Zombieland: Double Tap Review

This weekend I decided to see the next installment of the Zombieland series, Zombieland Double Tap. Since it's nearing the spooky season, and my roommates often need a break from good movies after I show them one that blows their mind, I thought this one was a good idea. When it comes to my expectations going into the film, I wouldn't say I had very high expectations, but the first Zombieland movie is a guilty pleasure of mine and I love the laughs and the cast. It was just immediately one of those fan favorites of mine, where I could just turn off my brain and have a good time. I remember seeing the trailer a few years back and right away just noticing the title and how it connects to the first movie, because the main characters 2nd rule of surviving in the post apocalyptic world is to make sure that the zombies are for sure dead by attacking them twice. I wanted to see it when it was in theaters, but just remember not getting around to it. I had just seen the original movie a couple months before that on Netflix, and although I didn’t think it was a major cinematic movie, I thought it would've been worth the price of the ticket if I had seen it in theaters back in 2009. 

So going into the new one, I was just hoping that it could manage to get a couple good laughs out of me. I can say that this movie did definitely live up to the ten year hype providing just as much stupid comedy and even another Bill Murray cameo, that may have been the funniest part of the last movie, but I don't think it really lived up. If we're strictly talking about the Murray cameo, I’m not going to tell you how he comes into the sequel but it is another highlight of this installment. The rest kind of fell flat for me. I did laugh a little, so I guess I got what I asked for, but afterwards it just kind of felt like it was tarnishing the original. I will not say that it has to be a cinematic masterpiece by any means, and if you are into movies that are more chill, you might prefer this. However, the stupid, slapstick comedy got taken to another level, that was throwing references at me more than creating a good story. I usually do not like movies with short runtimes, just because they feel rushed, and because I always just want to see more, but this movie was just one that I didn't like because I wanted it to be over and it wasn't short enough. The performances, similar to the last movie were probably the standout. Woody Harrelson was just as funny as he was in the last movie with his role of the character, Tallahassee. The nerdy character Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), is still just as cautious in the post apocalyptic world, and his relationship with Wichita (Emma Stone) is further developed I guess. Abigail Breslin’s character Little Rock, is now much older and has a lot more of a part in this installment. Which was the only piece of narrative that the movie really had. One of the worst additions to the movie, however, was a new character as well. Madison was a character that felt really unoriginal, just because she was fitting into the dumb girl stereotype. It's not that I've never found a stereotyped character in a movie funny, but it just feels like we should kind of be passed that in this day and age.

I had to look online to see if anybody else agreed with the same critique, and I found a lot of people that actually shared the same opinion. An article titled 'Zombieland: Double Tap- a disappotinting sequel of original 'Zombieland' movie' by Eleanor Ringel. (https://saportareport.com/zombieland-double-tap-a-disappointing-sequel-of-original-zombieland-movie/columnists/eleanor/eleanor/). She critiqued Madison's character as well, stating that Zoey Deutch, the actress that plays Madison, is getting praised by other critics for bringing a witty energy to a stereotyped character. She wonders why a stereotype is something to be considered energized and creative at all. She claims that that detail in the movie, amongst others is lazy and unprogressive. I have to agree with her sentiment in this situation, and feel like in most cases these stereotypes do not reflect good cinema. Although there weren't any examples of the 'Mirror Scare', I feel like this halloween movie is going too far into the stereotypes we should be actively trying to avoid. Overall, this did not live up to the fun and refreshing nature of the original movie, and makes me wish that they had just let a good thing stay good. I’d rate it a 4/10, only because for the most part it continued to hold my attention. ​