Legendary director and American icon Clint Eastwood’s latest film, Juror #2, is perhaps one of his most interesting works to date. Being primarily known for Westerns, Eastwood tries his hand at a courtroom drama, and the result is a simple yet captivating thriller with a very intriguing moral dilemma.
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Zombieland: Double Tap, directed by Ruben Fleischer, director of the original Zombieland, has Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin reprising their roles as Tallahassee, Columbus, Wichita, and Little Rock respectively. Zombieland: Double Tap follows the four as they encounter more zombies, remaining survivors, and the advanced deceased. The narrative begins with the four protagonists facing their own individual challenges, but as the film progresses, they are united as they encounter the remaining survivors of the zombie apocalypse.
What made this film impressive was its acting, especially the performances of Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg. Once again, Columbus’ narration about Zombieland is clever and quirky, giving out both old and new details to the audience. From his recap of the first film to his introduction of rules for surviving Zombieland, his character sheds light and humor on the story. As for Tallahassee, his character development was unexpected, given to what happened to him in the first film. Here, his personality takes the spotlight more, especially when he meets and interacts with the new survivors. Additionally, when it comes to his zombie killing moments, he’s still as entertaining as he was in the original Zombieland.
Part of what didn’t contribute positively to the film were its obvious attempts to be “cool,” and some of the supporting cast. The frequent pop culture references were unnecessary and distracting from the plot. While some of them made sense, most felt like they were put there just for the audience to have a shallow laugh that they’d forget immediately afterwards. Madison (Zoey Deutch), one of the new supporting characters, seemed like she should be fitted into a high-school flick as the alpha female instead of a comedy/horror zombie film. In the film, her character is depicted as a spoiled child that the main protagonists just found in the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s clear her purpose in the narrative is to offer some fresh humor, but she just comes off as annoying and adds little to no value to the story.
Overall, for the most part, this sequel was enjoyable and fun. There were a couple places that were stale and unworthy of praise, but considering the ten year span between the original and the sequel, Zombieland: Double Tap lived up to the hype. The acting was superb, the zombies were amazing to witness, and Ruben Fleischer clearly knew what he was doing.
4/5 STARS