Zombieland: Double Tap (2019) review

28. Zombieland: Double Tap (2019)

Directed by: Ruben Fleischer

Produced by: Gavin Polone

Screenplay by: Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, David Callaham

Starring: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, Rosario Dawson, Zoey Deutch, Luke Wilson, Avan Jogia, Thomas Middleditch

I don’t know how popular this opinion is, but “Zombieland” is one of my favorite horror comedies; that’s not to say it’s objectively the best, most innovative, or funniest, but the humor, character dynamics and tone all make it a really fun film for me. For years, there were talks of a sequel in development, which actually resulted in a TV series with the same writers but a different cast that never made it past the pilot. Finally, a mere 10 years after the original, we got our long-anticipated follow-up “Zombieland: Double Tap,” which picks up the post-apocalyptic adventures of the neurotic, rule-abiding Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), the gruff, gun-toting Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), the snide, commitment-phobic Wichita (Emma Stone), and her naïve younger sister Little Rock (Abigail Breslin). Despite an enjoyable array of set pieces and nuanced performances, this one suffers from jokes that are too often stunted or stale, although the watchability factor is only somewhat lacking.

It starts with a pretty inspired intro, as our heroes fight off a hoard of zombies on the overgrown South Lawn at the White House—which they’ve picked out as their new home—set to another Metallica song; even before that, we get the sight of the woman in the Columbia Pictures logo smashing a pair of zombies with her torch. In the years since we’ve last left them, the characters have become more skilled at taking down these brutes, while the zombies have evolved into different degrees of threat: bumbling, oafish Homers, more intelligent Hawkings, and stealthier Ninjas. They settle in for a while, but Columbus inadvertently scares off Wichita after proposing marriage with the Hope Diamond, while Little Rock seeks companions her own age and has tired of Tallahassee’s paternal attachment. Soon after Columbus hooks up with the ditzy Madison (Zoey Deutch), Wichita returns and explains that Little Rock has run off with a pacifist musician named Berkeley (Avan Jogia) and is heading to Graceland in Tennessee. So they set off after her, but encounter a new strand of much tougher-to-kill zombies called T-800s.

I think the original was masterful in differentiating itself from “Shaun of the Dead,” one of the obvious influences in mainstream zombie comedies. This one definitely starts out on that same distinctive track; it’s initially just funny seeing them in the White House goofing around, comparing random high-class weapons and artifacts, celebrating Christmas in November, etc. I also love the running gag about Tallahassee just wanting a killer car to drive, yet they’re constantly stuck driving the same Pontiac minivan until he lets loose his frustration with a hand grenade. But there are a lot of routines that just kind of ape the appeal of the first movie, with the emphasis on the rules of survival, zombie in-jokes, and characters knowing things they couldn’t possibly know about other characters just for a quick laugh. We also get a very strange non sequitur where they encounter Albuquerque (Luke Wilson) and Flagstaff (Thomas Middleditch) at an Elvis Presley-themed motel; the only joke is that their personalities are dead ringers for Tallahassee and Columbus, and it goes on way too long. It’s not funny or clever; it’s just tired, and only serves to undermine these movies’ identity for no reason. However, it does result in a terrific sequence where the characters fight the zombified Albuquerque and Flagstaff in one long uninterrupted two-minute take; the pacing and choreography in this scene is outstanding.

Thankfully, even if the jokes don’t necessarily work, the performances help save them. There’s a part of me that kind of loves how likeably unpleasant these characters are; Columbus is a stick in the mud, Tallahassee’s quick with an insult, Wichita’s sarcasm knows no bounds, and Little Rock openly admits to Berkeley, “I used you for an escape, and you’re a stupid poser.” They have disagreements and even moments where they outright snap at each other, but in their own twisted way, they still have that family bond with relatable motivations. Columbus wants comfort, Wichita is afraid to embrace it, and Little Rock wants her independence. All four of the main actors have been nominated for Oscars in their careers, and they have the proper sense of timing and charisma, with Emma Stone—the only Oscar winner—especially showing off her versatility, making even the cheesiest lines look perfectly natural.

However, I don’t particularly like the scenes with Wichita and Columbus bantering about Madison; it’s just kind of cliché and predictable. By the way, I was ready to hate Madison as a character, but Zoey Deutch is surprisingly loveable in this role; she somehow has the energy and bubbliness without getting annoying. I just wish they could’ve found a better way to incorporate her into the story, which ends up as another road trip movie, although I do like that it’s established there are more survivors out there. They eventually encounter a bad-ass bartender named Nevada (Rosario Dawson) at the motel, who Tallahassee get close to. She fits into this story much better, and gets an awesome climactic scene where she barrels over a massive zombie horde outside a safe haven called Babylon with a monster truck. I think I prefer this finale to the first movie, just the whole planning aspect and production design, despite the writing feeling lazily anti-hippie and anti-Generation Z; the overall effects in this film aren’t great, but the creativity and editing still keep the fight scenes engaging.

As someone who loves the original “Zombieland,” I wanted a sequel for a long time, and for what we finally got, I wasn’t disappointed, even though it’s not as consistently funny. It’s one of those mainstream comedies that too often don’t know when to cut a scene, even long after a joke has worn out its welcome. And again, the movie seems especially self-aggrandizing with how many times it winks at the camera about pop culture references; they keep mentioning how society was stopped in 2009, which is probably why the humor feels weirdly dated. I believe this movie came out about three or four years too late; by the time 2019 came around, zombies weren’t that cool anymore, and the humor no longer as fresh or interesting. “Zombieland: Double Tap” is still a pretty good movie with memorable kills and solid character development, but not one I’d watch a million times like its predecessor.

My rating: 7.5/10