An unexamined life is not worth living. Socrates

Huwebes, Mayo 30, 2013

MOVIE REVIEW: Warm Bodies (2013)

A unique zombie movie to say the least. For one, it's actually a romantic zombie comedy where a human Julie and "R," a zombie, falls in love with each other. The story begins when Julie and his compatriots raid a place looking for supplies when they encounter R's group of zombies trying to find food. A fight breaks out where all but one of Julie's companions are killed or eaten alive. In fact, Julie's boyfriend was actually eaten by R, or at least his brain was. R likes to eat brains in that he can feel the emotions and experiences of the person who had it. That is actually what happened. R now "feels" the life Julie and Perry had after eating Perry's brain.

R brings Julie to R's favorite place to hang out, an abandoned airplane. R leaves and settles on a convertible where he relives Perry's experiences. Realizing why Julie fears him, he returns to give Julie a blanket. R could only utter a few barely audible words. Julie is perplexed. R is certifiably smitten by Julie and as he lay in a chair opposite Julie, his dead heart suddenly comes alive. The next day, R can now say words more clearly and he looks remarkably better, and is able to act more human-like way again. After requesting food from R, Julie goes out of the plane to escape but encounters a group of zombies in the runway. She runs back under the plane where R finds her and tells her to act like a zombie. Both make it out without an incident and return to the plane where Julie takes a meal.

Julie asks R to take her home, R is apprehensive, being that Julie just came, and wanting to spend more time with Julie, R requests Julie to stay a few days more. As each day progresses, R is becoming appearing more and more better and actually becoming more human - again. After being pursued by Bonies, a group of almost zombies who have irretrievably lost all traces of humanity, and who are fast runners, Julie and R are helped by M, R's best friend. Other zombies encounter the two but let them pass, they too are becoming more and more human.

Julie makes her way back to the enclosed human enclave where the uninfected and surviving humans are holed up. The leader of the enclave is Col Grigio, who is Julie's father. R comes after her and find his way to the place where Julie is staying with a friend. The two plan to sneak R into the enclave and had to do some makeover to make R look more human. Meanwhile, the enclave prepares for war as the Bonies increasingly  move towards the enclave, preparing to overwhelm the enclave. Julie tries to convince Col. Grigio that the zombies can be cured and were in fact turning to being human again. Col. Grigio is not convinced and tries to shoot R but is prevented by Julie's friend, which allows Julie and R to escape.

The zombies and humans unite to fight the Bonies and R becomes fully human again. Which is confirmed only after Col. Grigio shoots R and bleeds in the pool where Julie and R landed while trying to escape the Bonies.  The Bonies were eventually defeated and the zombies slowly learned how to live human lives again. The wall surrounding the enclave was torn down and the contagion was finally eliminated.

This is one movie that blends comedy, romance, zombies and the perennial human theme of love and belongingness. Unlike the typical zombie movies, Warm Bodies will actually make you feel hopeful about the future, about moving on after disasters and about the flexibility of human life. The storyline flows smoothly and seamlessly as the themes of love, romance, war and unity are played in the background. There is violence, but it is creatively employed beyond the mere use of violence for violence sake. Nicholas Hoult made R funny as hell without making him comical and buffonic.

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