Ellington

In "World War Z," a virus of unknown origin infects the world's population and creates a zombie pandemic. The zombie virus acts fast. Within minutes of being chomped by a zombie, the unfortunate victim gruesomely transforms from human to living undead. The process is complete when the eyes roll back and forth, snap shut and then open with a dull gleam. The new zombie immediately joins the shambling herd and thuds senselessly into glass windows, searching for living flesh to feed on.

You might be thinking what I did: Zombies? Again?

Since 1910, filmmakers have released 492 zombie movies, writes Cecil Adams on his blog "The Straight Dope." The largest spikes in zombie pictures occurred in 1973 and 2003. After that, zombies took a back seat to vampires until this year when "Warm Bodies" took a romantic take on 
the brain-suckers.

I suspect that there was a memo sent from the accounting department to studio bosses advising them that vampires were out and zombies were in. And it probably has to a lot to do with cost-effectiveness. To wit:

• No wardrobe changes. A born-again zombie wears the same clothes forever. Think of the savings in costumes.

• Zombies don't speak. They grunt. This opens up casting opportunities for non-actors and it makes the writer's job easier. Grunt, grunt, shuffle, grunt.

• Zombies don't think. They amble along like killer sheep and take direction without questioning why. Zombies are a director's dream.

• Also, vampires have been done until death do us part. After the "Twilight" franchise and "Dark Shadows," what's left for our blood-sucking friends? Zombies are the freshest produce in the monster bin, and they are not really all that fresh.

Marc Forster ("Quantum of Solace," "Finding Neverland," "Monster's Ball") directs this zombie apocalypse--which is based on Max Brooks' novel "World War Z"--as if it's a globetrotting, James Bond spy thriller.

The James Bond figure in this film is a grunge-grunge version (as in the 1990s movement) of Brad Pitt. Here, Pitt plays Gerry Lane, a former United Nations employee who gave up the tough missions in third-world countries to be a house dad taking care of his wife (Mireilles Enos) and two daughters (Abigail Hargrove, Sterling Jerins). Before he's sucked into the zombie nightmare, Gerry's a scraggly daddy dude, with long hair and scruffy whiskers on his cheeks (better to tickle the girls). 
 Once he's been called into action, though, Gerry wears that slept-in, picked-up-off-the-floor, swapped, scrounged and ragbag look like he's ... well, like he's Brad Pitt from the inscrutable Chanel No. 5 commercial. Pitt, a fine actor whose good looks have overshadowed his acting talent, gives an enigmatic and engaging performance.

One of the best scenes is the opener. A montage of news footage tells the story: pastoral images cycle to insects and hyenas gorging themselves. Later, we learn from the sole scientist trying to work through the virus issue that "Mother Nature is a serial killer. She wants to get caught, she leaves breadcrumbs, she leaves clues. ... Mother nature knows how to disguise her weakness as strength."

When discussing a zombie film, even Forster's version filled with special effects, one cannot really pretend that it is anything more than summer popcorn entertainment. It's not really a discourse on Darwin or survival of the fittest dead.

What you see in this film is what you get. And what you get is grunge-grunge Pitt trying to save the world from zombies. And for what it is, this is a taut film with roller-coaster thrills. It's the perfect picture for the movie drive-in, but sadly, those are things of a nostalgic past. But, unlike drive-ins, zombies are not a thing of the past. Don't be surprised if next summer we get a return of the shuffling dimwits. But then, Brad Pitt will be back, and all will be right with the world.