Sunday, 17 October 2010
Zombieland (2009) - Ruben Fleischer
I'm not going to lie, I didn't have high hopes for this film. Seatbelts on kids, you're in for a bumpy ride.
The main premise of this zombie film is the set of rules that 'Columbus' (Jesse Eisenberg) must follow to survive. Unfortunately the film follows a similarly fomulaic approach. Zombieland ultimately boils down to another film about a geeky guy trying to lose his virginity, this time complete with puking undead, comedy zombie kills and cliched use of Mozart. The characterisation is tired - Eisenberg does a poor Michael Cera impression, Emma Stone is pretty much your typical hot stuck up bitch (despite protestations from the script), Woody Harrelson is your gung-ho action man with a soft heart (who should know better) and Abigail Breslin is nowhere near as kick-ass as Chloe Moretz. Not even a cameo from Bill Murray can save the film.
The one redeeming feature is the running time - less than 90mins. Despite its flaws, Zombieland is a silly yet entertaining film for a Sunday afternoon. But if you want a 101 ways to kill a zombie, get yourself a games console and a copy of Dead Rising.
2/5