Movie Review: Zombieland

Oct 14, 2009 by Nathan Smith

What can be said about zombies that we don’t already know? Sometimes they stagger around, sometimes they run, they almost always look ugly, and they definitely want to eat you. Zombieland does little to change this formula. Everything here has already been seen in other movies of the genre, and in some cases, done better. However, this doesn’t mean Zombieland can’t offer up some quality entertainment and laughs.

Zombieland isn’t as fresh or smart as Shaun of the Dead (2004), nor as memorable as Romero’s Dead Trilogy, but what it lacks in brains, it makes up for in brain-splattering fun. If nothing else, it reminds us to buckle up our seatbelts. It’s going to be a wild ride.

Jesse Eisenberg plays Columbus, a lone human in the United States of Zombieland. Columbus lives by a set of strict rules that keep him comfortable and healthy: always shoot a zombie twice, and never try to be a hero. Of course, whenever rules are brought into the picture, we know at least a few will be broken by the end of the movie. Columbus doesn’t have any close friends or relatives, so this keeps him safe, but it also makes him lonely. He recalls that his first time being close to a beautiful woman ended with her trying to have him for breakfast the next morning—literally.

Fortunately, Columbus meets up with Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson)—a gun toting zombie killer who has a serious craving for Twinkies—and it isn’t long before they run into two con-artist sisters, Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin). Because no one trusts anyone else, the use of aliases as opposed to real names, are employed. However, all the characters are looking for a “safe haven.”

Columbus is going east to his estranged parents while the sisters are heading to Pacific Playland, a place somehow supposedly devoid of zombies. We can tell exactly how that’s going to turn out. The only exception is Tallahassee, who seems to be there just for the sake of being. He enjoys the little things in life.

Most of this probably sounds familiar, and truth-be-told, it is. You can expect the usual scares, backpacks full of guns, and a whole lot of scattered body parts. There are some hilarious moments throughout, as in one situation involving a cameo role (that I won’t spoil), which leads to one of the best laughs I’ve had in a while. The inevitable climactic standoff at the amusement park provides a great backdrop for the ensuing action, and allows for some creative zombie deaths.

The actors are all competent in their roles, though the two male leads are definitely the highlight. Eisenberg delivers what he does best: an awkward, obsessive-compulsive character with stumbling behaviour that much of the comedy stems from.

Harrelson relishes in his role as a somewhat comical version of the serial killer, Mickey, from Natural Born Killers (1994). Tallahassee enjoys killing zombies, and he makes sure we like to watch. Sometimes he even sets his guns aside for a little baseball bat action, and maybe throws in a set of scissor-shears for good measure.

Verdict: * * *

(Out of a possible * * * *)