Zombieland: Double Tap – Review

Zombieland: Double Tap

Directed by: Ruben Fleischer

Runtime: 99 Minutes

Ten years ago, a little comedy flick was released by the name of Zombieland. Helmed by four Hollywood stars who are now practically Hollywood royalty, Zombieland became a fan favourite; but you already know that. I’ve always had an affinity to the original film, its creativity in its storytelling and world-building (along with excellent characters) always made Zombieland stand out from other similar properties. There seemed to be actual care put into the flick. But, after its four leads continued upward into the stratosphere of fame over the years, it became doubtful that a sequel would ever see the light of day. Low and behold—here I am exactly ten years later, in the process of writing a review for the films much-anticipated sequel Zombieland: Double Tap.

Sequels of this nature usually suffer from a large amount of doubt surrounding them during their marketing campaign, mostly due to the extended period between films. Unusually though, Zombieland: Double Tap didn’t. After its trailers and posters dropped most reactions I encountered online and day to day were either ambivalent or positive. I guess that speaks to the quality of the first and of the marketing materials. But did the film live up to either of these sentiments? Yes, it did. Double Tap was an extremely fun ride from start to finish. Similar to its predecessor, Double Tap incorporates a mix of comedy and action set-pieces well, at times blending the two seamlessly. There is a surprising amount of well-staged and choreographed action pieces throughout the film, taking a similar style from the first film and amplifying them to a new level. This is achieved through the introduction of new kinds of Zombies, specifically, the harder to kill T-800 zombies. This intro into new ‘evolved’ zombies doesn’t just serve to make the world deadlier, it’s a simple and effective way to show the passage of time narratively and keep the world these characters occupy from feeling too stale.

Everyone’s here! Plus a few newbies. Jessie Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson and Abigail Breslin all reprise their respective roles. The four leads put in solid performances (as can be expected) and slide back into these characters extremely well. Harrelson especially shines during some of his angrier moments, swearing up a storm while smashing up a basketball court with a special hilarity. Rosario Dawson joins the cast and is as badass as ever while newcomer Zoey Deutch playing a somewhat stereotypical dumb blonde character pulls some solid laughs. Deutch’s character could easily be annoying and pointless, but leaning into the trope just enough, alongside a script that balances her character quite well, means she avoids the regular pitfalls that this kind of character usually faces. Double Tap relies on similar comedy stylings as the first Zombieland, with a few self-referential winks to the audience sprinkled throughout. There’s also some excellent attention to detail to be found in all the jokes while the group occupy the White House at the beginning of the film especially. Basically, if you thought the original was funny, you will enjoy this one just as much.

In the end, Zombieland: Double Tap doesn’t reinvent the wheel or bring all that much new to the table like the first did, what it does is bring together a group of characters fans enjoyed and allows them to play around in the world of Zombieland once again. Sprinkling in a few welcome new additions and moving the story forward, while maintaining the quality of the original, means that Zombieland: Double Tap is the perfect night out at the cinemas if you are looking for some fun and a good laugh during the Halloween season.