Zombieland: Double Tap - Movie Review
Ten years! Ten years since Zombieland came out and became a cult classic z-movie. For me, it was instantly one of my favourite zombie movies and in my limited viewing repertoire, it's second to Shaun of the Dead. Now, we get a sequel with the same amiable characters - Columbus, Tallahassee, Wichita and Little Rock. It's everything you hoped it would be... and a lot of what you'd fear a sequel to be.
The movie timeline follows the same ten-year progression of the characters. For three of them, it doesn't change too much but a decade can change a lot for a kid like Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) who went from being a girl to a woman. In the apocalyptic world, puberty would be unimaginably more difficult, when the only non-Brain eating company you have is a gun-toting loon as a father figure (Tallahassee played by Woody Harrelson) and your older sister (Wichita played by Emma Stone) who is dating the ballsy, good-guy nerd (Columbus played by Jesse Eisenberg). So, the first chance she gets, Little Rock absconds with a hippie musician to a pacifist colony of survivors.
In this sequel, with the on-topic suffix of "Double Tap" which is one of Columbus' many rules to confirm a zombie kill, the story expands to add new dimensions to the realm of Zombieland. The addition of new characters, a.k.a., other survivors is a key aspect in this while the established characters stick to what made them lovable in the first installment. Sticking to their strengths is a double-edged sword as it delivers exactly what the fans expect - funny, violent and sometimes not-so-subtle innuendos. But it's predictable. The new characters were also fun and brought about new responses between the existing ones. My favourite addition was Nevada (played by the gorgeous Rosario Dawson).
Another plot expansion was the evolution of the zombies. These were now classified into different levels depending on how hard they were to kill. This added to the tension for the lead group which has become exceedingly good at killing zombies over the past decade. The kills were gruesome and entertaining but in the production choices for upping the ante, they started to become a bit too ridiculous.
Zombieland 2 is a sequel worth waiting for to watch right after the first movie which fans might have seen hundreds of times over. It delivers on all the expectations from the first one with back-to-back laughs, cool zombie kills, Columbus' rules for survival and a few wholesome moments in between. But like any sequel to a cult classic, it's not as good or as well-packaged for a viewing experience.
I would like to point out that the music throughout the movie is fantastic and since its been ten years of zombies, it doesn't feature any of the new-age shite.
This movie is on my list to watch many times for some casual viewing and laughs, especially while traveling. Zombieland Double Tap gets a rating of 8 out of 11 minivans from the Sane Loon. Cheers!
The movie timeline follows the same ten-year progression of the characters. For three of them, it doesn't change too much but a decade can change a lot for a kid like Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) who went from being a girl to a woman. In the apocalyptic world, puberty would be unimaginably more difficult, when the only non-Brain eating company you have is a gun-toting loon as a father figure (Tallahassee played by Woody Harrelson) and your older sister (Wichita played by Emma Stone) who is dating the ballsy, good-guy nerd (Columbus played by Jesse Eisenberg). So, the first chance she gets, Little Rock absconds with a hippie musician to a pacifist colony of survivors.
In this sequel, with the on-topic suffix of "Double Tap" which is one of Columbus' many rules to confirm a zombie kill, the story expands to add new dimensions to the realm of Zombieland. The addition of new characters, a.k.a., other survivors is a key aspect in this while the established characters stick to what made them lovable in the first installment. Sticking to their strengths is a double-edged sword as it delivers exactly what the fans expect - funny, violent and sometimes not-so-subtle innuendos. But it's predictable. The new characters were also fun and brought about new responses between the existing ones. My favourite addition was Nevada (played by the gorgeous Rosario Dawson).
Another plot expansion was the evolution of the zombies. These were now classified into different levels depending on how hard they were to kill. This added to the tension for the lead group which has become exceedingly good at killing zombies over the past decade. The kills were gruesome and entertaining but in the production choices for upping the ante, they started to become a bit too ridiculous.
Zombieland 2 is a sequel worth waiting for to watch right after the first movie which fans might have seen hundreds of times over. It delivers on all the expectations from the first one with back-to-back laughs, cool zombie kills, Columbus' rules for survival and a few wholesome moments in between. But like any sequel to a cult classic, it's not as good or as well-packaged for a viewing experience.
I would like to point out that the music throughout the movie is fantastic and since its been ten years of zombies, it doesn't feature any of the new-age shite.
This movie is on my list to watch many times for some casual viewing and laughs, especially while traveling. Zombieland Double Tap gets a rating of 8 out of 11 minivans from the Sane Loon. Cheers!
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