Zombieland

Over-the-top and gleefully irreverent, Zombieland follows four disparate characters (Jesse Eisenberg’s Columbus, Woody Harrelson’s Tallahassee, Emma Stone’s Wichita, and Abigail Breslin’s Little Rock) as they reluctantly band together in the face of a pervasive zombie outbreak. Filmmaker Ruben Fleischer has infused Zombieland with a fast-paced, thoroughly enthusiastic sensibility that proves effective at initially drawing the viewer into the proceedings, with the palpable chemistry between Eisenberg and Harrelson certainly playing an instrumental role in cementing the film’s early success. It’s consequently not surprising to note that the movie’s momentum does take a bit of a hit following the introduction of Stone and Breslin’s respective characters, though this is admittedly more the fault of Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick’s screenplay than of the actresses themselves – as their initial efforts at swindling Columbus and Tallahassee simply ring false given the severity of the situation (ie it’s impossible to swallow that these two would attempt to con the only two non-zombies around for miles). There’s little doubt, however, that the film bounces back with a vengeance somewhere around the midway point, as the increasingly compelling foursome encounter a familiar face while passing through the Hollywood Hills – with this hilarious yet all-too-short lived stretch undoubtedly establishing itself as a highlight within the proceedings and ultimately justifying Zombieland‘s entire existence. The anticlimactic nature of the final 20 minutes – ie Fleischer replaces the freneticism of the opening hour with a disappointingly conventional horror-movie sort of vibe – ensures that the film is inevitably at its best in its early stages, with one’s inherent interest in movies of this ilk essentially determining one’s willingness to overlook its various flaws.

**1/2 out of ****