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World War Z

World War Z

Action · Horror · Science Fiction · 2013

Life for former United Nations investigator Gerry Lane and his family seems content. Suddenly, the world is plagued by a mysterious infection turning whole human populations into rampaging mindless zombies. After barely escaping the chaos, Lane is persuaded to go on a mission to investigate this disease. What follows is a perilous trek around the world where Lane must brave horrific dangers and long odds to find answers before human civilization falls.

Movie details

World War Z

“There will come a day when the world we know will end.”

2013 Action · Horror · Science Fiction 1h 56m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.8 / 10

Community rating

Life for former United Nations investigator Gerry Lane and his family seems content. Suddenly, the world is plagued by a mysterious infection turning whole human populations into rampaging mindless zombies. After barely escaping the chaos, Lane is persuaded to go on a mission to investigate this disease. What follows is a perilous trek around the world where Lane must brave horrific dangers and long odds to find answers before human civilization falls.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over World War Z?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Marc Forster

Written by

Drew Goddard · Damon Lindelof · Matthew Michael Carnahan

Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt

Gerry Lane

Mireille Enos

Mireille Enos

Karen Lane

Daniella Kertesz

Daniella Kertesz

Segen

James Badge Dale

James Badge Dale

Captain Speke

Ludi Boeken

Ludi Boeken

Jurgen Warmbrunn

Matthew Fox

Matthew Fox

Parajumper

Fana Mokoena

Fana Mokoena

Thierry Umutoni

Court is in session

Put World War Z on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“It owes the canon nothing.”

The movie pursues immediacy and audience pleasure without begging institutions to certify its worth.

The prosecution The Prestige Tourist

“Easy pleasure, short half-life.”

It moves efficiently through the moment but offers little reason to keep arguing once the credits end.