Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (6/1/2016)

Rated PG-13 for zombie violence and action, and brief suggestive material.

Starring Lily James, Sam Riley, Bella Heathcote and Ellie Bamber

Directed by Burr Steers (Charlie St. Cloud, 17 Again)

This movie strives to be both scary and funny but winds up being neither.

A zombie outbreak has fallen upon the land in this reimagining of Jane Austen’s classic tale of the tangled relationships between lovers from different social classes in 19th century England. Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet (Lily James) is a master of martial arts and weaponry and the handsome Mr. Darcy (Sam Riley) is a fierce zombie killer, yet the epitome of upper class prejudice. As the zombie outbreak intensifies, they must swallow their pride and join forces on the blood-soaked battlefield in order to conquer the undead once and for all.

My wife is a huge fan of The Walking Dead and most things zombies. She also has a fondness for Jane Austen’s classic novel, so one would think we were in for a real treat. Boy were we wrong.

Based on the best-selling mashup by Seth Grahame-Smith, who grafted zombies onto Jane Austen’s classic novel, Burr Steers fails to capture what made the novel a runaway success. The exact same thing happened when they made Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer…remember that mess? And did you know that Steers was the fourth director to take on this project? David O. Russell, Mike White, and Craig Gillespie all left due to scheduling, budget, and casting conflicts. Usually not a good sign.

There’s never a sense of fear or peril; and everyone is way too bubbly…including the zombies. There is a huge assumption that the audience is familiar with either novel. I was not and completely lost.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is a bloated mess, so I say you should “Skip It.”

SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
There is no sex or nudity, but there are several conversations about it. There was no noticeable profanity.

The film contains frequent depictions of action violence involving zombies throughout the film, where the main characters can be seen fighting and killing zombies. Several of their heads explode with minimal bloodletting throughout the film.

CONVERSATION STARTER:

1. Why does Elizabeth say, “A woman is either highly trained or highly refined, one cannot be both in such times”?


2. What are some, “one way or another” type of decisions that you have to make?

Read James 1:22

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.


3. What is the danger in just listening to the word? Why must we also do what it says?


4. What are some ways you can do a better job of living out this verse this week?