Comedy sequels have got to be one of the most treacherous subgenres out there, the track record for these films is just not great at all. Exceptions like 22 Jump Street do exist, but more often than not, comedy sequels are just reheated leftovers of jokes that just aren't as funny the second go-around. Even getting the entire Anchorman crew back together resulted in a middling Anchorman 2 rather than a laugh riot. Zombieland: Double Tap is the newest entry into the world of comedy sequels, and as far as these types of movies go, it's actually one of the better comedy sequels out there. However, that's not exactly the highest bar to clear and when considering it as just a movie on its own terms, Zombieland: Double Tap can't help but feel more than a touch underwhelming.
At the start of Double Tap, about a decade-ish has passed since the first Zombieland movie, which saw zombie apocalypse survivors Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) and Wichita (Emma Stone) forming an unorthodox makeshift family. Now, they're all living together in the White House and tensions are high, particularly between rebellious Little Rock and surrogate father figure Tallahassee as well as romance trouble between Columbus and Wichita. This turmoil results in Wichita and Little Rock just up and walking away one morning, leaving Tallahassee and especially Columbus distraught.
Soon making friends with fellow zombie apocalypse survivor Madison (Zoey Deutsch), the duo eventually decide to head on out to find Wichita and especially Little Rock, the latter of which has run off from her sister to go live with a guitar-wielding pacifist. Part of the problem with Zombieland: Double Tap right from the get-go is that this plot makes the fatal mistake a lot of comedy sequels make: it sets everything back to where it was at the start of the first movie, ignoring any kind of character progress that happened in the predecessor in the process. Instead of coming up with a fun new premise for all four characters to inhabit, Zombieland: Double Tap goes out of its way to revert things back to the Tallahasse & Columbus buddy duo dynamic from the first act of the first Zombieland.
While trying to give audiences more of what they like, writers Dave Callaham and Rhett Rheese & Paul Wernick end up just making Zombieland: Double Tap feel like a rerun and that's not just with how the plot tries to undo the first movies character development. All kinds of notable gags from the first movie get rehashed to way weaker results, from the slow-motion opening credits sequence to all kinds of new jokes regarding Columbus' rules for surviving Zombieland. Even a bunch of the new characters are just remixes of what we already know, particularly a zombie slaying duo meant to be a mirror image of Tallahassee and Columbus. There's so much familiar stuff to be found here that one wonders why we aren't just watching the first Zombieland again.
That overdose of the familiar means that newbie character Madison ends up being one of the best parts of the movie. This not too bright but well-meaning individual has a personality that's wholly fresh to the Zombieland universe, there's no one else like her among the cast of already-existing characters so she provides a breath of fresh air in a movie too committed to the tired-and-true. Admittedly, a dumb blonde stereotype isn't exactly original but Deutsch plays the role with such uninhibited commitment and an excellent sense of comedic timing that it doesn't matter that this archetype is well-trodden ground. More of the less-original elements of Double Tap could have taken a cue from Madison, if you're gonna lean on the familiar, at least execute it in a humorous fashion.
While much of Zombieland: Double Tap felt unambitious and nowhere near funny enough to compensate for that, it's also a painless exercise mostly due to the returning cast, who refuse to sleepwalk through the material and lend the proceedings some life. It's especially fun to see Jesse Eisenberg and Emma Stone, after a decade of primarily doing challenging arthouse cinema, return to the world of comedic filmmaking that kicked off their careers. They still work well in these confines too, they haven't missed a beat in their time away winning Oscars and scoring critical acclaim. The performances are amiable enough to make Zombieland: Double Tap a painless viewing that provides sporadic bursts of enjoyment, but too much of it is about as lifeless as the zombies its lead characters eviscerate relentlessly.
At the start of Double Tap, about a decade-ish has passed since the first Zombieland movie, which saw zombie apocalypse survivors Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) and Wichita (Emma Stone) forming an unorthodox makeshift family. Now, they're all living together in the White House and tensions are high, particularly between rebellious Little Rock and surrogate father figure Tallahassee as well as romance trouble between Columbus and Wichita. This turmoil results in Wichita and Little Rock just up and walking away one morning, leaving Tallahassee and especially Columbus distraught.
Soon making friends with fellow zombie apocalypse survivor Madison (Zoey Deutsch), the duo eventually decide to head on out to find Wichita and especially Little Rock, the latter of which has run off from her sister to go live with a guitar-wielding pacifist. Part of the problem with Zombieland: Double Tap right from the get-go is that this plot makes the fatal mistake a lot of comedy sequels make: it sets everything back to where it was at the start of the first movie, ignoring any kind of character progress that happened in the predecessor in the process. Instead of coming up with a fun new premise for all four characters to inhabit, Zombieland: Double Tap goes out of its way to revert things back to the Tallahasse & Columbus buddy duo dynamic from the first act of the first Zombieland.
While trying to give audiences more of what they like, writers Dave Callaham and Rhett Rheese & Paul Wernick end up just making Zombieland: Double Tap feel like a rerun and that's not just with how the plot tries to undo the first movies character development. All kinds of notable gags from the first movie get rehashed to way weaker results, from the slow-motion opening credits sequence to all kinds of new jokes regarding Columbus' rules for surviving Zombieland. Even a bunch of the new characters are just remixes of what we already know, particularly a zombie slaying duo meant to be a mirror image of Tallahassee and Columbus. There's so much familiar stuff to be found here that one wonders why we aren't just watching the first Zombieland again.
That overdose of the familiar means that newbie character Madison ends up being one of the best parts of the movie. This not too bright but well-meaning individual has a personality that's wholly fresh to the Zombieland universe, there's no one else like her among the cast of already-existing characters so she provides a breath of fresh air in a movie too committed to the tired-and-true. Admittedly, a dumb blonde stereotype isn't exactly original but Deutsch plays the role with such uninhibited commitment and an excellent sense of comedic timing that it doesn't matter that this archetype is well-trodden ground. More of the less-original elements of Double Tap could have taken a cue from Madison, if you're gonna lean on the familiar, at least execute it in a humorous fashion.
While much of Zombieland: Double Tap felt unambitious and nowhere near funny enough to compensate for that, it's also a painless exercise mostly due to the returning cast, who refuse to sleepwalk through the material and lend the proceedings some life. It's especially fun to see Jesse Eisenberg and Emma Stone, after a decade of primarily doing challenging arthouse cinema, return to the world of comedic filmmaking that kicked off their careers. They still work well in these confines too, they haven't missed a beat in their time away winning Oscars and scoring critical acclaim. The performances are amiable enough to make Zombieland: Double Tap a painless viewing that provides sporadic bursts of enjoyment, but too much of it is about as lifeless as the zombies its lead characters eviscerate relentlessly.
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