BUFFALO, N.Y. — It took ‘em a decade, but finally Hollywood has seen fit to gift us with a sequel to 2009’s Zombieland. Entitled, appropriately enough, Zombieland: Double Tap, it was worth the wait.
In the intervening decade, out zombie-fighting protagonists Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson, Venom, Wilson), Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg, The Art of Self Defense, Café Society), Wichita (Emma Stone, La Land, The Favourite) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin, Ender’s Game, The Call) have only sharpened their zombie-killing skills as they journeyed across the country to take up residence in the White House.
The four seem to have settled into life as a family, with Columbus and Wichita paring up (who didn’t see that coming?) and Tallahassee and Little Rock finding some kind of weird father-daughter vibe.
Well, it turns out that Little Rock is unhappy with the way things are and the commitment-phobic Wichita is a bit frightened by Columbus’s growing attachment. So, Wichita and Little Rock flee, to of all places, Graceland.
Columbus is broken-hearted. Tallahassee, less so.
So, a month later, while scrounging in a shopping mall, Columbus comes across Madison (Zoey Deutch, Before I Fall, Why Him?), an apparently dimwitted blonde woman who has survived so far by hiding out in the freezer of the mall’s Pinkberry.
Tallahassee finds her to be extremely annoying. Columbus, less so.
In fact, Madison wastes no time in seducing Columbus and moves into the White House, into the Lincoln bedroom; Columbus’s room. The room he used to share with Wichita.
So, then it is extremely awkward when Wichita shows back up with news that Little Rock has abandoned her in much the same way as the two abandoned Columbus and Tallahassee a month or so earlier. Still, they decide to set off on a trip to Graceland to find Little Rock. Madison comes along.
Tallahassee and Wichita are extremely annoyed. Columbus, less so.
That’s when the real zombie-killing comedy begins.
Like a hungry zombie, the comedy just never lets up in this Zombieland sequel. The characters never quite cross over the line into unbelievability (although they dance on it). The plot never challenges your suspension of disbelief past the breaking point, and the film show a durable and relentless ability to make fun of itself, other zombie franchises, and the underlying paradoxes and assumptions of the whole Zombie Apocalypse genre.
Oh, there are scenes that are tension filled where we fear for the lives of our protagonists, even those scenes are infused with laughs.
Of course, the cast is simply amazing, Zoey Deutch deserves some special recognition. Her portrayal of Madison never hits a sour note. Tallahassee at one point offers his assessment of how the seemingly dim-witted and shallow Madison has survived thus far, “Zombies eat brains, and she hasn’t got any!” Wichita opines about Madison, presumably sarcastically, “Oh she is just adorable.”
But she is. The spot-on portrayal of the perpetually pink-clad Madison is a real credit to Deutch’s comic ability.
The pacing is perfect the film is the perfect length and the body count, both the living and undead, is satisfyingly high. Zombieland: Double Tap piles up 4 out of five stars.
Zombieland: Double Tap stars Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin, Emma Stone, Rosario Dawson (Clerks II, Rent), Zoey Deutch, and Luke Wilson (The Goldfinch High Voltage) and was directed by Ruben Fleischer (Venom). It's Rated R for bloody violence, language throughout, some drug and sexual content and runs 99 minutes.
Now, let's turn out attention to another sequel; this one coming from the Disney juggernaut of fun. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
This sequel to 2014's Maleficent to has a lot going for it, what, with one heck of a cast and those amazing Disney special effects. The effects are special, but unsurprising just; like the plot. This sequel doesn’t tell a story worthy of all the computer-generated effort.
Oh, it’s fine for the younger set, or if you really liked the first one. But in spite of all the Angelina Jolie (Salt, Changeling) and all the Michele Pfeiffer (The Fabulous Baker Boys, Catwoman), and a good dose of Elle Fanning (The Neon Demon, Super 8) the Maleficent sequel is really only worth 3 out of 5 boxes of popcorn.
Maleficent: Mistress of Evil stars Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave, Kinky Boots), and Michelle Pfeiffer. It was directed by Joachim Rønning (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales). It's rated PG for intense sequences of fantasy action/violence and brief scary images and runs 118 minutes. Take the kids, but you may have to struggle to stay awake.
Oh, remember Lucy in the Sky? We talked about it last week. Well, I should mention that, while it opened on only one Western New York screen last weekend, it’s expanded to three screens this weekend.
I'm Larry Haneberg, and I'm taking you 2 the Movies.
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