OKAY — I finally got to see Zombieland: Double Tap! Do some stretches, grab some Twinkies, and let’s dive in…
When any first film was an original and a hit, there’s a challenge to making Film 2. The filmmakers can’t half-ass it and make a reheat of the first film — they have to kick-it-up a notch. They need to bring something new to the story, not change too much from the original, and go deeper with the journey the viewer went on the first time. In this Bagpiper Zombie-film Reviewer’s Blog opinion Zombieland: Double Tap had a bit of an interesting time navigating these concepts …
We find the main characters from Zombieland (2009) about 10 years in the future — which fits in that it’s been about 10 years between the two films. Tallahassee, Columbus, and Wichita are living together as Little Rock is reaching her 18th birthday. Things go bad — as they always do in zombie films — and the sequel story is off and running.
Beyond this information I’m not going to risk any spoilers … so let’s get back to what I think of the film …. which, I presume you want to know or you wouldn’t have read this far.
There’s a well written review by arabnikita at IMDB titled “Sometimes less is more and not every movie needs a sequel” that sums things up well. Arabnikita gave the film 6 out of 10 stars and writes …
“When Zombieland came out in 2009 it was able to break the routine of zombie films by using an unorthodox style with its quirky dialogues, rules and storytelling. It was wild, fresh and most inportantly fun … but sadly, the story leaves a lot more to be desired.”
(And you know I copied and pasted that writing because ‘importantly’ has a spelling mistake.)
The ZL2 is a continuation of ZL1 — we get to see the same beloved characters, and they go on a road trip. The quirk of the characters is brought further out by many of them running into their doppelgangers — which bring added comedy, dynamic, and … frankly … sex appeal. ZL2 doesn’t quite amp things up from ZL1 but to make up for that in a story-fitting and story-progressing way the zombies have evolved into different dangerous types. That and some memorable Zombieland vehicles …. and some new Rules.
So in 2030 are we going to get “Zombieland: Hat-Trick“? Who knows — and I’d probably watch that, too. As for Zombieland: Double Tap, I’m probably more glad than sad that it was made Vs not made, and I got a kick out of watching it. If you’re a Z-film fan and you enjoyed ZL1, I’d say Watch It — but don’t get your hopes up too high, which is why I rate it Yellow Puss.
