World War Zee, Zed, Ž, Z, जेड?

My thoughts from blogs about the upcoming World War Z:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturevideo/filmvideo/9952332/New-World-War-Z-trailer-released-starring-Brad-Pitt.html#disqus_thread

27/3/13 - "The book was a brilliant idea and well executed. Not great literature, but it worked well enough. The film looks entertaining, but at best it will be just another in a long line of big-budget, spectacular disaster movies. It clearly has very little relationship to the book and nothing special to offer."

http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/world-war-z/24963/what-weve-learned-from-the-world-war-z-trailer:

27/3/13 - "I'll probably see it for the spectacle, but I don't expect to be particularly edified by it. More 'Independence Day'/'The Day After Tomorrow' than 'The Quiet Earth'/'On The Beach'."

"a decent adaptation of WWZ is indefinitely postponed by this film. I would add that the producers are using excellent source material to sell tickets for something bearing lilttle resemblance to it. Many fans of the book will rightly feel agrieved at being sold $15/£10 tickets under false pretences."

"I so want this movie to be great, but after the b-movie car-crash that was Prometheus, my expectations of Hollywood are rock bottom. Hey, I may be completely wrong, but I see one more reason to be sceptical (Brit spelling): -
In the book, the virus appears to originate in China. No particular explanation is give, but I think it is implied that Chinese agricultural practices and/or official incompetence/secrecy are causal factors. Now here are two possibly connected facts. (1) China has just become the second biggest movie market in the world, overtaking Japan; (2) based on the trailer, the film appears to place the origin of the disease in Russia.
These two facts may not be connected. Even if they are, it doesn't mean the film will be rubbish. However, my suspicion is that the two facts are very much connected. I also suspect that this is indicative that the film makers have been prepared to sacrifice their art for a product that doesn't upset any major demographics.
So I'm anticipating a juvenile level of emotional engagement, a non-sensical script and a 'happy' ending that allows us to dismiss the fact that 5 billion people have been killed in the most horrific fashion. Will probably still go and watch it though :-)"

"And another thing.... the disease has a lengthy incubation period in the book. In the film (based on the trailer and leaked clips) zombification is instantaneous. But if there is a zombie outbreak on a plane, that implies a lengthy incubation period (for the first infected passenger). I hope the script writers have artfully squared this particular circle, but the industry has a nasty habit of treating viewers as idiots. We could be left with either a silly breakdown in consistency, or they might introduce some ridiculous deus ex machina (e.g. 'yeah, most people turn instantly, but SOME take a while...')"

19/4/13 - "And so it came to pass. Apparently the script will be tweaked, at least for releases in certain regions, so as not to offend the Chinese. Actually, I read that they are now saying the virus originated in India rather than Russia. Strange. I would have thought that by the time the 10th anniversary collectors edition Blueray comes out, India will be a significantly larger market for home video than Russia. Well, I suppose they can edit/overdub the film once again to make some other country the cause of all the nastiness. Maybe Syria?
But still, but still... the trailer looks great to me. Why are people bitching about the CGI. Looks bloody good to me.
PG-13? I appreciate that will limit the gore, but that really seems to miss the point. The idea of a global zombie pandemic is absolutely terrifying if done reasonably well, and from what I can tell so far, this one is done at least reasonably well. There will be an awful lot of children having nightmares in the wake of this film, and an awful lot of dumb parents upset that their children saw it."

"Ah, apparently the rogue zombie was trapped in the aeroplane's internal lift until freed by an irritating chihauhau (one Hollywood trope that is actually accurate). So, no special pleading there then on the part of the scriptwriters! Though as it happens I gather they ARE going to have the concept that some people turn at slower speeds than most. How convenient for dramatic purpose."