Sunday, March 24, 2013

Pondering the End of the World (War Z)

Just watched the latest World War Z trailer:


Book spoiler or two below



I am not as concerned as I was before.  Sure, the zombies are way too fast compared to the books which makes the strategies that win the war in the book, um, a bit less likely to work.  But the key move from the book to the movie is to change the narrator of the book from an historian looking back at the war to someone trying to figure it out during the conflict.  This gives Brad Pitt a far more active role, but it is natural for any Hollywood movie to take an oral history and run through the events as they happen, rather than just have a series of flashbacks. Indeed, this move is inevitable.  They may be giving him a role in getting the key strategy out of South Africa (Plan B) and to the rest of the world. 

The movie clearly does move from place to place that are portrayed in the book.  It is interesting that Russia is featured as a destination in the movie, as the book highlights China.  But perhaps that is mis-direction.

Anyhow, I am feeling a bit better.  The IR Prof of Z, Dan Drezner, is less assuaged.

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