(Streamed via STARZ through Amazon Prime)
No one was really clamoring for a sequel to Zombieland, especially not a decade later. I figured three, maybe four years tops would’ve been the lifespan for this sort of thing. That didn’t stop the original team from getting the band back together for this slight, but highly entertaining follow-up.
Ten years after the events of Zombieland, Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), Wichita (Emma Stone), and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) take a break from killing zombies and finally put up roots at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Before long, Little Rock grows restless and splits to be with people her own age. Her dysfunctional family unit then take off looking for her, unaware there has been a mutation in the zombies’ DNA, rendering them extremely hard to kill.
As you can see, no one set out to reinvent the wheel this time out. The plot is as basic bitch as you could get. Even when an interesting wrinkle is thrown in (like the appearance of a Valley Girl, played by Zoey Deutsch), not much is done with it. Most of the time, the film is simply content to rehash the old movie and coast on the charm of its actors.
Which is okay because they do a great job once again. The core quartet play off one another effortlessly and seem to be having a blast having another opportunity to stand side by side killing zombies once again. The newcomers to the cast are fun too. Rosario Dawson does all the Rosario Dawson-type things you’d want to see her do. Luke Wilson is amusingly teamed up with Thomas Middleditch, and Deutsch practically steals every scene she’s in. If you stick around after the credits, you’ll also get a fun nod to the original that fans should really enjoy.
To be honest, the zombies are probably the weakest element. Although they have learned a few (OK… one) new trick since we saw them last, the zombie carnage more or less just feels like an afterthought most of the time. In fact, you could’ve put this cast in just about any genre and it probably would’ve resulted in a decent flick. The fact that they inhabit a zombie movie is just kind of a bonus.
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