Zombieland Review
Review – Zombieland
Unjustly, many will compare Zombieland to Shaun of the Dead. While it’s true both share 
zombies, comedy and solid stories, each has different goals. Shaun revels in being a mockery of the zombie genre, even stooping so far as to imitate the effects of those pictures. Zombieland may poke fun, but it’s more concerned with being a comedy rather than a parody. If indeed that was the intention then director Ruben Fleischer has failed in that regard. Yet the fact remains; Zombieland is one of the most fun and enjoyable films of the year.
Let’s start at the top with Woody Harrelson turning in a hilariously awesome performance as Tallahassee. It’s tough to imagine Woody Boyd being this incredibly kick-ass, but Harrelson absolutely dunks it. He doesn’t go overboard with it, and keeps the toughness in check. He’s countered by a very solid Jesse Eisenberg, who drops the “Michael Cera 2.0″ act from Adventureland and becomes his own breed. While his Columbus does show signs of being a coward, it’s never really glossed on as he’s resourceful and lovable. Of course it helps the film greatly that Harrelson and Eisenberg make for a terrific duo. These two have a flowing energy that bounces off each other magically.
Emma Stone needs to start being a leading lady, and this is a nice jumping point for her. Stone’s been terrific in every role she’s done, and once again shows her range as Wichita. Her eyes are one of the most beautiful sets there is, so playing sexy is no trouble for her. Where she shines is blending that with being nurturing, then tough female. She doesn’t juggle them rather than she does come off very natural at each aspect of her character. True, she’s mostly known for comedies yet all one needs to do is watch her handle the serious beats in this film to see she’s terrific. Abigail Breslin tackles the duty of playing her sister, Little Rock, and knocks it out of the park. Much like Harrelson and Eisenberg, the two have believable chemistry where they could easily pass for sisters. Even better is that all four mesh together brilliantly, with not one of the pieces feeling out of place.
For all their hard work, this isn’t a case of the actors making something out of nothing. In fact, Zombieland has an actual heart beating at it’s center. Writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick make sure the movie is about the characters and their goals, not the undead inhabitants. They don’t gloss over what caused the plague, nor is there one character already infected (something they decide to poke fun of.) Instead they use the zombies as background devices in lieu of building arcs for their characters. They’re also exceptional at keeping the jokes pretty grounded and not letting anything get too out of control.
Neither does Ruben Fleischer, who invigorates the film with a sense of subtlety. Subtlety, meaning there’s not hordes and hordes of blood spilling onto the screen or various people being eaten alive. Fleischer’s main goal is to tell a story of four people trying to survive a barren wasteland filled with undead patrons rather than move to the next awesome zombie death. That’s not to say he disregards it, as the biggest thrills and laughs in the movie come when our quartet is dispatching zombies left and right. Fleischer doesn’t relish in this, and reminds us this is a story about the people, not the deaths. Credit also needs to be given to him and the writers for turning in a project that doesn’t fall back on every zombie cliche in the book.
Zombieland has a lot to love and should really be experienced on it’s own. I clapped like a seal when the gloriously awesome stuff happened only to find myself actually invested in the characters plight’s. The cast is stellar, the writing is very crisp and the directing is solidly tight. Zombieland is better than all of Romero’s entries since Day of the Dead, and maybe the best zombie film since Shaun of the Dead. Go in expecting to have a lot of fun, but don’t be offended when a solid story comes your way too.
9 out of 10
