Warm Bodies Review

For me this movie was literally a no brainer because I’m a HUGE sucker for zombies, horror, action and romance movies in general but a movie that embodies all these things plus something a little extra? That I didn’t expect and those are usually the best kinds of movies (in my opinion)

I haven’t read the book yet though after watching this film I’m going to continue my long agonizing hunt for it because I loved this movie! I went into this movie with no expectations, no idea of the plot except that it was going to be a love-story between a zombie and a human survivor. Think twilight with zombies…yah actually it’s nothing like that (no offense) garbage. Warm Bodies was excellent, it exceeded everything I could’ve imagined for this type of movie and it was all around enjoyable and I’m going to explain why:

Let me just say Nicholas Hoult; I was literally blown away by his performances in this movie. I’ve never seen any of his previous works either than X-Men: First Class and for his first actual leading role I wasn’t expecting much from an undead character BUT I was dead wrong (lol see what I did there). Nicholas played the most sympathetic, endearing, emotionally engaging, seemingly wide-eyed innocent, hilarious zombie romantic lead in the history of film. I’m not kidding this guy is the real deal, it takes sheer acting talent to play what would’ve been an otherwise dry/one-dimensional character like ‘R’ but the depth, insight and emotion he was able to convey made you immediately connect with him through the whole movie. This was important for the audience because R doesn’t have a lot of dialogue and he’s the main protagonist of the story so for Hoult to be able to nail R’s humor, monologue, and physical speach using mainly his facial expressions is the mark of a true star and rising dramatic actor.

Nicholas Hoult carried the whole film and stole every scene. You’d think it wouldn’t take a lot of acting talent to play a zombie, or at least a zombie with a soul but Nick does it so brilliantly. He’s charming, witty, tortured, awkward, adorable, sensitive, sexy, smart and hilarious! He nails the comedy effortlessly and made me cry in all his emotional scenes, yes cry (a zombie actually moved me to tears). If you haven’t seen Nicholas Hoult in anything previously, watch this movie because you’ll instantly fall under his spell and become a fan. Can’t wait to see him as a lead in future projects. He makes you feel for R’s character, even when he does the most brutal things like *SPOILER* killing Julie’s boyfriend. Which brings me to my next highlight.

Teresa Palmer was fantastic in this role as the human survivor/leading lady Julie. I had seen her previous films Sorcerer’s Apprentice and I AM NUMBER FOUR and I just loved her as an actress though both these roles didn’t really offer her a lot of range compared to Warm Bodies. I got to see another side of Teresa in this film and while I thought Julie was going to be your typical badass-post-apocalypse-chic or damsel in distress, she wasn’t like that at all. Julie was tough but vulnerable, intelligent, brave, curious, lively, warm, sweet and innocent. As R starts to get to know her and fall for her throughout the film it’s easy to see why with qualities like these. I immediately connected with her and her chemistry with Nicholas Hoult was mesmerizing and undeniable. They were so sweet together and their romance was more subtle and not overly mushy/in-your-face which worked really well for the movie. I loved the bond they developed and kept rooting for their love the whole way. 

Rob Corrdry was hilarious as R’s undead buddie/side-kick ‘M’. I’d seen him in Hot Tub Time Machine and thought he was funny in that but nothing special until I saw him in this role. I loved ‘M’ (or Marcus) he was awesome, stole all his scenes, had all the best one liners, he’s also really sympathetic and fleshed out especially for a zombie who’s not as unique as R. Rob and Nicholas had great chemistry together also. I loved all their scenes because they’d go from humorous to heartfelt. I was on the edge of my seat caring and worrying about M because he was just so damn cool. Corddry is definitely a fantastic dramatic actor with excellent comedic timing, this movie just made me love him.

Dave Franco was great in this film as Perry, Julie’s former boyfriend. I did feel for his character but not as much as R. I wouldn’t say Dave blew me away in the role because anyone could’ve played this character but he made the most of it and gave some good insight to Perry and what his relationship was like with Julie. He was also funny in R’s dream. But I think R’s confession to Julie later about Perry made me feel a little more torn about his fate than I was when it happens.

John Malkovich was also really good in this movie as Julie’s badass, military, zombie-killing father. I could just see him in this type of role especially after seeing the movie RED. I never cared for Malkovich much although he’s a fantastic actor and I still didn’t feel sympathetic enough to his character but I could easily understand his actions and protectiveness over Julie.

Overall this movie was outstanding. Yes its a romantic comedy with zombies but it’s not just that. The story is refreshing, the characters are all interesting and engaging, it’s funny, its brutal, its emotional and really entertaining. This is the most original take on zombie mythology I’ve seen and it was well done. 

I’m normally a typical zombies-are-killing-machines kinda girl but I loved this zombies-can-have-souls-too concept. I really enjoyed seeing a zombie apocalypse story told from the perspective of a zombie instead of a human, it made me question things differently.  The performances are excellent,  the acting is top notch, the pacing is great, the action was on point, the special makeup effects are great, the tone is a wonderful mixture of dark and light. It’s a movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The soundtrack is AWESOME; excellent blend of classic rock and indie.

 R’s struggle to connect with his humanity is the heart of this movie and the love story between him and Julie is really beautiful and touching. 
Their romance is like a cross between Romeo & Juliet and The Notebook’s Allie & Noah with zombies and humor. I laughed, I cried, I got scared at times, I just thoroughly loved this movie and I highly recommend it especially to thoes that aren’t really zombie fans. Don’t be fooled by the concept of this movie because I can promise you it’s NOTHING LIKE TWILIGHT! I wouldn’t say it’s like Zombieland or Shaun of the Dead either but it does have similar elements. It’s a movie all on its own and it’s awesome, go see it!

10/10