Movie Review: "Warm Bodies"

Warm Bodies
Release Date: February 1st, 2013
Rated: PG-13
Length: 93 Minutes
Directed by: Jonathan Levine
Stars: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer and John Malkovich

Movie Synopsis:
After a zombie becomes involved with the girlfriend of one of his victims, their romance sets in motion a sequence of events that might transform the entire lifeless world.

Purchase the book here.

My Review:
It's no secret that I loved the book Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion, so I have been eagerly awaiting the release of Warm Bodies. Thankfully, I managed to attend one of the many screenings that Summit held for the movie, and I can honestly say that I'm pleased with how Levine presented the story on the big screen.

Warm Bodies isn't your typical zombie book. At all. If you're looking for a gory zombie story, then this isn't for you. It's a book told from the POV of a zombie named R. Yes, you read that correctly. And yes, there is romance involved, but that isn't the entire story. Warm Bodies is a novel that make you'll think (and laugh, a lot). I say that it isn't your typical zombie novel, not only because of the ending, but because it honestly makes readers think. And I was worried that during its transition to the big screen that Warm Bodies would lose that.

It didn't.

If you've seen Jonathan Levine's other films (mainly The Wackness and 50/50, both of which are fantastic), then you'll note that he handles seriousness and humor incredibly well. Had it been another director behind this project, I don't think it would've worked - he really was the best choice for this movie, and it only made me love his work even more.

Warm Bodies, the movie, has its funny moments (a lot of them), and it does have its romance, but it still manages to capture the feel of the book, which is incredibly hard to do when taking pages from a book and trying to condense them into an hour-and-a-half long movie.

The actors - especially Nicholas Hoult - were fantastic.
The music, which plays an important part in the book, was wonderful. Sure, the songs weren't exact from the book (licensing issues, I believe), but the songs used worked wonderfully.
The imagery was amazing (especially the final shot before the credits roll).

I honestly adored the movie, and I will be seeing it again when it is released next month.

Would I recommend seeing it when it is released on February 1st? Yes. And if you haven't read the book yet, you should probably get on that. It was one of my favorite reads from 2011, if not my favorite.

The trailer for Warm Bodies:

 

I should probably mention that Warm Bodies isn't a Young Adult novel, though it isn't exactly an Adult novel either. It falls more in line with the New Adult group as there is profanity and a brief mention of sex (I believe it is just one scene, but don't hold me to that, it's been a year since I've read the book).