Hello!
And welcome to a review of an unexpected but highly appreciated sequel. This is Zombieland: Double Tap.
IMDb summary: Columbus, Tallahassee, Wichita, and Little Rock move to the American heartland as they face off against evolved zombies, fellow survivors, and the growing pains of the snarky makeshift family.
- The original Zombieland from 2009 is a modern cult classic that brought new life into the zombie genre back when it first came out. It overtook the 2004’s Edgar Wright’s Dawn of the Dead as the highest-grossing zombie movie and certainly helped to boost The Walking Dead’s initial popularity (the show premiered in 2010). World War Z took over Zombieland’s box office record in 2013. Can Double Tap return the franchise to no 1 spot? Subjectively speaking, I think it deserves it.
- Double Tap was written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (the duo wrote both Deadpools) and Dave Callaham (who is writing the WW1984 film). Similarly to the first film, the sequel had self-aware writing and a tonne of references to pop culture. It also paid homage to the first film a lot (there was a whole special sequence during the credits).
- Character-wise, the stories of the 4 main leads were continued nicely. The film also added some new characters for a cool sequence involving some doubling. The movie also featured some new quite stereotypical characters but they were knowingly stereotypical and borderline cartoony which fit the vibe of the picture. Thematically, the movie celebrated dysfunctional families and people as home. While that is not an original theme by any means, there is a reason why we keep coming back to it. Can’t deny its universal appeal.
- Ruben Fleischer returned to direct the sequel to his debut film (he also directed Venom just recently) and did a great job. The film was paced well and had a good mix of sarcastic and quite stupid humour. The action was gory, over the top and cartoony – exactly what it needed to be. The film also had some nice visual transitions, especially in the opening.
- The original film kickstarted or re-invented a lot of the cast members’ careers, so it was nice to see them all return. Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin, and Emma Stone were great. Rosario Dawson was also an amazing new addition. Zoey Deutch, Luke Wilson, and Thomas Middleditch worked well in their supporting roles too.
In short, Zombieland: Double Tap is a fun sequel that is worthy of checking out if you enjoyed the first film.
Rate: 4.25/5
Trailer: Zombieland: Double Tap trailer
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