“Zombieland,” for those who may not be familiar, is a 2009 horror-comedy film starring Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin and Woody Harrelson. The film was a critical and commercial success, earning over $60.8 million in the first 17 days and became the highest grossing zombie film, beating out "Dawn of the Dead." The Story follows Tallahassee, Columbus, Wichita and Little Rock as they navigate life in a post-apocalyptic, zombie-filled world.
Fast Forward to 2019 with the long-awaited sequel “Zombieland: Double Tap” finally being released after being in development for the last 10 years. Following the continued storyline a few years after the first film, we find our characters searching for a proper home, which they find in the opening montage of the film – The White House. We get a very action-packed opening, which is appreciated for such an anticipated sequel.
There are loads of character development for the four characters as things have changed over the years. The film centers on three out of four main cast members: Tallahassee, Columbus and Wichita. The three are setting out to retrieve Little Rock after she runs away with Berkely to head to a zombie-free, safe haven. Since things don’t start off that way, let me just give you some insight on how it begins.
Tallahassee has become a father figure for Little Rock, becoming an overbearing dad Little Rock never knew she wanted, while Columbus and Wichita are struggling with relationship issues. This makes the two ladies do what they do best, according to the previous film, they leave.
After Witchita and Little Rock leave, we are introduced to a new character named Madison, played by Zoey Deutch, who is a wonderful addition to the cast. Madison happens to be one of the best things about the sequel because of her sense of humor and great chemistry with the cast. While Madison comes on-board to play Columbus’ new love interest, we also are introduced to Berkely, which is Little Rock’s love interest, played by Avan Jogia. Another charcter is Nevada, played by Rosario Dawson, who happens to be Tallahassee’s love interest for the film.
This movie has an increasing amount of action compared to the first films, keeping elements such as “Zombie Killer of the Year” involved in the film as well as “The Rules to Zombieland” and other elements of the story you see carried onto the sequel.
One of the best scenes in the film involved two new characters Albuquerque and Flagstaff, played by Luke Wilson and Thomas Middleditch, repectively. These characters were introduced as doppelgangers of our main characters Tallahassee and Columbus. It’s a scene most will be talking about as it is one of the most creative ways I have seen an action scene be done, simply for the cinematography, topping everything off so profoundly done.
With action scenes topping the first one and a good amount of character development, I would say I was rather pleased with how the sequel turned out. It had the laughs it needed as well as the action. It was nice to see these characters back on screen with new ones to finish out their story. Even though it took 10 years, it was nice to revisit all things gory in Zombieland.
Echo Grade: A
