I’m Going to Zombieland: A Review

I just got in from seeing Zombieland. I have to admit that I wasn’t expecting too much from this movie. I thought I would get a fun little movie involving zombies, a horror genre that has been beaten to death (pun intended) the past ten years. And I can honestly say, that about a quarter of the way through the movie my average expectations were met. A chuckle here, a chuckle there, but overall I was just remotely satisfied.

Zombieland focuses on two men who have found a way to survive a world overrun by zombies. Columbus, played by Jesse Eisenberg (Adventureland), is your 21st century Hollywood wuss. I swear that Eisenberg and Michael Cera (Superbad, Juno) are clones created in a Hollywood lab owned by Judd Apatow. Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) is an AK-toting, zombie-slaying’ bad ass whose single determination is to get the last Twinkie on earth. As they join forces with Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), who have also found unique ways to survive the zombie mayhem, they will have to determine which is worse: relying on each other or succumbing to the zombies.

As I was saying, the first half of the movie was average – not terrible, but nothing spectacular either. But then something happens. At the half way mark, the film goes full throttle and becomes a kick-ass, non-stop thrill ride. When our characters arrive in California and seek shelter in the abandoned home of a celebrity, the film gets into its groove. The jokes no longer feel forced. It becomes thrilling and the laughs, and there are many, are authentic and thoroughly intoxicating. The sequence in the celebrity home is simply brilliant and it alone would be the reason for me to take on another viewing of this film.

The film’s climax is set in an amusement part and is so fresh and original you can’t help but find yourself lost in the sheer excitement of the moment. I don’t want to give away too much of the film because I think going into the movie with as little knowledge as possible will make it that much more fun to watch.

I also must give credit to the cast. Harrleson is a blast to watch as the zombie hunting Tallahassee. Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin are honest and very likable. What makes this movie work is that you care about these characters. The weakest link has to be Jesse Eisenberg’s character Columbus. I wish they would have cast another actor in this role. HIs Michael Cera-esque performance took me out of the film. He didn’t ruin the film for me but I think another actor would have brought more to the role. I also felt his character never fully had the arc needed by the end of the film.

There were two aspects of the film I found distracting. First was the voiceover of the Columbus character. It is a lazy way to give information to the audience and with this talented cast I think that the actors playing the roles could have given us the information needed, sometimes with even a simple look. The second thing that happened in the film was that they put the “rules” up on the screen – you’ll understand the rules when you see the movie. Showing the rules pop up, like the old Pop-Up Video, became annoying. These two aspects talk down to the audience. My friend seems to believe that this is because Hollywood believes that today’s audience is actually that stupid that they need these elements, I’m not so sure that is the reason. Perhaps. I happen to think that the director thought it was clever. Maybe it was. Maybe some people will enjoy that. I found it unnecessary.

But these are not reasons to not go see Zombieland. The advance screening audience loved this film. Applause was abound throughout the film. I was accompanied by two others during this screening and I can honestly say that all three of us were pleasantly surprised with Zombieland and we all had a very enjoyable evening viewing it.

I recommend going to see this in the theater. If the audience tonight was any indication of what this movie will be, I’d say that Zombieland will be a huge hit.

Look for my Video Review of Zombieland  this weekend on our YouTube page.