Think buddy road trip movie meets zombie in Zombieland when two remaining survivors join together to cross the country, one in search of his parents and one looking for the last Twinkie.
Directed by – Ruben Fleischer
Written by – Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick
Starring – Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, Amber Heard
I think Zombieland might be a misleading title for this flick. There isn’t as much zombie action as I thought there would be and it’s really more buddy road trip comedy than anything. The movie still works and is hilarious, throw in some good zombie action every now and again and I was loving it.
I’m a big fan of Woody Harrelson and usually enjoy anything he’s in and this is no exception. Since it really is more a buddy comedy you’ve got to get some good chemistry between the characters. Harrelson and Eisenberg are perfect together. Complete opposite ends of the spectrum with Eisenberg having rules to surviving in the new zombie wasteland and Harrelson just being happy to kill any zombie that happens to come his way. They play well off each other and the comedy comes naturally. Eventually the two of them meet up with two other survivors and together they make their way across the country finally winding up at a theme park.
The last survivors in the world? Quite possibly.
Now even though a good portion of the movie doesn’t involve zombies, it works for the film. Much like the characters in the movie, you start to feel comfortable in this new world and that’s when something bad is bound to happen. Every so often the zombies will rear their ugly heads and someone is gonna have to bash that ugly head in. Not content to just shoot every zombie that comes his way, Harrelson’s character loves to find new ways to eliminate the zombie threat. Banjos, hedge clippers, baseball bats, all become weapons of death in his hands and the movie is more funny for it.
There’s enough good zombie action to satisfy the horror fans, especially towards the end of the movie when they reach the theme park but I wouldn’t go so far as to call this a horror movie. It’s mainly a comedy and it’s funny so I give it high marks for that. There was even a moment in the movie that had my eyes welling up that I don’t want to spoil for anyone. Of course it’s quickly countered with a joke that lightens the mood.
Harrelson and Eisenberg make an unlikely and hilarious team.
Of course there’s the cameo that everyone is talking about. I won’t even go into who it is even though most people know. I just don’t want to be the guy that ruins it for those that haven’t heard about it but it’s one of the best parts of the movie. It’s also more than a quick cameo as well and brought some of the best laughs of the movie. I’m pretty sure that nobody was expecting this to be a straight up horror flick and if you still are, you’re going to be disappointed. There’s some good violence and a couple of scares but this one relies heavily on the comedy aspect. While it wasn’t totally what I was expecting, I still really enjoyed it and would easily go see it again. There’s even an interesting twist on how the zombie epidemic started that fits into the comedy aspect of the flick. I can’t see anyone being really disappointed by this movie so I would recommend it.
Under the marquee – Will
yeah i definetely wanted to see this but got dragged to see ‘Whip It’ instead. But cool thing about that movie is there was a scene where these 2 characters go into a movie theater for a date. The theater they went too just so happened to be the exact same theater that we were in watching the movie in. Very trippy!
Anyways, I will defientely catch this in the next week. I hear nothign but positive things.
HAHAHA! You’re actually living the movies now man! That is kinda trippy.
You don’t wanna miss this one man, I even went all by myself because my girlfriend was sick but I didn’t want to miss it. I managed to catch the very first showing of it and the theater was almost empty, guess most people were still working.
So you had to see Whip It instead eh? I heard that was good though, what did you think about it? I was thinking of checking it out myself.
it was good, surprisingly good actually. Zoe Bell is always nice too look at anyway
BTW those early morning showings are the BEST, its always empty and it feels like its a private screening just for you.
I have developed a taste for zombie films of late and I’ve ALWAYS liked Woody Harrelson, so I knew I would like “Zombieland.” I did not leave disappointed — what I liked most is that there’s plenty of gore and really creative zombie kills, but the characters are surprisingly touching as well. Jesse Eisenberg was an excellent choice for the lead, and Harrelson is an excellent foil — he has so much damn fun killing those undeaders that I was cheering him on. Me, who watches all scary movies through her fingers.
Good to know that Whip It is worth it. I’ll put it on my growing list of things to see, as soon as I get done with all the movies the kids want to see now.
I think the characters are the best part of Zombieland actually. That might be part of the feeling of it not being a traditional zombie movie. Usually I’m just waiting for the characters to get eaten but I was rooting for all these characters. It’s a great combination of horror, comedy and some emotional elements.
This is a must see. I have a hardcore crush on Woody and it is a freaking zombie movie for godsake!!
I finally set up a youtube account. Is your youtube channel called The FIlm Reel? I’m having trouble finding you.
Actually, if anyone is looking for me on youtube then head here.
http://www.youtube.com/ninfanwill
That will get you where you need to go. Actually where you need to go is to see Zombieland! What are you waiting for! HAHA!
It’s funny because due to free screenings I had seen this movie twice weeks ago, and it feels weird now to hear everyone talking about… It’s a great, fun flick though. Some of my fave bits:
–the cameo of course and the line that follows “Did you have any regrets?”
–Mandy Lane’s Amber Heard and her scene with Eisenberg prior to the epidemic. I think that sequence was the one that came closest to being legitimately scary. And bonus points for Band of Horses on the soundtrack.
–All things Woody
–slo-mo shot of Breslin running in a tribal headdress while Harrelson beats the loving crap out of something in the background.
–”That’ll do pig”
–the ENTIRE amusement park scene and Bozo the braineater
HAHAHA! That’ll do pig! Great moment in the movie. I wish I had been able to see this before it’s release but I at least got to see it. This was probably one of the most satisfying movies I’ve seen all year. It appealed to all the sides of my film loving person. Zombies, good characters, good comedy and a story I wanted to see the ending to.
I wanted to see this movie for awhile when I saw the first images of the film at the amusement park, and the awesome kills brought on by Tallahassee.
The cameo was brill. I enjoyed the movie. The movie is fun, but a little hollow.
Some of the jokes didn’t work for me. It was light on plot and character development. Eisenberg really annoyed me.
I liked how you don’t really know anything about most of the characters. It shows how they come to care for each others well being even without knowing anything about them.
Glad you did enjoy it though! I felt it was one of the better movies of the year and I can’t wait to see it again.