Excalibur and I are doing duel-reviews to kick off this blog on one of our favorite films in recent memory; Zombieland. Zombieland hit DVD, Blu-Ray, and PSP on February 2nd, after having a strong run in theaters in October 09, no doubt due to dropping in Halloween season and the zombie-hype that's all over the entertainment industry, from movies, to television, to video games, to music, to novels. Never before have zombies been in the limelight they are now, and the hype-machine behind them (more than likely pushed by video game Left 4 Dead than anything) is even more frightening than undead corpses walking the earth. Even though the market is oversaturated, zombies tend to bring out some the creators' creativity more often than not.
Zombie mania seemingly started with the Dawn of the Dead remake in 2004, and the accompanying Shaun of The Dead, which came out the same year. 28 Days Later was an earlier precursor, but only picked up its cult fanbase after these movies became such media darlings. Everything from novels like World War Z to video games like the aforementioned Left 4 Dead have filled Hollywood with the undead, and I'm not talking about Jack Nicholson or Morgan Freeman's animated corpses (God bless them). Zombies are also extremely popular amongst those scene kids, so anything attached to them is sure to do numbers. Enter Zombieland, a movie that does for teen-comedies what Shaun of the Dead did for romantic ones.
Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson star in this movie as the nervous, WoW-playing, Code Red drinking virgin and insane, Dale Earnhart-worshipping, Twinkie-idolizing, zombie-slaughtering redneck, respectively. While their characters may sound like stereotypes (in some weird alternate universe where those type of people don't exist - where that is, I'd like you to point me), they're firmly rooted in reality (even though this movie defies it), and three-dimensional. They're living, breathing human beings; just like you or me. Though, hopefully with less of a twinkie obsession, or more than a refrigerator full of Code Red. That shit ain't a healthy diet.
Eisenberg is Colombus, and he's our narrator in this film; a nervous-wreck of a young man who has only survived this long because he's afraid of virtually everything. He's come up with his own set of rules for survival in Zombieland, which includes everything from wearing your seatbelts, running like a bat out of hell, and blowing a zombie's brains out more than once for reassurance. Eisenberg is absolutely hilarious in this role, and for everyone calling him a Michael Cera imposter, he's far more than that. Cera could've never pulled off this role as absolutely flawlessly as Eisenberg did. I'm admittedly a little late on Eisenberg's bandwagon, having only become a fan after Adventureland, but this film makes me wanna go back and watch Roger Dodger as soon as possible.
Woody Harrelson, of Natural Born Killers fame, is Tallahasse; easily the most memorable character in any genre of film in a long time. He's insane, he's expertly skilled at killing zombies, he loves Bill Murray (who doesn't?), Dale Earnhart (never mentioned, but he paints every vehicle with a 3 in his memory), twinkies (he'll kill for a twinkie; literally), and he's doing this all because he lost his puppy (it'll make more sense when you watch the film). As absolutely absurd as his character sounds, and is, he's forever believable in Zombieland. This is the role of a lifetime for Harrelson, who only recently returned to prominence, and this film'll definitely keep him there. No one could've done Tallahasse the justice that Harrelson does in this film.
The two girls in this film are also portrayed excellently, the older of these two sisters being the gorgeous Emma Stone, who plays the femme-fatale character of Wichita. She helps keep a serious tone in the film when everyone else is getting completely lost in all the insanity; her little sister, Little Rock, is played by Abigail Breslin, of Little Miss Sunshine fame. She's the typical highly-intelligent smart-ass kid that movies need more, and her character plays a great contrast to Tallahasse in the scenes they're in together, showing their chemistry.
Bill fucking Murray has the greatest use of a cameo in a movie possibly ever, and helps elevate this film to the cult-status it's sure to gain; I won't spoil any details, but his small part provides the best five minutes of cinema in recent memory, and keeps classic movies fresh in a new generation's, who may've missed them, minds.
The direction, provided by first-timer, Ruben Fleischer, is on-point; few missteps, and everything just falls into place at every point of the film. The story, written by the duo of Rett Reese and Paul Wernick, is sharp, witty, and just all around fantastic. They're working on the upcoming Deadpool film, and if it's even half as brilliantly written as Zombieland is, it'll be everything fanboys have been craving. The cast is perfect, the settings are outstanding, and absolutely visually outstanding. The action sequences are flawless, and even the rare moments of suspence are done to perfection. I would point out some flaws if I could find them, but I really can't. Everything about this film just feels right.
Zombieland is easily one of my favorite films in this decade; it's a fun loving movie in a genre that can tend to take itself far too seriously. Lighthearted, but never corny. It has a perfect sense of comedic time, the right blend of action mixed in, and even some horror moments to get the point across that this is a fucking zombie apocalpse make Zombieland exceed in all areas.
I could gush about this film for hours, and paragraphs, but for now, I believe this is enough. Watch Zombieland. Then watch it again, because I assure you, one time isn't enough. In a world full of zombies (literally and figuratively), at least in film, I believe Zombieland sits as king.
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