In 2009, Zombieland was one of the best comedy movies around. The certifiably hilarious zombie-killer classic didn’t win any major awards but certainly didn’t fly under the radar with fans.
The film’s purpose wasn’t to win awards or earn critical acclaim, but to simply be entertaining and funny for audience members. With an all-star cast and a new, exciting take on zombie-flicks, Zombieland was a hit.
Ten years later, fans were skeptical about the release of a sequel to the film and nervous that it would taint the reputation of the original. However, Zombieland: Doubletap is just as great, if not slightly better, than the original.
While the core four, Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), were teaming up for better or worse in the original film, Doubletap deals with Little Rock’s disappearance with her new friend Berkley (Avan Jogia) to find people her own age. The rest of the group sets out to find her, with the help of new friends along the way. However, the zombies are getting harder and harder to kill as they advance through mutation, so the characters are in for a bumpy ride.
It’s really amazing to see the same all-star cast 10 years later. Though the film definitely doesn’t stand alone and requires knowledge of the first film, it’s a worthy successor to the original. There are plenty of callbacks to the original film, including Bill Murray (stick around for a mid-credit scene), Columbus’ fear of clowns and the reference of hot girl from apartment 406. However, Tallahassee’s love of Twinkies and Murray is replaced with an obsession with Elvis Presley and a diehard hatred of minivans.
The performances are really well done in the film. Of course, Eisenberg and Stone’s characters are the heart of both films through their relationship development, but the audience gets to see more of Harrelson’s soft-side portrayal of Tallahassee’s father-figure-esque treatment of Little Rock, which is nice to see. The cast is filled with grade-A comedians, and the film wouldn’t be as great without Eisenberg, Harrelson, Stone and Breslin.
What Zombieland 2 has that the first film lacked are great celebrity cameos. Aside from the core four and the reference to Murray, the sequel adds Zoey Deutch as Madison, a ditzy, seemingly brainless pretty girl who fights Wichita for Columbus’ attention, Rosario Dawson as Nevada, a strong, intelligent, female version of Tallahassee and Luke Wilson and Thomas Middleditch as Albuquerque and Flagstaff, who are essentially mirror images of Columbus and Tallahassee. Throw in Jogia as the weed-smoking, Bob-Dylan-posing pacifist and you’ve got an incredible lineup of cast additions. The film is truly cast perfectly, which is by far its strongest asset.
Zombieland 2 isn’t an award-winning work of art, but like its predecessor, it isn’t trying to be. It knows exactly what it is: a zombie-killer comedy filled with typical tropes and cheesy running gags. Armed with epic slow-motion fighting scenes, a great and complex side romance between Columbus and Wichita, and hilarious and detailed attention to editing (down to Columbus’ rules displayed throughout the film), it’s a wonderful comedy that everyone should make time to see — you’ll be laughing out loud with the rest of the audience.
Rating: 5/5
