ZOMBIELAND: DOUBLE TAP [Film Review]

When I first started seeing the trailers earlier this year I immediately thought “WTF?!?” Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed Zombieland. Like Shaun of the Dead before it, the original pumped a much needed comedic shot into the stifled walking dead cinemascape. But when the credits rolled on that film back in 2009 my first thought most definitely was not “Oh, I hope they make a sequel.” I mean I had heard rumblings over the years about a sequel, but figured it was just Hollywood white noise. So, yeah, back to my initial reaction upon learning that they had in fact made a sequel and not only that, but a decade later: I was like “What’s the point?”. I mean the track record for sequels overall is pretty low in terms of equaling the originality and success of the first film. Sure, there have been a few rare cases; Aliens and Terminator 2: Judgement Day come to mind, but I am bereft of thinking of any others.
So, it was with trepidation that I entered the theater to see ZLDT. Why even go, you ask? Well, after the mind-fuck of The Lighthouse, I seriously needed me some lighthearted entertainment.
My heart initially sank with the opening monologue by Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) as it was teeming with forced meta moments, referencing the fact that we, the audience, were in fact watching a film and not only that, but a film that was the decades-later sequel to a previous film. Hell, Columbus even thanked us for paying and supporting the film. I hate that shit. I mean it was semi-cool before Ryan Reynolds and Deadpool beat it like a twice dead horse, now it’s just lame (it should come as no surprise then that the screenwriting team of Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese were not only responsible for the script of the first Zombieland, but also those of Deadpool and Deadpool 2) .
Thank the stars the film shed that meta bullshit quickly and the chemistry of the cast, the fast pace, and non-stop jokes (the screenwriters seemed to adopt the old Catskills stand-up practice of just tossing out joke after joke in rapid fire and hoping that at least one funny moment hit home) flipped my initial impression from “this shit is lame” to one of being rather impressed.  The best way to describe this film is that it’s like running into an old high school or college buddy whom you haven’t seen for at least a decade. The first 20-minutes you are hanging out are awkward and stilted as you catch up on rudimentary things, but the longer you hang out, the more comfortable you get with one another.
So what the hell does that mean? In short, I really enjoyed this film. I mean I laughed. I cried. I was on the edge of my seat. I ran the full gamut of emotions and found myself engaged more often than not. Again a lot of the credit for the success of this sequel comes from the screenwriters with their Ginsu sharp wit and excellent use of callbacks, but most of the applause is due to the cast; everybody onscreen is on point. Well, almost everybody.
The only slight in this film, imho, is Abigail Breslin. To be fair, I couldn’t stand her as a precocious child actor in the first film (and any of the other films I have happened to seen her in over the years) and I can’t stand her as a rebellious teen in this film. I am willing to concede that she may be the nicest person on the planet in real life, but as a thespian she is just plain annoying. While she is central to the story, thank the heavens she is barely in the film (all of this said, her pivotal callback in the final act is pretty damn solid). That leaves more screen time for the nerdy Columbus, the incomparable Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), the snarky Wichita (Emma Stone), and newcomer Nevada (Rosario Dawson). I was surprisingly okay with the over-the-top ditzy blonde girl performance of Zoey Deutch as Madison, but additional newcomer Berkeley (portrayed by Avan Jogia) was a shallow and one-dimensional character who didn’t really add much to the film other than being a thin device to move the plot along to its logical conclusion.
Some of the stuff which made me groan when I saw the trailer (the doppelgangers, for example) actually ended up being handled really well in the film. And while the third act gets a little trite (although the monster truck element is gangbusters), again, the chemistry of the cast and the whip-slick pacing help to push it along.
In the end this is an admirable sequel, perhaps not quite as compelling as the original, but it comes pretty damn close.
Yet as much as I ended up enjoying this film, I certainly hope all involved decide to end the series here. Afterall, remember what happend to both the Alien and Terminator franchises after the sequels?

PS:
Make sure you stay through the credits.

Rating: 3.5

RIYL: Zombieland; Shaun of the Dead; Little Monsters; Juan of the Dead