I haven't rewatched the 2013 fast-running zombie flick World War Z since its initial theatrical run (review here) and after watching this Blu-ray, nothing much has changed in my take on it's inconsistent storytelling. The unrated cut adds some extra violence and gore, especially noticed with the poor Israeli soldier's bite treatment scene, but nothing too over-the-top; The Walking Dead routinely has much worse.
It's interesting to see actors pop up who went on to greater nerd culture notoriety in subsequent years: Peter Capaldi, a WHO doctor, went on to be a Doctor on Doctor Who; Ruth Negga (another WHO worker) went on to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Preacher and garnered an Oscar nomination for Loving; Mireille Enos is Hanna's ally in Amazon Prime's Hanna series.
On the technical front, the 2.40:1 aspect transfer is OK, but nothing to write home about. The cinematography and color-grading - drab and naturalistic in the first act, high-contrast and dark in Korea, warm straw tones in Israel, etc. - don't provide much showcase opportunities, but the DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 audio track is good with plenty of surround activity and LFE rumble.
There are about 53 minutes of featurettes discussing the development of the movie from a book not really laid out for straight adaptation; the scientific premises applied to this portrayal of zombies; and a four-part making-of discussing the production of various major settings. It's all rather lightweight other than surprises that Glasgow, Scotland doubled Philadelphia for the initial outbreak sequence (with some changes in street signs, digital landscape enhancement, and lots of imported cars) and Malta filled in for Israel. No mention of the film's abandoned third act that I'd hope would be included in my theatrical review.
World War Z is a pretty good zombie action flick held back from excellence by some dippy plot choices. The Blu-ray is as adequate as the film.
Score: 6/10. Rent it.
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