I wasn't expecting a whole lot from this film. The zombie rage is already subsiding again and previous attempts at mocking the brain-munching corpses didn't amount to much (not a Shawn of the Dead fan myself). The trailer and poster didn't look too promising either, so it was lack of better options that drove me to watch this one. Sometimes this leads to unexpected surprises.
I doesn't take the film too long to get up to speed. The first five
minutes have some gooey deaths and a list of aptly visualized rules on
how to survive zombies. Eisenberg's ever-present and self-introduced
voice-over might not be to everyone's liking, but it sets the mood for
a somewhat silly and dry-humored trip through the land formerly known
as America.
Story-wise there is not much to talk about. Zombies have overrun
the country, only a few survivors are left and four of them meet up to
tour around together. Not as willingly as you might expect, but
clich&éacute;s dictate that in the end they get along just fine.
Visually Zombieland is quite fun and playful, although not actually
pretty. Fleischer loves playing around with onscreen text, resulting is
some rather humorous scenes and effects. It's a cool addition that
found it's way into many films these last couple of years, but
Fleischer manages to give it his very own twist. The rest of the film
doesn't look too bad, but apart from the cool, deserted setting it's
not exactly visually striking.
As for the acting, the film has solid performances all around. Most
of the humor comes from Eisenberg's character. It took me a while to
get over the fact that he looks and sounds a whole lot like Michael
Cera (even plays a similar role), but his dry voice-overs and somewhat
dorky presence work very well within the boundaries of this film.
Harrelson is visibly having fun and the both of them make a good
zombie-killing duo.
The film starts slacking just a little halfway through, but only
for a couple of minutes. It's not a long film and the first and final
part are plenty of fun, so there's not much time to actually get bored.
The film has a surprisingly balanced focus on both comedy and horror
and features some memorable scenes and interludes to increase the fun
factor.
If you're up for an entertaining, funny and fast zombie flick than
Zombieland should be first pick. Even though it's not wildly original
it hits all the right notes. The presentation is fun and quirky, the
humor somewhat silly and dry. Add to that some genuinely gory bits
(though nothing too insane) and you're up for a fun and undemanding
ride.
As far as zombie movies go, this one is pretty low on the scale. My first big gripe is that these are not zombies! Zombies are the dead that come back "alive". Everything else is something else, but what they certainly are not are zombies. Just like they weren't zombies in "28 Days Later". Ugh! Second, the movie doesn't really go anywhere. The finale at the amusement park could have been a lot more fun. However, there is a great cameo in the movie that saves this film from being a complete write off...
I wouldn't rate it so poorly. I loved Shaun of theDead, and this seemed in the same vein, although now executed quite as well. Still a good movie overall.
Bill Murray really stole the entire movie though.