Vaughn On Movies – The World's Toughest Movie Critic™

I, in all honesty, spend a lot of free time contemplating the possibilities of a zombie attack. I know that living next to Wal-Mart truly makes up for any dent it places on property value. While everyone else is in a traffic jam, I can casually stroll over to the big store and pick-up guns, ammo, food, and a pair of Wranglers. Indeed, I am prepped for Zombieland.

Director Ruben Fleischer paints the USA blood red. Zombies have run amok. College student Columbus (Jessie Eiseenberg) thinks he might be the last person in the world, that is until he runs across Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson). Their unusual names come from Tallahassee’s belief in not getting too attached, so he assigns people names based on their respective cities. He also has a fondness for destroying the undead, Cadillacs, and is on a quest to find the last Twinkie. During their adventure, the two come across sisters Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) who convince them to head to the coast.

Zombieland is not wholly original. Much of it feels like an expanded, Americanized Shaun of the Dead. For what it’s worth, the expanded aspect helps as much as it burdens. Unlike most films of the zombie genre, Zombieland gets lost. Instead of a simple objective, such as fleeing town, our heroes seem unguided. Sure, they do make plans to head to a theme park, but the reasoning behind this doesn’t support a Post-it note. It’s also bizarre that this crew of white people have managed to survive when there are many examples of minorities just as capable. Doesn’t help to ease racial tension when they ransack a Native American gift shop.

More importantly, since this is a comedy, I had fun. It wasn’t laugh out loud, but the pacing and jokes were enough to keep it interesting. Not to spoil things, but a celebrity cameo aids a great deal. It also carries less predictability than most films involving shotguns and the infected. I like how Columbus, despite his meager physique, has a list of rules that have guided him. Some crafty efforts in editing place the rules as titles on-screen whenever they are used. It’s almost like collecting points in a video game. Still, much of the humor is tied to reality by some means and not the expected funny zombies deaths. The performances are lively, particularly Harrelson, and it’s nice knowing that Hollywood has corrupted young Breslin to the point that she can work a 12-guage.

Zombieland is fun for the living. The blood splatter and language are staples of the genre. It doesn’t reinvent; it does however make a stronger film than most zombie flicks. At the very least it’s one of the few that shoots for the laugh and hits the mark; as opposed to those that go for serious and the stray pierces your brain. **½