Survival rule#4: Don't be a hero.
Rating: 7/10
Running Time: 88 minutes
US Certificate: R UK Certificate: 15
On DVD
Five years after Shaun of the Dead had cracked at the zomcom genre in the UK, Ruben Fleischer had a go Stateside with Zombieland a tale of the zombie apocalypse as it would happen to a group of relatively normal but unstable people.
Columbus (Eisenberg) is a World of Warcraft playing uber-nerd who finds his fumbling attempts to get a girl interrupted by the coming of zombiekind. We join him as he is surviving alone by a set of self imposed rules in a post-apocalyptic America. Randomly, he meets up with Tallahassee, an unhinged loon with a fondness for random violence and a disturbing obsession with Twinkies, and they travel together across country. Unfortunately for the pair they meet two con artists in the form of a pair of teenage girls Wichita (Stone) and Little Rock (Breslin), and so begins a battle of wits between them.
Right from the Metallica-themed zombie chase scenes and the rule book at the beginning the style is fresh and witty and there are subtle jokes, ridiculous take-offs and slapstick action. The flashbacks are a welcome addition and serve to flesh out the characters and give you some background whilst cramming in more laughs. Zombieland does produces a lot of laughs; the only drawback being that there is probably not enough quality for the whole movie as the attention begins to wander before the rather prolonged amusement park finale begins.
As well as the laughs, the main characters are the strong points of the movie. Jessie Eisenberg shows his usual mix of likeability and loathability as the dry-witted Columbus a role that will be pretty familiar character for him now. Woody Harrelson shows some of his old magic as he puts in his best comedy performance in years as the cocky, gun-toting yokel. Stone and Breslin are also very good as the affably scheming girls. Also, Bill Murray’s ridiculous cameo is a treat and makes you wonder why more star appearances can’t end in the same manner.
It's Got: Plenty of laughs, clever spoofs, a fresh feel
It Needs: A little more substance
DVD Extras 'In Search of Zombieland' and 'Zombieland is Your Land' featurettes and deleted scenes - about equal to the standard of the film DVD Extras Rating: 7/10
Summary
A fresh and witty zomcom with lots of laughs and great characters that just doesn’t have quite enough to fill the whole film.