I had never seen Zombieland until the other day, mostly because of my utter distaste for Jesse Eisenberg. However, I am a HUGE fan of Emma Stone, so I was cautiously optimistic to watch this movie. I have to say that I thought the cast was great, and I loved the movie!!
Zombieland is the story of four people who team up to travel across a zombie-infested America. For me personally, I find that zombie movies can be a little redundant. There is always a plague that infects an entire city and turns them into zombies, except for about 5 to 7 people. Those people than join forces to kill all the zombies and save the city. However, Zombieland re-invents the genre as an action/comedy movie, and I found that very refreshing. Yes, there is your typical gore factor (it is a zombie movie after all), and yet I was surprised how often I found myself laughing uncontrollably. The movie dives right into the action as we see that the country has already been overrun with zombies, and what is great is that each of the characters are dealing with the situation in their own way. There are a few minor qualms I have with the movie. I am not going to go into detail about my disdain for voice-overs in film because most people already know how much I hate it. I would have liked to see at least a little reference as to how the zombie infestation happened. Also, when all four characters team up it feels forced. Other than that, I thought the movie was great!
Woody Harrelson is perfectly cast as Tallahassee. Tallahassee is the badass of the group. He loves twinkies, Dale Earnhardt, and will use a zombie as a shield while he takes out an entire army of them. I love this character because he is just so pissed off about what has happened, and he just wants to kill as many zombies as possible. He reminds the others that sometimes you have to enjoy the little things (like destroying a convenience store), and does not beat around the bush with anything he wants to say or do. If there ever really was a zombie apocalypse, I would want Tallahassee on my side.
As I stated before, I am not the biggest fan of Jesse Eisenberg. Personally, I think he is overrated. However, I found myself actually enjoying what he did in this movie as Columbus. He brought great comedic timing to a character who is afraid of everything and extremely socially awkward. I also love the fact that Columbus has created a list of rules for surviving against zombies, and that we see examples of these rules throughout the film.
Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin plays sisters Wichita and Little Rock. These two bring come fully equipped with badassery as they lie and steal their way across the country the boys. The chemistry between these two actresses is perfect. I was particularly impressed with Abigail Breslin who has come a long way since the movie Signs in 2002. Emma Stone's character is basically the female version of Harrelson's character, and that is not a complaint. It is always great to see badass female characters in film who are not your typical "damsels in distress".
Ruben Fleischer is the director of Zombieland. I love the tone he set for the film because he did not just make a scary zombie movie. He made a FUN zombie movie. I also love that, even though this movie is entertaining to watch, Fleischer does not shy away from showing us the gore factor that you find in these movies. He also uses some great music choices throughout the film that help set the tone.
I always love it when a genre is re-envisioned. Zombieland is a great example because it blends horror, action and comedy so perfectly. There is also a fantastic cameo in the movie by a certain member of the Ghostbusters! If you are tired of the same old typical zombie films, give Zombieland a shot.
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