Warm Bodies (2013) - Review

Wait a minute... that's not Kristen Stewart!

Since Twilight shot to popularity, an influx of crappy tween knockoffs started popping up everywhere.  The Host, Beautiful Creatures, The Mortal Instruments, etc.  It's inescapable; this generation is doomed forever to bad romances, cheesy effects, and bastardizations of interesting folklore monsters.

However, Warm Bodies is not one of those films.  It's actually good.

While Warm Bodies may fall into the same boat as the previously mentioned films, it should in no way be lumped in with them, as this movie has more heart and charm than all of them combined.  The plot follows a zombie simply named R as he falls in love with the headstrong Julie.  Yes.  R and Julie.  R and Juliet.  Romeo and Juliet.  Yeah, that's what this is, peripherally, at least.  It never takes centerstage, and there are really only a couple of passing references to it, so it doesn't count as a full-fledged adaptation.

The ol' zombie in headlights look

The beginning of the movie kind of starts off on the wrong foot actually.  The opening monologue by R is a bit TOO tongue-in-cheek for the film's own good.  But soon after, the film settles into a more natural and infinitely more charming groove.  The characters are fairly thin, but thanks to the convincing acting and the surprisingly subtle direction, they totally work.  The plot, on the other hand, is a bit aimless and kind of messy.  One of the big problems with the film is the antagonists, termed bonies, who are essentially just skeleton zombies sans humanity.  They look pretty bad and serve as pretty weak villains in the grand scheme of things.

But don't mistake my nitpicking for me saying it's a bad movie; it's really really not.  The majority of the movie is just the two leads talking and it couldn't be any more adorable.  Thanks to solid acting, the characters come off as real and incredibly natural, making this movie about zombies surprisingly full of life.  Go figure.