Sounding Off: Warm Bodies

Well, I decided to do this less frequently. By doing so, my reviews/rants will be a little more well written, hopefully.

Anyway, last Tuesday, my friends and I went out to check out this interesting zombie romantic comedy that many people apparently find really cute, actually. Of course, I'm talking about Warm Bodies, a story of a zombie falling in love with a human, and subsequently doing all he can to protect her from his brethren of undead. Insane sounding? Without a doubt. It does, however, actually work out. Let's get into this zom-rom-com, shall we?


The movie stars Nicholas Hoult (Beast from X-Men: First class; Tony Stonem from Skins) as a zombie named simply R. Now, as a zombie lover myself, the way the zombies were presented in this movie intrigued me. Many of us consider zombies creatures of demonic stature, only interested in devouring brains. The zombies in this movies do indeed do just that, but according to R, who narrates the first few minutes of the movie via voice over, these zombies have a conscious of sorts. They can't exactly utter their thoughts, but elements of humanity to remain intact in their brain, supposedly locked away forever.

The humans in this post-apocalyptic world are trying to survive, of course. The main human Julie, played by the adorable Teresa Palmer (I Am Number Four, Sorcerer's Apprentice) is removed from her group of allies on a hunt for supplies by R's pack of zombies. R kills and consumes Perry, Julie's boyfriend in this scuffle, and that's when things get interesting. R's narration tells us that when a zombie devours a humans brain, the zombie obtains the prey's thoughts, feelings, and memories (once again proving that these zombies do have a trace of humanity in them). Given that Perry was Julie's boyfriend, you can guess that R falls in love with Julie and takes her away to safety. I won't spoil what happens after here, but let's just say it's touching and cute.


The acting in this movie is commendable. Teresa deserves props for her role in the movie, as she was forced to hold conversations and display emotions pretty much on her own, as R was incapable of speech for the most part (he can grunt and utter the odd word or two, though). Teresa Palmer really does excel at playing Julie, and Nicholas doesn't fail playing a zombie in love, either.


My favorite part of this movie would have to be the sadistic humor involved. This wasn't a comedy gold-mine, by any means. In fact, many of the jokes were extremely corny in my opinion. There are a few gold moments that just cracks you up though, many of them coming from R's thoughts. That being said, a big issue with the movie I had was how it ended, or at least the idea of the "cure". Watch the movie if you want to see what I mean.


Final Review: Warm Bodies offers viewers a unique romance story, which the theaters are in dire need of (I'll kill myself if another vampire love story is made). A few of the jokes fall flat, but you're guaranteed a decent amount of laughs. The weakest element of the story would have to be the ludicrous story line, mainly the ending. It does, however, fit the idea of a zombie rom-com, so you can't really complain there. Go watch it with you're girl/boyfriend if you want to watch something cute and special, but don't expect to be blown away.

Final Score (out of 5 stars): ***


Next movie I plan on checking out is Identity Thief. :3 Expect a review on the midseason premiere of Walking Dead first, though!