Within the last few years, our continued fascination with zombies has only gotten stronger. First made popular by George A. Romero in The Night of the Living Dead; we have since had Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, the spoof Shaun of the Dead, Warm Bodies, 28 Days (and Weeks) Later, Zombieland, Resident Evil, and the TV show The Walking Dead. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. World War Z is another slot to be added to that ever-growing collection. The difference between this and many of the others, though, is the extreme scale of the film; which at times is so intense, it is hard to breathe. But there are enough tender moments, and there is enough thought behind this horde of brain-sucking zombies that it is sure to please.

The story begins much like any other apocalyptic scenario. We see the world through the relatively calm eyes of a typical New England family, living in Philadelphia. While stuck in traffic one day, Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) and his family suddenly find themselves amidst a world of explosions, gun-shots, and chaos. Panic ensues as the entire city is ransacked by a horde of stealthy, blood-splattered zombie creatures. But where did they come from? How do we stop them? It is up to Gerry to find out.

So, after dropping off his family at a safe zone, he is off to save the world. But with every answer he gets, another question comes to fill its place. And our hero is led from one terrible scenario to another. Not even towering walls can keep these zombies out, as they have seemingly learned to climb over themselves to create a sort of zombie-stacked ladder. And, within minutes, they can sack an entire city. These are not your wussy, slow, lethargic zombies. These guys mean business.

But it really is the questions of “why” and “how” that separate World War Z from an endless line of apocalyptic disaster movies. Though almost immediately jumping into the action in the first five minutes, there are enough tender moments for us to not only feel something for the characters, but to feel hope for humanity as a whole. We see the world through Brad Pitt’s eyes; observing unrelentless death and pain but, at its core, a sort of sentiment too. There is a light at the end of this dark tunnel, and it’s up to our hero to find it.

The story gives Pitt just enough room to show some lesser-seen aspects of his acting persona; including his ability to play a strong father figure, a selfless survivor, and a calm spirit, which he displays even within what should be the most chaotic of situations. There is more chance for development here than than in many disaster films, and Pitt plays it off; separating himself from the sarcastic, overly-smug character that he has so often played before.

But after almost an hour and a half of one intense scenario after another, the conclusion of World War Z comes off as somewhat forced. In many zombie films, the end-of-the-world crisis is largely left unresolved. The people may have reached a temporary safe haven, or they may have just gotten past the initial shock of the zombies taking over. But World War Z does something entirely different. And without revealing any spoilers, it did actually feel a little anti-climactic. As a whole, though, the experience is not badly ruined. And, with talks of a sequel already in the works, I’d be interested to see where they go from here.