In an America where humans are no longer the dominant species, and have actually been reduced to food, zombies reign supreme; Zombieland is the tale of a boy named Columbus ((Jesse Eisenberg, Adventureland) a young nerdy hero with a rulebook for surviving the perils of a world literally overrun by the living dead), his cross country journey (back home, and hopefully to a place without zombies), and the people he meets along the way.
The tale begins with a brief introduction by Columbus explaining the global nature of the virus, how quickly it spread and where from, and introducing himself and a couple of musts from his how-to survive Zombieland handbook; the first of which is Cardio (because zombies can run, so junkfood binges won’t work in anybody’s favour), closely followed by others such as always beware of bathrooms, always wear a seatbelt, and remember to check the backseat; and a flashback showing Columbus’ first zombie encounter, and how he managed to survive it.
But the story really gets going when the young star teams up with his ‘badass partner’ Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson, Kingpin), whose zombie-hating, gun-loving, nature and tough physique will prove to be of great help to Columbus, of great comedic/action value to the audience, and ultimately very useful in a country where anyone who isn’t a gun-loving zombie-hater is liable to get eaten fairly quickly, even if his weakness for Twinkies threatens the pairs safety on more than one occasion.
Also along for the ride (or at least along the same course) are two sisters; Wichita (Emma Stone, Superbad) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin, My Sister’s Keeper); who’s path will cross the boys several times, and even see them sharing a car and a house with the lads, and providing Columbus with his much needed love interest.
In terms of the film’s plot, there honestly isn’t much of one to speak of (but then what zombie movie ever really develops a plot beyond some basic character interaction and the standard ‘how long can we stay alive before something goes horribly wrong’ arc?), aside from the fact that a small group of people on a similar heading, with dreams of finding a non zombie infested place to settle, meet up and travel the road west together, encountering numerous zombies, tricky situations, and possible Twinkie stash houses, along the way.
Despite the fact that there isn’t much of a story, Zombieland never once becomes boring, and it’s hour and a half long runtime actually seems to fly by in no time at all, and it’s due in large part to the interesting character rapports, the interesting and unusual style of the film (which is reminiscent of The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, only with more zombies, and less miserable androids, but a similar dryly comedic voiceover style) as well as, of course, it’s brilliant comedy.
It is quite possibly the second funniest, intentionally comedic, zombie film ever made (obviously losing out to the hilarious Shaun Of The Dead), with numerous one-liners, sarcastic comments, and teenage awkwardness, that may not have viewers splitting their sides, bit will adequately produce more than the odd titter, as well as showcase some scenes that are pure comedic genius.
For anyone that has seen the movie, the last sentence will instantly bring one specific scene to mind, a scene that contains possibly the best, and funniest, cameo appearance in a movie, since Chuck Norris gave the thumbs up in Dodgeball.
The style of the film also works exceptionally well, having a rather ironic and sarcastic narration which serves the film’s comedy especially well, as does the 3D text that pops up explaining and highlighting Columbus’ rules whenever appropriate (often comedically so) and actually being affected by the action; an example being that when a man is thrown off a balcony he crashes through the credits and the letters begin to fall accordingly. The opening credit sequence is also incredibly stylish, and features numerous zombie attacking clips (such as the balcony toss, and a bride who gets somewhat peckish at her wedding) and the odd spot of blood vomiting; all of which is shown in beautiful detail thanks to it being presented in ultra-slow-motion; which actually suggests that the movie is a good deal more gory than it actually is, because in terms of hardcore violence Zombieland is rather subdued, and doesn’t feature anything nearly as graphic as most zombie movies do.
The characters also fit the world perfectly, and are all played to a very high standard (much more so than the average comedy/horror); Jesse Eisenberg’s Columbus may not be a typical hero (especially in a zombie movie setting) but through flashbacks and scenes of his fumbling survivals, paranoia, and strict adherence to his rulebook, it’s not entirely unbelievable that he has so far survived the Zombieland pandemic, and is played excellently by Jesse, who seems every bit as panicky, needy, awkward, and nerdy, as the character requires, and imbues every aspect of his performance with a Michael Cera type quality; having similarly themed comedy deliveries and timing.
Tallahassee is a character that at first glance can be seen in just about every zombie movie ever made, being the gun-loving zombie-killing machine that he is, although oddly enough his character is expanded on rather fully in the film; showing a more sensitive and fun side, and even becoming emotional when discussing the trauma that made him hate zombies more than the average survivor. As always Woody Harrelson is superb in his role, and an ideal fit for his character, as he is more than adept at playing comedic characters and making situations funny, and looks just mad, and hard, enough to be a force for all of zombie-kind to reckon with. While Tallahassee may not be his most loveable or memorable character, and the performance may not be his finest, it certainly looks like it was one of the roles he had the most fun portraying, and his acting is far above what is required for the film; the action is believable, and his emotional scenes are a good deal more natural than some of his previous ones; meaning it’s a solid performance that is more than apt for the zombie infested wasteland, of Zombieland, and makes him the shining star of the picture.
Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin also fare fairly well, and although both appearing slightly cold at the beginning (more of a character design than acting flaw, as they are extremely untrusting and hostile to begin with) they do warm up as the film progresses. Emma Stone’s Wichita is mainly included to give Jesse a love interest and be the shifty character that you’re never sure if they are going to turn on the group, but it’s a role she fits into adequately (giving neither a bad, nor an especially memorable performance), and it’s easy to see how Jesse could fall for her (her Sarah Connor Chronicles look, and the fact that she’s quite possibly the only girl his age left alive, sees to that). Abigail Breslin however gives an excellent representation of the child growing up under difficult circumstances, appearing outwardly tough but inwardly covering up her pain and childish nature, and she is every bit as bratty, annoying and likeable as she should be, and most importantly has a superb talent for delivering comedy.
Overall Zombieland is exactly what was advertised; a hilarious romp through a zombie infested U.S. that is witty, sarcastic, and at times laugh out loud funny; it’s got some amazing action scenes (that like the entire film all sway more to the fun side of the scale than the scary), and effects that are shockingly good (even the effects which are clearly CGI and would be easily spotted in other movies are very difficult to fault), as well as a sleek, relatively fresh, style that works exceptionally well, and even though the story isn’t too deep or original, it creates a world with characters that are so easy to like that viewers will find themselves desperate for more, and creates a situation for possibly the funniest and most well done comedy cameo in cinema history; easy to watch, fun escapism at its best.
Picture:
Zombieland’s 1080p presentation will be amazing viewers from the opening to closing credits as it is all but a hair away from sheer perfection; it boasts striking bold and vibrant colours with nice saturation, a near non-existent level of grain (providing the film with an exceptionally clean look), and accurately represented fleshtones throughout.
Whites are consistently clean, as black levels remain bold and inky, giving outstanding shadow detail where appropriate, and providing a nice feeling of depth to the picture. Background elements always retain a high level of clarity, and the detail of the picture as a whole is to be commended, as it is outstandingly high; with the opening credit sequence’s slow-motion clips perfectly showing the film’s superbly clean and crisp transfer, and immense level of detail, with every tiny shard of broken glass that litters the road, or blood drop that spatters a windscreen, clearly visible.
As always there are one or two minor issues with the transfer (with minor being the operative word), such as slight banding and aliasing on certain scenes. However, the transfer’s flaws are very difficult to spot (most videophiles would probably miss them unless they were really looking), very rarely seen, and will probably go unnoticed by almost all film fans; meaning that the issues cannot take away the fact that this is a demo quality transfer of impeccable standards, that couldn’t really get any better, and is sure to please anybody that watches it.
Audio:
Presented via a DTS HD-MA 5.1 mix, the audio for Zombieland is almost as impressive as the video; it boasts dialogue that is perfectly represented (despite being almost entirely contained to the front), music with exceptional clarity and depth, and rear ambience that provides for such natural and realistic sounding environments (be it through the use of buzzing insects, humming fluorescent lights, or any other of the numerous effects used) that it really is like being there, thanks to the full 360° surround soundfield that is created.
There’s an impressive dynamic range which always maintains accurate sounds, with quieter scenes sounding noticeably soft, and yet injecting a good deal of power, and a fair amount of bass, into the film’s action scenes, which include numerous natural sounding gunshots that are different depending on where they originate from (indoors shots linger for a fraction longer than the equivalent outdoors shot), and all make for an enjoyable and immersive surround experience.
Extras:
Zombieland comes to Blu-ray with a fairly hefty selection of extras, which includes an audio commentary with Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg; as well as the film’s director (Ruben Fleischer), and writers (Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick); which will delight fans with its light tone, discussions of the film’s stuntmen, writers, shooting locations, and actors performances, as well as other aspects of production, and is a surprisingly easy listen, with few gaps.
The traditional ‘making of’ is split here into several parts, with one part being ‘Visual Effects Progression Scenes’, which is a quick and quiet collection of scenes showing how the effects were created to craft certain shots (it does take the magic out of certain scenes, but is sure to please the more technically minded viewers), as well as a featurette called ‘Zombieland Is Your Land’ (concentrating on the films impressive production design and set creation), and one focussing on the films development from TV pilot idea to big screen blockbuster, the looks of the zombies, and the combination of horror and humour (known as ‘In Search Of Zombieland’).
However, perhaps a more useful inclusion is the Picture-in-Picture (PiP) commentary track (‘Beyond The Graveyard’) which covers the majority of material in the other featurettes while the movie is playing. It’s an interesting and useful feature (in its own right, because if watched after the others it’s fairly redundant), despite being rather large, and is probably the only one that is really needed.
There is also a selection of promotional trailers, and several deleted scenes which are very different from one another (showing Tallahassee’s previous occupation, and how Columbus coped after his first zombie encounter, are two examples), and while they are of slightly higher quality than standard deleted scenes, and worth a watch, they provide little comedic value and were rightfully cut from main feature.
Also included is MovieIQ (a BD-Live trivia track that includes cast and crew fimlographies), and a dynamic PS3 Theme (oddly not advertised on the packaging); which added to the other features, makes for an insightful and thoughtful set of bonus features that is guaranteed to please all fans of the film (even though a good deal of material is repeated), and even have a little something to entertain more casual viewers.
The Bottom Line:
In the end Zombieland delivered exactly what it promised; a fun, comedy filled, zombie flick (or a zomedy as some people call it) with some decent action and an hour and a half’s worth of Woody Harrelson giving the undead what for; and honestly, that’s all that this movie needed.
Sure there’s little development in terms of plot, the cast only includes six people (counting the celebrity cameo, and the one most memorable zombie), and the action is a bit daft, but then would you expect anything else? It never once becomes boring and is actually one hell of a fun ride, and even though the action can be daft, it’s believable in the film’s context and fits the tone perfectly (and viewers should remember that this is a film in which almost the entire human race has been turned into the living dead due, in no small part, to one man eating a dodgy petrol station burger).
The Blu-ray quality is top-notch, with a picture that is practically perfect, impressively suitable audio, and a decent collection of special features, which are sure to delight the films many fans and anyone who is considering giving it a rent.
The film does have a few minor problems; the fact that the trailer’s narrator was replaced with Jesse Eisenberg for one; and it still doesn’t quite reach the heights of Shaun of the Dead (and has none of Shaun’s subtle social commentary), but it’s Shaun of the Dead for the next generation, and it’s comedy is much simpler and easier to get. It’s not hard to see why Zombieland is the highest grossing zombie movie of all time, because, all in all, Zombieland is great; truly fun, zomedy escapism, that scores very highly on the re-watch-ability scale, and is a true Blu-ray must.
