Zombieland is a consistently hilarious zombie-filled comedy. This isn’t a horror film and it also really isn’t a survival film. The film does of course deliver on a good amount of carnage with gloriously executed zombie kills, but there’s no real scares. It isn’t meant as a slant since the film works stupendously as comedy that simply uses the zombie world as a backdrop.
The story mainly focuses on Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) who’s somewhat of a loner and a nervous wreck. He’s all alone and travels with a large pack of rules that he lives by to survive. One day he comes across Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), an over-the-top southerner who loves nothing more than killing zombies. They decide to team up since they’re both heading in the same direction. Soon they meet two sisters named Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), two young girls that have always made their living wheeling and dealing. After a few run ins they ultimately decide it would be best if they all banded together to get to California.
As stated earlier, this isn’t the generic zombie hack and slash movie that is only focused on survival. It is about friendship and learning to adjust in a world that has become overrun by blood thirsty zombies. That is what is so refreshing and original about Zombieland, it’s a story that hasn’t been told before. It’s a comedy with actual engaging characters who contain emotion, well done character arcs, and all of them have their moments of heroics. When a character is in trouble they actually seem like they could be hurt which is also an element that’s not commonly seen in films of this genre.
All the characters feel natural throughout and make logical decisions up until the third act where a questionable survival tactic is made by Wichita and Little Rock. [spoiler warning] When zombies are hanging onto their car they decide to run the car over a dock into the water instead of simply halting. That’s nothing more than a nitpick, but it feels like a contrived element since this decision ultimately leads to having a giant shootout at the theme park. The climax is the only genuine disappointment, not because it lacks fun, but it makes Wichita and Little Rock the cliched damsels in distress. It would have been interesting to see them actually in action instead of them being stuck with nothing to do except yell for help. [spoiler end]
The acting and chemistry is also a key point to why Zombieland tremendously succeeds. With this and this year’s also excellent Adventureland Jesse Eisenberg once again proves why he is one of the best young actors working today. He crafts a natural likableness with his nervous awkwardness and pitch perfect comedic timing. He’s a character that is easy to connect to, without constantly try to be the hero and is more so interested in staying alive. Emma Stone also makes for an excellent action heroine, she’s like the young comedic version of Ripley (Alien). She’s not a weak character and at first she’s even somewhat stuck up, but she’s irresistibly involving. Despite when her character is lowered in the third act, she never comes across as the cliched boring love interest. Now there’s Woody Harrelson, not much more praise can be said about his scene stealing performance. The unanimous consensus is one hundred percent accurate, he’s perfect as the gun wielding and sympathetic Tallahassee.
First time director Ruben Fleischer has undoubtedly crafted one of the funniest comedies of the year. It features an excellent pacing, perfect comedic timing, highly notable performances, and one of the best cameos ever to grace the screen. It is unfortunate that more than a few problems arise in the third act considering this could have been a comedic masterpiece. With that said, this still remains a lovable zombie-filled comedy.