Much has happened in the ten years since Zombieland came along, severed tongue planted firmly in rotting cheek, and poked relentless, irreverent fun at zombie flicks whilst creating a core quartet of memorable characters and, in Bill Murray’s turn, delivering one of the great movie cameos. Off-screen, Emma Stone — then a vibrant rising comedy star — has become an Oscar-winner and one of the biggest movie stars on the planet, enough to warrant an “And Emma Stone” here. Director Ruben Fleischer followed up his vibrant, inventive debut with three fairly leaden movies, including most recently Venom, that suggested Zombieland might have been the odd one out. And writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, after years of trying to get a sequel off the ground, finally mustered up enough clout, after two Deadpools, to return to the zombie well.
On screen, things have moved on ever so slightly. The world is still overrun by zombies, some of whom have evolved into new and more challenging forms. Columbus (Eisenberg) is still our narrator, and still in love with Stone’s Wichita, even if their relationship is in something of a rut. Harrelson’s Tallahassee hasn’t calmed down any, and is making ill-advised and potentially problematic claims about having Native American heritage. Only Little Rock (Breslin) is embracing real change — sick of their nomadic lifestyle and family squabbling, she wants to hit the road. Which brings with it its own complications, and a raft of new characters.
Often enjoyable, occasionally very funny, and has an energy and verve sorely lacking from Fleischer’s last few films.
However, where Fleischer, Wernick and Reese worked hard to make the original foursome interesting and likeable, here new characters are never allowed to come within a mile of resembling anything like a real person. Take the most substantial new addition — Zoey Deutch’s Madison, a relentlessly cheerful, less-than-genius-level Valley girl who isn’t given a single shred of depth, and is subject to some horribly mean-spirited hazing by the people who are the nominal heroes of the film. It’s a testament to Deutch’s sparky, committed performance, and some of the film’s best lines, that Madison endures.
Even ten years ago, the zombie genre was oversaturated. Since then, the rise of The Walking Dead (riffed on, and dismissed, in an early scene) has only served to further gum up the works. So it’s nice, then, that the last thing Zombieland is concerned with is zombies. Sure, they’re always around, in several neat new flavours, and there are a couple of big action set-pieces. But the film is never more alive than when it puts its characters together in the White House (a strangely toothless sequence), or a mini-van, or a gaudy hotel, and lets them riff far from the decomposing crowd. If little of this feels that fresh or surprising, that’s the curse of sequels. But it’s often enjoyable, occasionally very funny, and has an energy and verve sorely lacking from Fleischer’s last few films. So, while it’s simply, plainly, not as good as the first movie, Zombieland is no longer the odd one out on Fleischer’s CV.
