Review: Zombieland

There have been a lot of good movies this year, a number of them that will stay with me in a very positive way for years to come. But as I looked through the list of movies I’d seen this calendar year, no one film stood out the way Zombieland does. No single film I’ve seen has the sheer creativity and originality that this hilariously bloody movie does. It’s not an Oscar winner, nor is it something I’m writing in Sharpie for the DVD release date. However, when much of what Hollywood churns out is predictable junk, a movie like this truly shines. It’s funny, it has damn good action, great acting, it’s fun and it certainly thinks outside the box. What more can you ask for?

'Zombieland' hits it out of the park in terms of humor, but make no mistake, the action is damn good as well. (Columbia Pictures/aceshowbiz.com)

The whole new trend of vampires and zombies and those kinds of things is starting to get a little bit old. The new Twilight movie coming out? – no thanks. I passed on the first one, I can pass on this. But in Zombieland, things aren’t the same. For one, there’s a set of rules. We’re introduced by one of the leads – Jesse Eisenberg – to the rules of this Zombie ridden Earth right from the start, and from minute one of this relatively short film, you can tell it’s quite different. The laughs start in those rules, during the opening credits, and don’t let up until all is said and done. But what so many other movies really fail at is tying everything together – acting, story, humor, romance, etc. As I write this, I realize more and more how much it succeeded in every aspect.

You would have to think that despite a miserable screenplay for any movie, if there is great acting, it can be halfway decent. Well, the screenplay and story were fantastic, so that is of no worry. The acting on the other hand is also fantastic. Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg are casted perfectly and play off each other with ease, creating many memorable moments. I honestly couldn’t tell you 10 movies Harrelson has been in, hell, the last one I can remember is his cameo in Anger Management as a cross-dressing prostitute/security guard. But damn, did he knock this role out of the park. He’s wild, he’s funny, and the brief cut-aways of him in the past are so damn golden. Speaking of cameos…

Stone, Harrelson, Eisenberg, and Breslin create four likeable and hilarious characters in this bizarrely entertaining movie. (Columbia Pictures/aceshowbiz.com)

Zombieland has one of the better placed and executed cameos maybe…ever. The person nails the role, and the brief five minutes or so on screen is really priceless and somehow doesn’t let the movie as a whole skip a beat. Some other things that help the movie carry along seamlessly are Emma Stone, and also the subtle moments of romance and the subtle moments of hilarity. Emma Stone, aka – the chick from Superbad, is really a dynamic young actress. She was funny, sweet, and convincing. Not to mention extremely attractive, but that’s for a different article. She, with Jesse Eisenberg, allows Zombieland to escape being one-dimensional, and let just the right amount of romance in. It lightens the mood that much more, and you’re already “rooting” for these characters, as this aspect allows you to enjoy their presence even more. The subtle humor I mentioned…well, I realized that I can’t talk about it without giving away hilarious moments. I can’t do that, so you’ll have to take my word that they nailed it.

So, as it would seem, I have nothing really bad at all to say about this movie. Perhaps that’s why it cracked my top 10 of 2009 for the time being. I can ask nothing more out a movie than what Zombieland gave me tonight.

ZOMBIELAND: (out of 4)