Warm Bodies … Zombies, hmm?

When a movie adaptation of a book comes out, I usually prefer to read the book first. I don’t like sitting in the theatre not getting what’s happening while a majority of the crowd is already expecting what’s going to happen next. I made sure to read the book first with Harry Potter and Twilight. Lately, I haven’t been able to do this. What with three novels to edit and another one I need to write and a ton of books backing up my To Read List … *shakes head* I will stop making excuses. The only reason I found out about Warm Bodies is because it was all over my Facebook feed. I watched the first 10 minutes and said: Need. To. Watch. Now!

So, I finally got to watch it today. Give me a romance and I’m pretty happy. I’m easy to please when romance is involved. Lately, I’ve been lacking in the heart pounding romance department. You know what I mean. The kind of romance where every time the hero comes into the page your heart leaps into your throat and beats there for the foreseeable future. I’m not saying the movie did this for me, but it certainly made me want to buy the book. I get the feeling the book is ultimately much better than the movie. Since this is mostly the case.

I couldn’t get past the fact that the actress who played Julie (Teresa Palmer) looked so much like Kristen Stewart. Damn. In some scenes I had to do a double take because they basically looked like twins. And since this movie was produced by Summit, who also produced Twilight, I’m pretty sure Palmer auditioned for the role of Bella once. Okay, this might not be true, but seriously, check it out for yourself:

Okay, the guy who played R? Nicholas Hoult. New crush. Can you believe he was the boy in About a Boy? Guy’s growing up nicely. Although, why it had to take him playing a zombie for me to like him says a lot about my taste in men. *scratches head* He even plays Jack in Jack the Giant Slayer. Can you imagine? Okay, now I’m seriously questioning myself. *walks off to stare at Ryan Gosling pictures*

The premise of zombies turning back into humans because of “love” was a bit of a stretch for me. Maybe the book will explain this more. It came out really shallow in the movie. Don’t get me wrong. I’m the “love conquers all” type, but in this instance, I couldn’t wrap my brain around it. Science is always attached to the zombie mythos. If you don’t explain why the zombie is turning back into a human properly, you’ve lost me. I mean, zombies are dead. Essentially, you’re bringing someone back to life. I’m all for the power of love, but I don’t think it’s that strong if not explain properly.

*epiphany* If being a zombie is a metaphor for not living life to the fullest and how love can make you believe in living again, then I get it. But as much as possible, I don’t like to get that deep when it comes to my movies and books unless I’m being graded on it.

The chemistry between Palmer and Hoult is passable. I mean, for a zombie/human romance, Hoult pulled off the awkward zombie just right. It’s Palmer’s similarity to KStew that I couldn’t get out of my head. The whole freakin’ movie I kept comparing the two. I half expected Robert Pattinson to make an appearance.

All in all, I enjoyed watching Warm Bodies. I didn’t expect to have my mind blown. But the movie did make me want to read the book, so that’s got to count for something. To those who’ve read the book and seen the movie, which did you like better? Did the movie live up to the book? Let me know.

Warm Bodies … Zombies, hmm?