Warm Bodies (2013)
Josephine Heathershaw
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have you read the book? because Teresa Palmer (to me) entirely lived up to the character of the novel, basically that she was fairly irritating and all you wanted was more time with R and M(arcus). And Malkovich was woefully underused due to them making BAD choices with the ending. But thats just me ?
Hansel and Gretel looks massively pants. Not sure I want to see it as it may ruin my love of Hawkeye. Also RE: warm bodies book, its a great little read but does fail on answering its own questions a lot of the time, but Nick Hoult was a perfect R
Blending the romantic-comedy genre with zombies could have resulted in all sorts of bad cheesiness, but the film manages to be refreshingly original and funny without laying on too much cheese. Likewise, it could have been little more than a Twilight spoof. Instead Warm Bodies manages to find its own soul and, more importantly, its own beating heart.
I suppose I'm just slow on the uptake, but I didn't realize that Warm Bodies was an adaptation of "Romeo & Juliet" until the balcony scene, when the sentient zombie protagonist "R" sneaks into the fortified human encampment to warn Julie of encroaching danger.
I mean, the clues are all right there. "R" doesn't remember his name, only that it starts with the letter R. Julie is about as close to Juliet as you can get without totally giving it away. "R" and Julie, Romeo and Juliet...it's obvious, right?
There's the zombies (intent on eating humans and especially human brains which, in another clever twist, pass on human memories to the walking dead) and then there's the humans (who, understandably, want to kill the zombies.)
Julie's father is the leader of the humans. He's a military guy who Really Hates the zombies. Meanwhile, the zombies don't really have a leader---just like we see very little of Romeo's family in the play.
This is basically the same set-up as the Capulets and the Montagues...but with zombies and guns and brain-eating. There's even a zombie named "M" which may as well be a stand-in for Mercutio (though, alas, there is no "pox on both your houses" scene.)
On top of the witty narration from "R" (played wonderfully by Nicholas Hoult) and the strong performances of Julie (played by Teresa Palmer) and "M" (played by Rob Corddry) this Shakespearean twist was just subtle enough to be really enjoyable. Again, director Jonathan Levine could have made it all much more obvious and in-your-face, but he didn't and the film was stronger for it. John Malcovich plays Julie's father and is...well, he's John Malcovich.
At one point "R" is imagining the airport when it was populated by people instead of zombies. He imagines back to a time when people could really connect, express how they're feeling, and as he narrates this we're taken to a scene of the airport populated by living humans---men, women, children, all running around glued to their smartphones, not interacting at all. It's a great moment, and reminded me a bit of Shaun of the Dead.
Unlike Romeo & Juliet, however, this is a rom-com, not a tragedy. The hint is there in the name of the film: by its conclusion we have warm bodies, not cold ones. "R" does not go into a death-like slumber and Julie does not impale herself upon a knife. Instead, the zombies come back to life, mostly, and team up with the humans to eradicated the "bonies"---charred looking skeletons that are essentially zombies past saving.
Warm Bodies is a fun, funny zombie movie with a great twist that keeps it fresh even in a genre that's been done to death in recent years. If you miss it on the big screen, it's absolutely worth the price of a rental when it comes out on DVD or whatever online service you use.
It also has a terrific soundtrack, blending great old 80's classic rock with some really good contemporary indie from bands like The National. And it doesn't just sit in the background. "R" is a collector, and has a pretty outstanding vinyl collection which plays an entertaining role in the film.
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