Summary
Four people surviving the zombie apocalypse.
My Thoughts:
“Zombieland” graced our screens almost a decade ago, breathing new life into this immensely bloated genre, proving that the living dead apocalypse can be hopeful, funny, and a lot of chaotic fun. At the time Ruben Fleischer (“Venom”) was brand new to directing, this being his debut film and it shows plenty of promise for the young director. What he decided to actually do with that promise is a mystery to everyone, as this is his one-hit-wonder. Although, if he has the same care and craft for the second installment of this film, he may be able to find himself out of the rut. “Zombieland” is the perfect blend of horror and comedy, with zany characters, quotable dialogue, and some seriously shaky writing that is luckily saved by the chemistry of the four leads, and the inventive action.
Right off the bat the viewer is let in that this is not the average zombie movie, it’s very meta, showing the rules on top of the action (like rule #1: Cardio"). It’s done tastefully and to much hilarity. The opening credits are also one of my favorites to any movie; zombie carnage across the world while the apocalyptic banger ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ plays loudly by thrash legends Metallica. After that sets the tone, the rest of the movie flies by at a nice brisk pace, but still letting us get to know the characters. Cleverly we never learn the character’s real names, just the cities they are from as to not get attached to anyone. Our main character and narrator Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg, “The Social Network”) is a dweeby homebody, who admits now that there aren’t any more people he “kinda misses them,” he’s a relatable nobody with charm, and some seriously funny lines. I personally enjoy Jesse Eisenberg, I know there’s a stigma about him always playing the part the same, but I definitely disagree, he brings different quirks and mannerisms to each one of his roles to make it distinguished from the next. Watch “End of the Tour” and then tell me he’s the same as Lex Luthor; you can’t. Eisenberg is a great actor. Columbus meets up with the toughest and most skilled zombie killer in all the lands Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson, “No Country for Old Men”), who brings most of the on the nose humor to the screen in great fashion. Harrelson really is the star of the show here, he has the most one-liners and each one is immensely quotable. The scene between him and Bill Murray goes down as one of cinema’s funniest moments. And through much trial and tribulation the two meet up with two other survivors Wichita (Emma Stone, “The Favourite”) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin, “Signs”), who don’t really bring much other than damsels in distress, a love interest and a bit more humor… plus the movie had to be over 80 minutes, so adding extra characters helped.
I don’t think the two female characters are just thrown in for some dimension- they definitely have a purpose in the script- but the writing for them is rather poor and lazy. It makes them seem horribly unintelligent, far more so than our two male leads. Some of the character decisions in this movie make absolutely no sense. For instance, in the finale our two female leads make it to their destination; an abandoned amusement park, and their first instinct is to turn everything on, and ride some rides. It’s like they completely forgot that they are running from zombies, and of course plenty of zombies come charging into the park, and the ride they decide to escape to is a tower ride that slowly lowers them onto hungry zombies. It’s all very silly and obviously just a setup so the two male leads could come in and save them, it’s all shot very well and the violence is top notch, but that’s no excuse for lame writing, this was only a precursor to Ruben Fleischer’s meandering career. There’s a cat and mouse game between the two males and two females towards the middle of the film, the males trying to get their stolen car back from the females and the whole series of event feels so forced just to get the four together in one place it’s hard not to roll your eyes at the silliness. Also the love story doesn’t work at all; it’s not necessary to put that schlock in an otherwise very funny and well-done movie.
Overall “Zombieland” is above average entertainment for this genre. It has plenty of new things that add some depth, like the zombie kill of the week and the quirky rules that show up sporadically throughout the narrative, but that being said it doesn’t make up for the lazy character decisions and forced moments. It has a nice classic rock and roll soundtrack that fits nicely to the carnage, the product placement is absolutely ridiculous but it is done right in some instances, like the Twinkie which is partly what made this movie so memorable. The way Harrelson looks at the yellow sponge cake at the very end is gut busting funny. The action is bloody and frequent, keeping viewer’s bloodlust in check while providing plenty of laughs, it’s a great blend of two genres and it’s a movie that can be viewed multiple times and the laughs still remain fresh. Despite some serious writing flaws Zombieland is a satisfying way to spend and hour and a half in the undead world.
I give Zombieland 3.5 stars out of 5.
Review Written By: