By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)
Waiting 10 years for a Zombieland sequel is hardly anyone’s cup of tea. The groans is more or less with false starts than in the news of the team–Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin (now much older)–are back.
The reason for the delay, as reported by Digital Spy, lays more in writers Rhett Reese. Paul Wernick, Dave Callaham coming up with the right idea and having more experience under their belt before moving forward.
This accidental family is living in a world where there is no law. All they are doing is going through the motions of living instead of looking for the truth ala Resident Evil. It’s nowhere near Mad Max levels just yet, but it easily could be had the setting been in Australia instead of what’s left of the USA. To explain Little Rock’s transition to becoming angsty teen that she is, ten years have passed and the ties that bind them together are looking frayed these days.
Like George Romero’s The Dead films, the team eventually encounters other survivors and learn about a haven known as Babylon they can head to.
The plotting offers nothing new to the zombie survival formula. Even all the tried-and-true camaraderie we all love about this team cannot save the film. I enjoyed how the text effects of Columbus’ rules colouring the cinematic screen gets a few new ways to blend in. The best part is when he and Tallahassee (Harrelson) meet another pair of zombie hunters who are just like them and also not. Half the film was spent world building than anything else. Maybe a role playing game can be developed since it has all the trappings from Resident Evil too.
From there, all the motions of a family sitcom drama play out more than Walking Dead. When Little Rock (Breslin) takes off, Wichita (Stone) feels it’s her duty to find her. Even this girl from Kansas is fleeing from a little responsibility, especially after Columbus expresses his feelings for her. While the character building moments are fine, the other aspects felt dry and it’s lost its zest.
Anyone curious in how the zombie epidemic came to be will find the post credits scene tops.
As for how the zombies mutated to different types, it’s a mystery. Zombies are zombies. Mind you, if they can all be as mindless as Homer Simpson when the scent of freshly baked sugary goods is nearby, the world can be saved by doughnuts.
3 Stars out of 5
