423. Zombieland - Double Tap; movie review

ZOMBIELAND - DOUBLE TAP
Cert 15
99 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong gory comic violence, language

The first Zombieland was a fresh take on the battle with the undead and was bursting with new ideas.
Unsurprisingly, its follow-up, while still well-written and witty, merely presents old ideas in a different package.
Zombieland Double Tap is another example of studios desperately scouring their back catalogues for successful formulas in the knowledge the sequels will be box office winners.
That has certainly been the case with this $20m-budget movie which has taken $120m at last count.
To be fair, Oscar winners and nominees abound among its cast so the acting is the saving grace of Ruben Fleischer's film.
A decade after Zombieland became a hit, Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin, and Emma Stone have reunited for its follow-up.
They play survivors of the zombie apocalypse who have become much more sophisticated in their dealings with the various different strands of undead.
Meanwhile, Eisenberg's Columbus and Stone's Wichita are an item and he, much to her discomfort, is trying to pop the question.
And Harrelson's belligerent Tallahassee is constantly in father-figure mode towards the grown-up Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) who is wanting to tread her own path.
Against this backdrop, the zombies have evolved and while some gain their nickname from being as stupid as Homer Simpson, others have developed cunning and speed.
And so, the bloody and supposedly comic mayhem stretches from the White House where our heroes initially set up home across the American heartland.
The trouble is that the joke is now being stretched so far that it isn't funny. Indeed, I didn't laugh once.
And in my view, a movie cannot survive on well-presented quickfire dialogue and caved-in heads alone.
Thus, Zombieland - Double Tap will not be remembered past early New Year.

Reasons to watch: A wittier than average take on the undead
Reasons to avoid: However it is dressed up, it is still a zombie movie

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 5/10

Reasons to watch: Zombieland Double Tap's cast includes one Oscar winner (Emma Stone) and four nominees: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Abigail Breslin, Bill Murray.

Final word. Jesse Eisenberg: "In this movie, it's 10 years later, the characters have the tension of being in a stale relationship. It has the comic tension of the odd couple, rather than new characters feeling each other out." Digital Spy

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