WORLD WAR Z (2013)

Former U.N. investigator Brad Pitt is enjoying some quiet time with his wife (Mireille Enos) and two daughters when a full on zombie outbreak happens.  Things are pretty exciting at first (in a shaky cam, PG-13 kind of way), but then you start to realize that this is it.  It's never going to get any more violent, there's never going to be any shocking moments and all of the zombie action is just going to be the of the bland, bloodless, twitchy, CGI variety that could pretty much be shown on network TV without any problem.  Also, for some strange reason, when the zombies are calm they sound like chickens.  After the initial outbreak, Pitt is ordered to travel all over the world looking for an cure to this zombie problem.  Sounds exciting and there are plenty of action scenes, but somehow it's still kinda boring.  I did enjoy the Jerusalem and airplane scenes.

I'd read Studs Terkel's, I mean, Max Brooks' "World War Z" book a few years ago and wasn't impressed, but I had expected the film version to be better than the book.  Guess I was wrong.  Worth a watch, but don't expect anything special. 

If you need me I'll be in my room reading Brian Keene's "The Rising" or maybe playing some Left 4 Dead.

THE SUM OF ALL FEARS (2002)

Completely disregarding the first three Jack Ryan films, THE SUM OF ALL FEARS casts Ben Affleck as a young CIA analyst who is an expert on a lesser known Russian figure (Ciaran Hinds) who is suddenly announced as the new Russian president, after the old one unexpectedly kicks the bucket.  Because of this Ryan is summoned by CIA Director (Morgan Freeman).  At the same time, the Nazis get their hands on a nuclear bomb.  Soon, tensions rise between America and Russia, so it's up to Jack Ryan to save the day.

I really enjoyed the first three Jack Ryan films, but TSOAF just didn't have the same magic to it.  Not only was Affleck unable to fully portray character first played excellently by Alec Baldwin and then perfected by Harrison Ford, but the story didn't feel very original.  Blah, blah, blah, missing nuclear bomb, yelling and posturing, helicopter crashing, fast typing...I don't know, the supporting cast was really good (except for Ryan's girlfriend, she was boring), but the direction was so bland and the story so played out that there was little tension.

At the end of the day, THE SUM OF ALL FEARS made money at the box office and it is watchable, but it's easy to see why this reboot failed to garner any sequels.

Part 1 - The Hunt for Red October (1990)
Part 2 - Patriot Games (1992)
Part 3 - Clear and Present Danger (1994)
Reboot 2 - Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit