Hello everyone and here I am again with a new 2019 catch up, one that is quite overdue in fact. This is because I reviewed the initial installment to coincide with the release of this movie (a review which you can check out on the blog if you haven’t) and now almost a year later here we are (wow I can’t believe it’s been that long). But better just like with the other catch ups it’s better late than never! Anyway back to Zombieland, it’s a movie that I really enjoy as it works very well as a fun road trip comedy set during the zombie apocalypse that had a game cast playing a group of memorable, and compelling characters whom I wouldn’t mind seeing in more adventures. And almost a decade later they did get another one which brings us to Zombieland Double Tap. Now truth be told I was a little unsure of how this was going to go largely because long belated comedy sequels don’t have the greatest track record, and the trailers didn’t really do a whole lot for me. Luckily to my surprise I actually ended up enjoying this quite a bit! Now let’s join up with Columbus, and the gang to see how much this second installment was able to justify itself.
Taking place 10 years after the original (about the time we had to wait for this sequel) we are reunited with the surrogate family of Columbus, Tallahassee, Wichita, and Little Rock who are still killing through zombies together and have decided to move into the White House to set up a new home. While their enjoying their time there, each one of them seems to be going through some personal conflicts at the moment with Columbus deciding on whether or not he should propose to Wichita or Tallahassee rejecting Little Rock’s desires of starting a family. One morning Columbus, and Tallahassee receive a note from the two that they have left with Little Rock feeling the latter is treating her too much like a child, and the former is afraid she’s become too attached with Columbus. So now understandably frustrated the two are now on their own… until a month passes by and they end up running into a fellow survivor named Madison at a mall in a freezer. She ain’t exactly the brightest but Columbus takes a liking to her (despite Tallahassee’s reservations about bringing her along) and he invites her to the White House where the two get a little “busy”. However Wichita returns (a little dismayed at the new visitor of course) and informs them that Little Rock has left with some sort of pacifist from Berkeley to Graceland. So now they must nut up, shut up, and set off to find Little Rock as they meet some new faces, and battle more agile, and evolved zombies along the way.
One of the best aspects of the original in my opinion is that it told a simple story that was well executed, and paced excellently with a tone of energy to boot. Here the story, and pacing isn’t quite as strong as they were in the first. It can be pretty uneven in certain areas as it just feels like the characters are just meandering through the proceedings often feeling a bit messy. I think one of the aspects that really does slow things down to a halt is whenever we have to deal with the love triangle that forms between Columbus, Wichita, and Madison and while I’m not totally against these sorts of conflicts and I do understand what they were going in for in trying to add some complications to the former two’s relationship, it just felt tacked on here and wasn’t fleshed out well enough to warrant the inclusion. That being said though even with those problems I still had an fun time with Double Tap mainly because it still retains the wit, and humor of it’s predecessor as well expanding this world. Not only do we get to see the team go up against brand new zombies with them now being categorized from stupidest to smartest (one of my long running favorite jokes of the film) but we get to see them visit some new locales that further add to this post apocalyptic landscape, and meet fellow survivors of the Zombie outbreak as well. I also like how the writers acknowledged the time that has passed between installments with plenty of clever little visual gags, and jokes that reference trends or ideas of today (like one funny joke involving Uber) that I found really funny and it was nice to see gags from the original make an appearance as well (Columbus’s rules, the zombie kill of the week, a hilarious cameo from Bill Murray that I won’t spoil, etc.). Heck I think I laughed about as much here as I did as the first one so in terms of enjoyability I think their about on par with one another, even though I still consider the original a better movie overall.
One other thing that this sequel retains is Ruben Fleischer’s direction as he once again brings a lot of nice energy to the proceedings. In particular he does an impressive job with a lot of action sequences here (this one may be a bit more action packed than the original) that deliver the zombie filled carnage you’d want with a number of creative kills throughout. Some of stand outs in this regard are a one take fight scene involving the team duking it out with some zombies and the explosive finale involving monster trucks, fire, and one huge building which was quite a bit of fun. Also thought the makeup for the zombies was really well done once again as a couple of them are actually kind of creative in their designs (specifically one who looks like Homer Simpson which makes sense given how the less intelligent zombies are categorized here). Yet for me the glue that holds this whole franchise together are the characters themselves, and the actors who portray them and that’s easily the biggest highlight of the film is seeing them once again (especially when you acknowledge how far they have come in their careers since the release of Zombieland). Even if their love complications didn’t entirely work for me I still really enjoyed the chemistry between Jesse Eisenberg’s smart yet socially awkward, Columbus, and Emma Stone’s tough as nails yet still caring, Wichita, as they are fun to be around and have a sweet relationship with plenty of relatable moments. Then of course there’s my favorite of the bunch once again which is Woody Harrelson as Tennessee who brings a lot energy, and snarkiness to the role and has some of the best jokes in the entire movie (his obsession with Elvis, and excitement of going to Graceland in particular is really funny). Unfortunately it’s mainly those 3 out of quintet that get a lot of focus, and development as Abigail Breslin’s Little Rock is disappointingly underutilized here which is a shame because there’s a lot of potential to develop her character now that she’s older and the conflict of her feeling like she’s not being treated seriously is a promising one yet it’s not that developed which makes the pay off not as effective as it should’ve been, and she’s gone for a good sized chunk of the feature which was disappointing to say the least. As for the newcomers well they’re all really fun as well! Zoey Deutch is surprisingly hilarious as Madison, a character who very easily could’ve been an annoying presence yet ends up stealing every scene she is in largely due to her lack of intelligence but also how everyone seems to underestimate her which leads to some really funny scenes, and I also really enjoyed Rosario Dawson as Nevada, an Elvis fanatic who serves as a love interest for Tennessee and their interactions with one another are really nice. Avan Jogia as Little Rock’s new friend from Berkeley is fine for the most part even if he too doesn’t really get much to do (though I do like how the refuge of Babylon is portrayed here) while Luke Wilson, and Thomas Middleditch make amusing extended cameos as Albuquerque, and Flagstaff, two partners whose personalities mirror those of Tennessee, and Columbus to a large extent. The whole cast in general is just a blast to hang out with again as like many good sequel this one reunites us with old favorites while also introducing some memorable new ones as well.
Despite coming ten years later, Zombieland Double Tap turned out to be a pretty solid follow up to the original. I still like the first more as this one isn’t as strong in terms of story or pacing, the love triangle aspect brings it down a bit, it’s uneven in certain spots, and I wish there was more done with Little Rock. That being said it’s still a fun watch with lots of great comedy, it expands the world a bit more, it still retains the charm of the original, the action is well crafted, and the cast is absolutely aces here! It’s a fun reunion with some old friends that is able to justify itself and I can tell that the team had a lot of fun making this. Not gonna lie I actually wouldn’t mind seeing a third one some time in the future though even if we don’t I like how things ended off here. In terms of belated comedy sequels this is definitely one that didn’t fail to put a smile on my face while watching it and I can imagine most fans of the original feeling the same way.
Rating: B
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