Movie Review: Zombieland: Double Tap

Zombieland: Double Tap

Director: Rube Fleischer

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson, Abigail Breslin, Rosario Dawson, Zoey Deutch

Rating: R

Runtime: 93 minutes

In the last few years, there have been sequels to decade-old movies that haven’t been too good. I won’t name any, but you know they’re out there. And then, a decade later, a trailer came out for the sequel to Zombieland, and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. Another sequel, releasing long after a sequel should be coming out. But, to my surprise, Zombieland: Double Tap is pretty good.

Zombieland: Double Tap follows Columbus, Tallahassee, Wichita and Little Rock ten years after the original movie. Experts in fighting and identifying the undead, the group settles down in the White House. Feeling out of place, Little Rock abandons them for a hippie boy she meets on the road. Fearing for her safety, the other three take to the road to find her, meeting other survivors and new types of zombies on the way.

I think the biggest concern I (and most people) might have about this is that it would just be a retreading of the same jokes and plot. There is some of that, but it doesn’t hit us over the head with it. The story also follows the group along on a road trip, like the first one, sort of. But this one feels like it has a purpose, rather than searching for a vague “safe haven”. The scenes taking place in the car offer good character growth through the dialogue, along with plenty of jokes.

The original cast returning is one of the strongest things going for this movie. I don’t think it would work without any of them. The main cast of Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, and Woody Harrelson all have a natural chemistry together. Harrelson just kills it as the over-the-top southern cowboy badass that is Tallahassee, giving some of the funniest lines. The new characters are also really great. Zoey Deutch is Madison, basically a walking “blonde” joke. If you’ve ever met a peaceful hippie with a guitar, that’s Avan Jogia as Berkely.

One of the things from the trailer that made me feel “eh” going into this movie is Luke Wilson and Thomas Middleditch. They play Albuquerque and Flagstaff, respectively, and are mirror images of Tallahassee and Columbus. But to my surprise, they have one of the better scenes in the movie. The joke lasts long enough to get a little tired, but right as you feel it, they switch it up and change the pace with them. Rosario Dawson, while a fantastic actress on her own, didn’t have too much to do here. Nevada, her character, is mostly there as a love interest for Harrelson’s Tallahassee. She’s got some good action scenes, but it’s mostly special effects and (I’m 95% sure) stunt performers.

My biggest problem with this movie is the special effects. They’re not bad, definitely not the worst I’ve seen in a movie this year. But you can tell when they use them. Obviously you can’t mow down zombie extras in a monster truck (which happens), but I’m just not a fan of fake CGI blood. This movie improves on the original and adds some new elements that I appreciate. Zombieland was meant to be a tv series, and you can feel where the episodes start and end in that movie. Being made as a movie removes that feeling in Zombieland: Double Tap. The zombie genre is filled with its share of bad movies and has slowed down in recent years. Zombieland: Double Tap isn’t groundbreaking in that genre, but it’s a fun, funny, action-packed sequel that’s on par with the original.

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