The Tallahasse Zombie Hunters (Woody Harrelson), Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) have decided to attack the nail and have found a safe haven in the now abandoned White House. But when the young Little Rock decides to run away in search of her way (and some boy ...), the group leaves the nest and returns to Zombieland - in the meantime become even more dangerous thanks to the evolution of new, more intelligent and resilient living dead - to save the girl, intent on a journey with an unsustainable hippie musician. Accompanied by the vapid and bubbly Madison (Zoey Deutch), Columbus' new flame, the gang sets off for the "King's House" Graceland where they will meet new survivors such as tough Nevada (Rosario Dawson) and a decidedly familiar zombie-killing duo.
One step forward, two steps back ...
Ten years after the first chapter, the sequel to the cult horror comedy is released in theaters Zombieland (2009) Zombieland: Double Strike, directed by Ruben Fleischer, former author of the disappointing superhero-movie Venom (2018) with Tom Hardy. Despite the long wait, this sequel offers all the elements that made the first chapter a modern classic: decidedly over the top violence mitigated by vitriolic humor, an intelligent critique of the American consumer society and an excellent protagonist in the always capable and funny Woody Harrelson who recovers the role of the rude and irreverent Tallahasse.
The fact remains that the extremely long wait of this unnecessary sequel has ended up brandishing Zombieland: Double Shot as definitely out of time or not required, especially considering that the first chapter came out at a time when the popularity of stories a The living dead theme was at its peak, thanks largely to hit series like The Walking Dead or iZombie. But even the most avid fans of the original will find fault with this second chapter, undermined here and there by boring characters, repeated situations and a lack of real character development or noteworthy humor. It certainly does not mean that Zombieland: Double Shot is a bad movie, but it is certainly a mediocre sequel compared to its predecessor, which managed to maintain a dialogue with the best zombie films, even with the most studied and appreciated works of the never forgotten. master of the genre George A. Romero.
There is perhaps a parenthesis that should be made about the (so to speak) conservative nature of the film highlighted by some critics: the protagonists armed and accustomed to violence as positive characters, with their heads on their shoulders and clearly destined to survive, opposed to the "common ”At the end of the film, inhabited only by hopeless and vaguely hypocritical hippies. A decidedly sterile criticism whereas here we are talking about the struggle for survival against forces that are decidedly unmanageable in another way - the dead who resurrect to feast on the living in a world without defenses - and which therefore cannot be considered anything other than a polemic for an end in itself. Definitely forgettable, Zombieland: Double Shot is still an enjoyable horror comedy beyond its many flaws, recommended if in the mood for cheap humor and violence over the top or even if just a fan of Woody Harrelson, much less if a fan of the first film and looking for the same emotions. Either way, stick to the finished movie for an unmissable post-credits scene. And here I stop.
