Warm Bodies Review

If you know me, you know I have an abnormal obsession with zombies. If you knew me in high school, you probably remember me writing a resolution for the Model UN about educating people about zombies and the coming apocalypse. I got the idea from reading Max Brooks’ Zombie Survival Guide, and went on to read some amazing books like World War Z and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. And some of my favorite movies are zombie related, like Shaun of the Dead, Dead Alive, and Night of the Living Dead.And there are other great zombie films like Zombieland, 28 Days Later, and Dawn of the Dead. And that’s not even all of them. Needless to say, anything related to zombies usually grabs my attention, especially when it isn’t like everything else. That is exactly what Warm Bodies is.

The best way to describe Warm Bodies is to say that it is a romantic-comedy...with zombies. I really hesitate to call it a rom-com, though...because it is much more than that. It is a great twist on the romantic comedy genre, and even the zombie sub-genre. If you don’t know what it’s about, it follows the story of R (Nicholas Hoult) and his life as a zombie. He meets this girl, Julie (Teresa Palmer), and decides to save her and starts to fall for her. It is a really cute story that gives in to a few of the rom-com tropes, but takes them in a different direction.

I really enjoyed the script for this film. This is Writer/Director Jonathan Levine’s second major film, with the first being 50/50. While he didn’t write 50/50, both films definitely have a similar feel from the visuals and the dialogue. They both play on a dark comedy-esque feel. I really thought the script was well done, even though some of the dialogue did feel slightly corny. I’m still not sure if the corniness was intentional, as a way to mock the usual tropes that you see, or if it was written that way to attract more of the tween crowd. I’m going to pretend like it was intentional though, so that I can say that I loved the way it pretty much pulled a Cabin in the Woods and said “let’s just make fun of what we’re doing.” That being said, I felt like the script was pretty strong, nothing super special, but really good for something like this. Very enjoyable.

Since Levine took on both writing and directing for this film, I get to talk about him some more now! I really liked Levine’s style in 50/50 and thought that he added some to the film, but didn’t really wow me with any of the film. This film wasn’t much different. Yes, there were a few shots that were well done, and some of the blocking was great, but I think for the most part, the direction was just...okay. I really would like to see him do more with his talents, I see a lot of potential in his, especially when it comes to filming a conversation between zombies. That shit is great.

 This movie didn’t really require great acting all around, since the script was strong enough on its own. But I did think that it delivered more than I expected in that area. If I had to say that anyone stood out in this film, it would definitely be Nicholas Hoult. I had never really been impressed with any of his prior work (though A Single Man was pretty damn good), so I wasn’t expecting much from him here. So I was really surprised when he did such a great job. It is really hard to act as a zombie and actually make me feel for you, because, well...you’re a fucking zombie. You aren’t supposed to show a lot of emotion and I’m not supposed to feel for you. But Hoult did really well with the progression of the character and going from a dead husk and progressing into a real character that we are rooting for. His counterpart, Teresa Palmer, also did really well, but I kind of expected that from her. I’ve always liked her, and I think I’ve actually seen every movie she’s been in (I think 2:37 is my favorite.) Even when she is in shitty movies like I Am Number Four (oh god, why does that movie exist?!) she still delivers a strong performance. I thought that she came through, as always, in this movie. I really want to see her tackle something more substantial next and deliver that Oscar-worthy performance that I know she has in her. The way I like to describe her to people: She’s Kristen Stewart 2.0. Same face, but can actually act.

I thought one of the big strengths of this film was the soundtrack. Maybe it’s just because they played some Bob Dylan, but I don’t care. I really thought the soundtrack was really well put together and suited the style of the film really well. I didn’t know most of the songs (eh, some is probably more accurate) but I really enjoyed the way they used the songs, especially during montages. I think my favorite part was when the song Pretty Woman was used. Pure gold.

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This is a pretty solid film. It is a great concept (based off a book, I should add) that really translates well to the screen. The acting was great, the script was solid, and the direction was strong enough to not fail. I’ve heard a lot of people complain that this is a straight Romeo and Juliet ripoff, and while I do see the parallels and won’t even try to deny it, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. It takes that usual story that we have all seen before and twists it to be new, different, and fun.

Writing: 8/10

Directing: 6.5/10

Acting: 7.5/10

Pacing: 7/10

Rewatchability: 9/10

Score: 7.6/10