Valkyrja Vakre

Interesting, different, disjointed, gaping plot holes, some new content, first person video game style, lots of unanswered questions. Overall worth watching, read on for details. ***Mild Spoilers Below**** The storyline jumps from protagonist to protagonist, some make it-others don't, and follows their progression toward "safety." The series starts in the middle of a zombie epidemic- families with somehow no weapons or defensive strategy are timing some sort of airstrike that signifies its safe to go out. They are desperately moving toward military checkpoints and extraction to safety. This is a plausible scenario until you realize it's only been 6 weeks and apparently there are also no guns or gas left in American suburbs or towns (absurd)......And that's pretty much the last you see of the military until the end, deciding to go from ordered fear to apocalyptic chaos in like three days... The zombies are fast having full mobility after being creamed by a truck, but otherwise don't seem especially strong. They are almost always in manageable numbers, and are killed with a headshot, yet the prevailing theme is-Run. They cannot get past fences, but somehow they can manage doors, their scary level is a 4- on appearance alone you could give them a 7, except for the fact that there isn't a single funky animated corpse after 6 weeks, and no one seems to be able to kill them consistently... The series compensates in suspenseful moments and a palpable fear in the main actors- who (protagonists only) despite some sub-par scripts score an 8 (Except for the fastest fellow who one would think is supposed to be the campy comic but doesn't say anything funny and struggles with his minimal script). The protagonist's storylines are fair and entertaining, somewhat believable, and intertwine in an original (for genre) way, they have some major huh? moments, but are redeemed by the addition of a non-English speaking/ non-subtitled Korean woman who adds to the humanity and universal language of zombies (even though she can understand exceptionally well)....Storylines get a 6. Scenery, settings and debris get a fair 9+ (aside from the missing gas) with point taken away for some outlandish video game/laser tag shooting scenes. I don't have enough room to list the grievances against the heist, diner, and stadium episodes, but the car and bus episodes are prime. It's no Train to Busan or World War Z, but it has some tense moments. It has the feel of Walking Dead without the grit, but also leaves out the boring WD drama. Overall it's fun and brings some originality, if not really scary. It may not be in the top 10 but even 100 times worse couldn't be as bad as House of the Dead.

Train to Busan is in the top 5 zombie movies ever made. Original content, stellar character development and acting, balance of plot and action, actually scary if not horrific in moments. Fantastic cinematography and sound, realistic zombies and action. Somehow it pays homage to all the greats without recycling the same themes. And I've never watched a zombie movie that made me cry...until Train to Busan. As gripping and scary as World War Z, without the lame CGI zombies. Gritty as The Walking Dead but able to successfully add drama. As fresh as 28 days later with more character development. And although not as deep in metaphorical meaning as the Romero trilogy, Train to Busan is packed with humanity and emotional punches.

World War Z is a great zombie movie for one factor alone-it's scary. Most zombie movies are more thrill based, harkening to being chased or do anything you want-survival of the fittest, for some it's the thought of our loved ones turning (evil & violent) towards us, or needing to protect or..needing to sacrifice. There's a scary premise to all zombie movies whether it thrill based or jump scare, deep fear, or phobia but WWZ takes it a step further. WWZ takes a common theme- zombie outbreak/protect family/find safety- And changes is to "pandemic" "leave family" "no safety." The acting is good, premise sound, blah blah- suffice you say money and A-list attention was given, even with the terrible CGI zombies we don't lose what sets this apart- and that's the War of the Worlds stark feeling of nowhere left to go, the world you knew is completely gone. It's desolate, an extreme that although implied, has never really been explicitly known or shown in any other zombie movie. There's always an oasis, a safe haven, a Destination. And the overwhelming hope that secretly rides with all zombie movies-of course world war Z is really no different in the end and I certainly would've preferred it to end with nowhere to go, but it did keep it going for awhile-it is a mainstream flick after all.

Slow moving. Gritty. Endearing. Unfinished. It's a well made movie as far as authenticity goes, more like following around a person in real (1700's) time than some deep poignant plot message, yet it manages to be deep in its own way regardless. The film veers away from the "big" issues of the time yet captures the deeper individual survival struggle and conditions of pioneer life better than any romanticized western. The slowness of the film is apt for the slowness of the time, the characters develop through subtle interaction and offer realistic relationships. Frontier life wasn't all outlaw bravado and cutthroat tactics, it was doggedly scratching out a life and latching on to those who could help you and with whom you could help. It was making something out nothing, or someone else's something. Overall it was dirty, hard, dangerous, and rather boring and uninviting- the film captured it perfectly. Admittedly the end left me wanting, but like the film, it's not about a greater meaning- it's just the way it was.