I don’t normally write film reviews. So let’s try this out. I just REALLY liked this movie.
I have been wanting to see Warm Bodies for-freakin-ever. I mean who wouldn’t? It’s got Zombies, Romance, humor, ZOMBIES. British hottie Nicholas Holt (who you may know as Tony Stonem from Skins or Hank McCoy from X-Men First Class) stars in it. It just seemed like a very intriguing, fun type of movie.
And it was.
Warm Bodies, directed by Jonathan Levine (50/50), is the story of R, one of the many Zombies in a post-apocalyptic world. R spends his days wandering around in an airport with other zombies. One day, R and his fellow zombies go out to feed and saves a girl, Julie, from an attack. R and Julie become closer and their relationship begins to heal R and his fellow zombies.
Honestly, this movie could have gone one way or another; it could have been really weird and terrible or beautiful and amazing. Guess which one it was?
Beautiful and amazing. Warm Bodies plays at several generes of film; there is romance, comedy, and zombie fighting. It’s a great movie for everyone.
The film is oddly introspective, with messages and meanings I wasn’t expecting. Early on the film draws parallels between R and the zombies of his time and the technology dependent “zombies” of our time (a common analogy when it comes to zombie culture, but I wasn’t expecting it from this film). It also has themes of forgiveness, over coming prejudices, and the healing power of love and hope. It all sounds quite cheesy when you put it that way, but they are very interesting themes considering we’re dealing with zombies here.
Warm Bodies gives the viewer the perspective of the Zombie, a perspective we rarely see in zombie movies. Normally it’s “oh shit zombies. Shoot them in the head” but Warm Bodies ask us to consider the zombie, and ask ‘what if’
Nicholas Hoult’s (who plays R) acting was fantastic. He had few full lines (being a zombie an all), so most of his acting was physical. Playing a zombie that falls in love must be a difficult task but Hoult was able to pull it off exceptionally. Nicholas Hoult is known for his Elijah Wood-esque eyes, and he was able to pull off expressing a huge amount of emotion through them. He’s also makes a pretty hot zombie, but I’ll stop now. My fangirl is showing.
Another aspect of the film I enjoyed was the use of the soundtrack. The gap between diegetic and non-diegetic sound was crossed. The film’s soundtrack seemed to weave in and out of being music the characters actually heard and music for the viewers.
The film was also insanely pretty, for a zombie film. There were several moments where the cinematography was excellent. Mostly these moments happened when the characters were talking about their dreams, or a time without the zombies. I loved the contrast between the time before the zombies (or the events of the film) and the “current events.”
Warm Bodies, on the surface, seems like a girly romance movie, but it’s really a movie for everyone. Definitely not something I should have gone to watch in the theater alone (I’m quite jumpy and anxious), but a great movie for a date or time with friends. I think it’s a great twist on the zombie genre.
Warm Bodies is on it’s way out of the theaters, but you’ll be able to catch it on DVD sometime in June (I think).