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In 2009, Columbia Pictures’ Zombieland was released, which would go on to receive stellar critic and audience reviews while becoming a cult classic for all zombie flick fanatics. Ten years later, the original cast reunited for the long anticipated sequel. However, this begs the question, does it manage to live up to the original, or is it simply another undead nostalgia-fed cash grab?
Directed by Ruben Fleischer, Zombieland 2 picks up ten years after the first installment and finds our protagonists settling down in none other than the White House. With a star studded cast including Jessie Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, and fan favorite Woody Harrelson, their respective characters find no shortage of shenanigans.
Now 18 and lonely, Breslin’s Little Rock runs off to find more people her age, and tags along with Berkeley, a pacifist guitar player, and it’s up to Tallahassee, Columbus, and Wichita to save her from a new highly advanced zombie, the T-800.
Like its predecessor, Zombieland 2 isn’t your run of the mill zombie flick, and places a heavy emphasis on comedy as opposed to horror. Structured as a road trip style film, plenty of opportunities present themselves for comedic character interactions that manage to build off of one another
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The variety of new cast members is both a welcome addition, allowing for a greater variety of character interactions, but suffers in that many of these new characters feel underused or very 2-dimensional. With the traditional stock characters of “dumb blonde” and “stoner musician,” it feels as though these characters had much more potential.
The film manages to hit many familiar and welcome beats and manages to cause nostalgia of the simpler time that was 2009. Thankfully, it manages to change its plot structure enough to differentiate itself from the original.
For those looking for a complex and unique film, this may not be your cup of tea. However, for those who want a sweet taste of that zombie-killing fun with a heartwarming message of family, and plenty of laugh out loud gags, this movie is right up your alley.
8/10