While it was never going to capture the lightning in a bottle vibe of the first film, a film that came out of nowhere to become an audience pleasing hit that remains a fan favourite to this day, the purely enjoyable nature and solid comedic delights of Zombieland: Double Tap comes as a genuine surprise 10 years on from Ruben Fleischer and his cast's original outing.
There's not many instances in cinematic history that a 10 year's in the making sequel ends up being more than decent and even less instances in the comedy genre, so Double Tap deserves a pat on the back for bucking that trend and giving fans of the original exactly what they wanted, more laugh out loud banter between our mismatched characters, epic zombie kills and memorable cameos, that help ensure Double Tap's brief run-time never lags in the entertainment stakes.
To be clear, in a one v one battle 2009's Zombieland would win hands down and Double Tap is unlikely to leave as much of a lasting impression as the first film did but thanks to Fleischer's energetic direction and staging of action scenes (almost as if Venom never even existed) and the returning cast members chemistry and comedic timing, there's barely a dull moment to be found in this newest zombie filled outing that knows what it is and what it's audience wants.
It's a great get for Double Tap to once more have Woody Harrelson's hard-edged Tallahassee, Jesse Eisenberg's nervous and rule-centric Columbus, Emma Stone's world-wise Wichita and Abigail Breslin's now grown-up Little-Rock together again and while Breslin has seemingly lost a fair chunk of her pre-adulthood charm and acting smarts, the rest of the cast have a ball returning to these characters, that in many ways helped shape their last decade in the film industry.
Without missing a beat the main cast of Double Tap get to also enjoy added additions such as a scene stealing Zoey Deutch as the dim-witted but likeable Madison, Rosario Dawson as Tallahassee's female doppelganger and fellow Elvis fan Nevada, while an extended cameo by Luke Wilson and Thomas Middleditch plays out perfectly in some of the films best moments.
All this joy from the cast and quick-moving pace helps cover up some of Double Tap's more obvious flaws such a wafer-thin plotline that's not even worth mentioning and a finale that lacks the bite of the first film but when all is said and done, nit-picking on these moments is pointless in a film that never takes itself too seriously, gives us some awesome new zombie kills of the week and introduces us all to a new word that's sure to take off in the form of being "Murrayed".
Final Say -
Super fun, super dumb and superficial as they come, Zombieland: Double Tap has no real right to be as enjoyable as it is and while it never reaches the comedic heights of the first film, this sequels ability to work suggests there's room enough for another Zombieland adventure still. Let's just hope they don't keep us waiting another 10 years.
3 ½ pacifists out of 5
