The Differences and Similarities between World War Z & its Film Adaptation
World War Z’s film and novel adaptations are very different. Both stories have a common thread, zombies. Both adaptations are very different, because the film’s makers took many artistic liberties. The movie does not have any changes to the characters, so they aren’t affected in any significant way.
Both the novel and film have very different approaches to main characters. Interviews are used in the book. This allows for multiple perspectives and stories to be gathered from different people as the war continues. The interview format allows for deep insights into the experiences and personalities of those who have lived through war. However, the movie uses a much more focused approach. The movie doesn’t have multiple characters. Instead, it follows Gerry Lane. Gerry Lane is an ex-UN agent with two daughters. Hollywood-ified, the movie had been made too different to appeal more to the masses. Although the movie lost some depth, it was still enjoyable to watch. In the way they describe how the plague spread, the two World War Z versions are also very different. Lane and his relatives were shocked by plague in movie adaptation. Gerry and Karen, Gerry’s wife, were simply waiting for Philadelphia’s heavy traffic. The city explodes and chaos ensues. People run screaming from the streets. This approach was appropriate for the movie to ensure viewers aren’t disinterested immediately, but the book takes a slower approach. The novel begins in China, where the infection was first reported. It spread slowly to other countries as they had the chance to prepare for it (all to no avail, however). The plot and timing of the outbreak can be modified. The suspense of an infection slowly spreading builds throughout the book. This gives the reader time to imagine what might happen next. The action is fast and furious, but it also leaves little room for mystery and suspense.
Zombies in World War Z were slow. They walked at a speed of approximately one step per 1.5 seconds. This made the book less exciting as people didn’t have to shoot at zombies or go to great lengths to help them. The problem was usually more with the sheer number of zombies than their aggression. This added a little bit of reality to an otherwise fictional book. You would expect body parts to not function when they aren’t under your control and blood isn’t flowing.
The film is the exact opposite. The movie shows the opposite approach. Zombies move at a blinding speed, and with great coordination and agility. The movie is far from the original book. To make the movie more fun, the filmmakers altered certain parts of the book. Gerry is on an assignment to discover the cause of the zombie outbreak in one scene. Gerry and the escort members of his group attempt to be stealthy. Gerry’s wife then calls his long range phone. The group is attacked by zombie-running zombies immediately after the ringing. This scene could be pictured in the novel as: His phone rings and all the zombies are alerted. But they can’t run. They would then run back quickly to the large plane until the zombies stop listening. This would have been boring and uninteresting. thank you for watching the film.
According to the book, it takes several hours for zombies to become bitten. The repeated injury and the lack of tears gradually cloud their vision. The movie version shows that the bitten people turn in twelve seconds and their eyes instantly become cloudy. This is a combination of logic and action. This change was intended to provide both action and logic. It would be absurd if the plague spreads quickly, but people have to wait days or weeks before they can turn.
Final thoughts: The movie and book versions are nearly incomparable. There are no shared characters, and the infected’s basic features are entirely different. The film and the book received well, but there’s no reason why they should have the same names.
