To say that the production history of the adaptation of Max Brooks' novel World War Z was a bit of a mess would be a huge understatement - with an escalating budget and a string of writers being drafted in to try and fix an out of control script, it's almost a miracle that the project was seen through to completion. That it ended up as a star vehicle for Brad Pitt - who plays the United Nations investigator Gerry Lane, traversing the globe in an effort to find a solution to the zombie pandemic - rather than the broad ensemble piece found in the book, is just one of the problems with the big screen version of World War Z. Pitt's performance simply compounded this problem further - the actor is more than capable of delivering a strong leading role but his rendition of Lane never rises above the level of generic hero. Lane has little in the way of flaws and consequently Pitt's performance lacks depth, subtlety and - most importantly - soul. For a film about saving humanity, it is that very quality which is lacking from World War Z's human characters, many of whom come across as lifeless and bland as the zombies they're fleeing from. All of which is a shame, since Brad Pitt is a far more capable actor than his run-of-the-mill performance here suggests. Do you agree with the selection of awesome and awful Brad Pitt movies listed here? Why not let us know in the comments below?
