Brad Pitt's return to big-budget, special effects cinema has had a somewhat rocky road getting to the silver screen. World War Z's climax had to be reshot after Paramount was reportedly appalled with director Marc Forster's final cut. The cavalcade of rumors led to months of online speculation that the film was a disaster. The good news is that it doesn't suck. As zombie flicks go there are some new elements and directions taken to mix it up. The bad news is that World War Z does have a befuddling ending that makes you wonder how god awful the original ending was. The entire enterprise seems to have been demographically tested and tweaked to mediocrity.

World War Z opens with Gerry (Brad Pitt) and Karin (Mireille Enos) Lane having a pancake breakfast with their two daughters. They pile in the car for an idyllic drive, only to see a catastrophe happen before them. Crowds run past their car screaming, explosions happen in the background, chaos erupts everywhere. As they attempt to drive away, their car is sideswiped and they are forced to flee on foot. This is when Gerry notices raving, rabid people running down and biting others. These people in turn are transformed within seconds and join in the attacks. The family has a harrowing escape out of Philadelphia. Gerry is contacted on his cell phone by his former boss, Thierry (Fana Mokoena), the United Nations Under-Secretary. The world has been overcome by a pandemic. He needs Gerry's expertise as an investigator of infectious diseases to uncover where the virus started. With his family stowed aboard a U.N. medical ship, Gerry heads to South Korea with a unit of soldiers. They believe this was the first reported case of the disease. What he finds is even more disturbing, leading to a globe trekking odyssey to discover a vaccine for the apocalypse.

The first hour of World War Z is very entertaining. The collapse of society and the family's escape will have you glued to your chair. These aren't zombies from The Walking Dead. They are fast, strong, and flock to their victims like jackals. Their attacks are relatively bloodless. World War Z is PG-13, so you don't have the onslaught of gore that's normally seen in the genre. I have no issue with that whatsoever. The film relies more on foreshadowing and random events that are entirely unexpected. The speed of the disease is well documented. Governments are taken completely by surprise, so the fall of society is believable.

World War Z takes a detour for the silly in its third act. Up to this point it had me completely. The crisp, frenetic pacing turns dull and nonsensical as the filmmakers try to end the movie. I haven't read the book, but I'm stupefied they weren't able to adapt an ending more believable. It is entirely ludicrous and really puts a damper on the tension built up to that point. I'll say it again, how bad was the original ending to resort to such a limp climax? It makes no sense at all. World War Z had a huge budget, so I think they weren't willing to spend more on expensive re-shoots. It's all a numbers game in the end, but I sorely wish they had.

World War Z is too intense for young children, but Paramount was able to deliver a family oriented zombie film. It's got a few frights, no blood, cursing, or nudity; with loads of frenzied action to keep the masses entertained. Brad Pitt is fine as the primary character. The ending just killed it for me. Maybe I'm being too picky, but I can only suspend disbelief to marginal stupidity.