I’ve grown to really despise anytime a young adult novel or book series is adapted for the big screen. First of all, not everything can hit it out of the ballpark like “Twilight,” ”Harry Potter,” or “The Hunger Games.” Regardless of the quality of these films, anything in the entire young adult genre is being targeted for the big screen, especially those with supernatural elements to them (witches, vampires, etc.). Though I’m holding out for a brilliant adaptation of “The Giver,” but until then, we’re stuck with “Warm Bodies.”
“Warm Bodies” follows R, our zombie narrator who is bored out of his undead mind in his day-to-day life. He wants excitement, he wants answers, he wants… brains. When R comes across an attractive living soul, something changes in him. Slowly, his undead heart starts to beat again and he becomes attracted to her.
There isn’t much else to explain here. The film is rather cut and dry. Zombie purists may shun this film or embrace it; it’s a tough sell. From watching it myself, I didn’t really connect with anything or anyone in it. I’ll be the first to admit that a zombie isn’t an ideal protagonist, let alone a relatable one, but the film does make serious strides to do just that. For me, the characters that were most one-dimensional on paper (zombies) turn out to be more engaging than the “living” counterparts. Having John Malkovich as a militant protector of the survivor’s felt wasted.
Here was a film that could become a morbid “Romeo & Juliet” but seems content sanitizing itself for the masses. I didn’t know what to expect with a film like this, but I didn’t get what I thought I would. Is it a good film? In my opinion not really. But will people enjoy it? Possibly. Will it become a franchise? I sincerely hope not. 1.5 out of 5 stars.
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