you will enjoy it.