In the last decade, probably longer, the amount of sequels and retakes have grown exponentially. With the scads of franchises and incarnations of different films, audiences are definitely hard-pressed to find a film that is original or fresh. Surely "Zombieland" '09 was a brilliantly funny film, but can they hit pay dirt again ten years later with "Zombieland: Double Tap"?
A decade after "Zombieland" became a hit film and cult classic, the lead cast, Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) have reunited for this next incarnation. In the sequel, through comic mayhem that stretches from the White House and through the heartland, these four slayers must face off against the many new kinds of zombies that have evolved since the first film, as well as some new human survivors, including Madison (Zoey Deutch) and Nevada (Rosario Dawson). But most of all, they have to face the growing pains of their own snarky, makeshift family.
Others to round out the cast are Avan Jogia as Berkeley, Luke Wilson as Albuquerque, Thomas Middleditch as Flagstaff, Victoria Hall as Babylonian Gatekeeper and Victor Rivera as Civil War Bearded Guy.
This was directed with the same grit and hilarity of the original by Ruben Fleischer ("Zombieland" '09, "30 Minutes or Less" '11, "Gangster Squad" '13, "The List" (TV movie) '13, "Spaced Out" (TV movie) '17, "Venom" '18) plus TV, shorts and video shorts. Considering the same director that directed this and also directed its predecessor has everything to do with the crispness this reached in causing these characters to come alive. Any other director probably couldn't have pulled it off. It's interesting how this filmmaker can take an otherwise drama and turn it into a satirical romp that isn't a belly-laugh type of film, but one that is bizarre yet funny. It was also written by two of the three writers of its predecessor. The writers of this are David Callaham, Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. All of these writers have a good deal of experience, however the two that wrote the original were Reese and Wernick. Other than a couple of very small places of choppiness, this storyline soared. Again, it certainly helps to bring back the original writers so as to keep the whacky characters consistent and fresh. As with the original, this was like a 'how to kill zombies 101' type of format replete with tags in the air like one might see on a blackboard. The dry, but whacky comedic style of this, as with the original, is simply hilarious and with this, in my opinion, makes this film far more interesting than just a straight up drama. The special effects makeup by Tony Gardner also added to the realness of the zombie killing.
Whether you like zombie films or not, this is one fun flick replete with humor, gore and all designed in a fun way. I'm not a huge zombie film fan, but this, as with its predecessor were both entertaining and was a great escape film. Grab the popcorn and have fun with this.
Out of 4 Stars: 3.5 Rated: R 99mins.
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