Certification. 15
Running Time. 1 hour 28 mins
Director. Ruben Fleischer
Cast. Abigail Breslin, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Amber Heard, Bill Murray, Emma Stone.
Rating. 61%
Ruben Fleischer's debut feature, Zombieland is a frivolous take on the zombie apocalypse genre - a genre spawned by George A. Romero's seminal Night Of The Living Dead trilogy.
Whilst Zombieland is more genial and self-aware than the likes of Robert Rodriguez's Grindhouse offering, Planet Terror, the film lacks the enduring charm of Edgar Wright's splendid Shaun Of The Dead.
Perhaps Ruben Fleischer's most significant achievement is to create four likeable characters in whose ultimate survival you become wholly invested in?
Jesse Eisenberg stars as Columbus, a multi-phobic college student who's managed to survive the zombie apocalypse by sticking to some simple, yet effective, rules:
Rule #1. Cardio
Rule #2. Double Tap
Rule #3. Beware of bathrooms
Rule #4. Seatbelts
Rule #7. Travel light
Rule #17. Don't be a hero
Rule #18. Limber up
Rule #31. Check the back seat
Columbus is soon partnered up with the laconic red-neck, Tallahassee - a terrific performance from the ridiculously underrated Woody Harrelson - who it would appear has a natural talent for dispatching the undead. And whilst Emma Stone's, Wichita and Abigail Breslin's, Little Rock are somewhat underwritten, both have just enough material to bring the characters to life.
On the surface, Zombieland is essentially a dysfunctional family road-trip movie set against the backdrop of a zombie apocalypse. But look closely and you may be able to draw comparisons with other genres. A disparate group of strangers travelling west together whilst battling external dangers is, in essence, the plot for John Ford's quintessential western, Stagecoach, or a disparate group of strangers travelling along a yellow brick road together whilst battling flying monkeys is, in essence, the plot for Victor Fleming's The Wizard Of Oz.
With that in mind, "Nut up or shut up" and embrace Rule #32. Enjoy the little things.
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