Every once in a while, a movie really surprises you with just how good it is, how well its crafted and how effectively it brings a fresh look at a loved genre. WARM BODIES hits all those points with an exciting, funny and touching (!) look at the zombie genre.
Nicholas Hoult is R, our narrator that introduces is to our post zombie apocalypse setting and his new breed of zombie, that has awareness of the world around them, can say a couple words, but are trapped in a corpse body.
After rescuing human Julie in an attack, he protects her in the abandoned 707 at the airport he lives in and they grow fond of each other over a couple days.
The fact that this sounds so absurd is proof of how clever and well done the movie is, because I guarantee you that you'll buy into it!
Hoult is very good as R, and the scenes where he remembers being a human are really heart breaking. Teresa Palmer is great as Julie and comedian Rob Cordry from The Daily Show is a nice surprise as R's best zombie friend, which in the zombie world means they meet everyday at the airport bar and quietly grunt back and forth.
As R and Julie's relationship begins to grow, it has great ripple effects on the world around them, which if I described here would not only be a spoiler, but also sound very hokey, so just enjoy those revelations for yourself.
John Malkovich brings some fun and intensity as Julie's dad, the leader of the walled human encampment surrounded by zombies.
During several scenes in the last act, I found myself wondering how in the world this material works. In the hands of people with lesser talent, this would be a horrible, silly movie.
With this cast and crew, its really excellent and had some of the most touching moments of any movie I've seen this year.....in a zombie movie....go figure.
Warm Bodies is a flesh eating, laugh out loud, sweet, scary A.
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