Director: Ruben Fleischer
Writer: Dave Callaham, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick (Screenplay)
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, Zoey Deutch, Rosario Dawson
Plot: Columbus, Tallahassee, Wichita, and Little Rock move to the American heartland as they face off against evolved zombies, fellow survivors, and the growing pains of the snarky makeshift family.
Runtime: 1 Hour 39 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Sitcom in the Making?
Story: Zombieland: Double Tap starts ten-years after the events of the first film, Tallahassee (Harrelson), Columbus (Eisenberg), Wichita (Stone) and Little Rock (Breslin) are now living in the White House feeling safe, while Little Rock is starting to feel left out, with the couple together and Tallahassee with her car.
When Little Rock leaves, the three remaining must go on a road trip to rescue her, meeting Madison (Deutch) and Nevada (Dawson) along the way, where they learn they might be facing a new threat from the zombies.
Thoughts on Zombieland: Double Tap
Characters – Most of the original four are just how you remember them, Tallahassee is busy trying to make his new car the Beast the reason they go out, but slowly turning into the father that doesn’t want his daughter Little Rock to leave, caring more than he will admit, he will lead the rescue pretending it is a reluctant idea. Columbus wants to take his relationship with Wichita to the next level, only this doesn’t go as planned, where he spends time trying to re-assess his new life. Wichita doesn’t react well to the proposal, she must spend the film wondering just what she wants from her life and whether Columbus is for her, while wanting to rescue her sister. Little Rock has grown up now, she wants to be loved like her sister and with lack of options, she wants to go out into the world in search of somebody, often treated like the daughter to the family, with her actions only making them react like disapproving parents. The new members of the cast include Madison, who has spend the 10-years living in a freezer, surviving somehow, she talks too much and is as dumb as they come. Nevada is in Graceland the one place Tallahassee wanted to go, she is the first person that he meets around his age that could offer him something more in life now.
Performances – Woody Harrelson continues to steal the show in this film, playing the typical over the top version of an America, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone both are strong, but never reaching the levels of the original, while Abigail Breslin does have a lot more to do, she doesn’t get as much screen time as you would think. Zoey Deutch balances the most annoying person in the scene, with the funniest extremely well. Rosario Dawson is great addition to the cast too.
Story – The story here follows the group ten-years into the zombie apocalypse where they have become safe and must bring one of their own back and come up against a new dangerous form of zombie. The story does step away from the basic surviving ideas of a zombie film which is great because it does show how the human side of life would become different and how human contact would become important to the people. The problem with how the story unfolds, is that it does feel like a sitcom for the most part, never really having a deep enough story for a film, while being cut up into nice chucks for something to happen within.
Comedy/Horror – The comedy in this film does work very well, we have it play out like a commentary to everything that has happened and that will happened, while the wildly over the top reactions and the addition of Madison works to add so much more in the film. The horror does take a step back though, because we open the film with a how zombie introduction, only to end up not using them to any involvement.
Settings – The film does iconic locations with the White House being the home, Graceland being a place they are traveling too, outside of that we get the usual zombie locations.
Special Effects – The effects are not the most important part of the film, but when they are used they are not as strong as they should be.
Scene of the Movie – Tallahassee reaction to everything.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The story does seem like there isn’t anything to it.
Final Thoughts – This is a nice enjoyable sequel comedy, it is self-aware enough to laugh at itself, while not hitting the heights of the original.
Overall: Simple Sequel.
