'Zombieland: Double Tap' Review: Hilarious and Zombie-Filled Continuation

Rule #1 in watching Zombieland, just enjoy the ride.

Photo Credit: Columbia Pictures

A hilarious, zombie-filled continuation of its predecessor, Ruben Fleischer's Zombieland: Double Tap brings us back to where it started and adds new characters to join the fun of the star-studded, all Academy Award-nominated foursome of Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin. It's as if nothing has changed with these characters even though in real life, there have been monumental changes to their careers. For one, Emma Stone is already an Academy Award-winning actress, but her character Wichita is still the same Wichita we know from Zombieland.

It's literally a continuation only with additional characters that either add spice or create conflicts to their established dynamic. Presently, the gang lives in the White House. Stone's Wichita and Eisenberg's Columbus are still a couple, while Breslin's Little Rock and Harrelson's Tallahassee have an unspoken bond of a father and a daughter. The core four is still together killing zombies, living together despite their differences. Columbus still abides by his rules, Wichita and Little Rock still don't like to be attached, and Tallahassee continues to tolerate them despite being out of his comfort zone. Only time will tell when they start growing tired of each other.

Even zombies have some developments. They now have names for each kind of zombies: 'The Homer', which are the stupid and slow zombies; 'The Hawkings', a.k.a. the thinking man's zombies which were named after Stephen Hawking; and 'The Ninjas', these zombies appear out of nowhere. But these are the same zombies they've initially encountered so they took it to the next level by including running zombies that are difficult to kill. Imagine the zombies in World War Z. They called it, the T-800.

But then again, as much as I love seeing zombie action more than anything in a zombie movie, what makes Zombieland, both 1 and 2, even special is the comedy between the leads. They could make a TV series out of them and we wouldn't get tired of seeing them interact with each other despite their obvious disparity. It's what makes the "Zombielands" watchable, even if it lacks the gruesome and offbeat zombie killings it's known for and even if some of the jokes don't land well. Double Tap actually lacks the zombie action and the natural & fluid humor of the first, but it makes up for new and unforgettable characters you wouldn't mind joining the foursome in future sequels. Most especially Madison, a hilarious character turn for Zoey Deutch, who got fascinated by Columbus' rules and ended up being the third party in the Wichita-Columbus central relationship. She's the third party that you wouldn't mind messing an already cute and formed relationship because she's that funny and outstanding.

But despite Madison, the foursome remains the heart and soul of the film, with Tallahassee having the most heroic arc of the four. The final scene in a new placed called Babylon where guns are not allowed and hippies kumbaya with each other is a little bit short of the exhilarating theme park scene of the first, but thanks to another character played by Rosario Dawson, it got a short four-wheeler truck action that's fun to watch.

Zombieland: Double Tap has the same formula of the first which you wouldn't mind especially when you go out of the theater smiling because of its silly but happy ending. It makes  you want to see more of them. The good news is, the actors seem 'game' for more.