*WARNING: SPOILERS!!!*

Ok, so if that wasn’t enough to warn you, stop reading now unless you have seen World War Z…or don’t it’s your call…

So, WWZ has been a rumored cinematic Titanic (the one that sank…not the movie that made money) since news of its production broke. Brad Pitt was rumored not to be on speaking terms with the director, other people wanted to quit and Matthew Fox was evidently cut from the film, except for a very brief second or two. And now rumors of a completely different ending have stumbled out of the beleaguered WWZ camp.

I went into WWZ with pretty low expectations, it looked cool, but was clearly not going to give me what I wanted from the book. But with those expectations firmly in place, I have to say that it wasn’t a bad movie. It had a somewhat coherent plot line and the action scenes were enjoyable, though 3D really added nothing, other than a few dollars to the price of my ticket. Other than that there were little nerd Easter eggs buried in the movie that harkened back to both of Max Brooks’ zombie books, which made my inner fanboy chuckle. But as I’m sure you have heard, WWZ kind of takes a left turn in the last thirty minutes. The end involves Pitt giving himself a terminal illness and riding back into the open arms of his wife and children. This made for a happy ending and set up the already green lighted sequel, but this happy day hug fest didn’t feel like it fit the rest of the movie.

Pitt roamed the earth leaving a trail of zombies, dead people and ruined cities in his wake. At one point I actually began to wonder why people would even open the door for him, let alone follow him across the globe? The man was a literal bad luck zombie magnet – his appearance somewhat akin to the Mothman or the Grim Reaper.

But now with details regarding the alternate ending leaking out, the disjunct final thirty minutes of the movie make sense. Someone clearly felt that audiences needed a happier ending after ninety minutes of death and destruction and cobbled together what we’ll find in theaters. But what was the original ending you ask? Well, evidently Pitt and his Israeli  soldier friend end up in Russia where they are drafted into zombie fighting units and he has his SAT phone taken. The sick and elderly on the plane are executed, pretty much canceling Pitt’s whole “let’s give ourselves Meningitis camouflage” theory. And what about Pitt’s wife Karin and the kids? Well, they end up in a refuge camp, but this one is located near the Everglades and far from the safety provided by the cold. And what happens there? Nothing good. Evidently, Karin has been trading sex for safety to Matthew Fox’s character. Once Pitt catches wind of this turn of events, he leaves Russia with a band of fighters and begins making his way back to his family.

This added man vs. man conflict would have been an interesting addition, but one that I’m sure would have upset a few movie goers, though I wouldn’t have been one of them. Now, I’m not saying I want to see Karin giving Fox a happy ending, but I do think it’s a little more authentic. One of the greatest things about the zombie genre is not undead, but what they allow the humans to do. Zombies provide the backdrop for society to crumble, rules to cease and for the true monsters to emerge. They seemed to have understood this with the first draft of WWZ, but sacrificed it for the sake of a warm and fuzzy feeling. WWZ was still enjoyable, though I’d say see it in 2D and save a few bucks. I seriously hope that this alternate ending makes it way into the Blu-ray extras…of course that is, assuming it actually was shot.

Source: Cinema Blend.