Zombieland: Double Tap Review

            Ten years later, the cult-hit zombie film Zombieland gets a sequel. Was it worth the wait? If you want to find out, you better fasten your seatbelt because it is time to “nut up or shut up” – Tallahassee (2009). 

            Not only have the zombies evolved since the first film, so has the “family”. Since 2009, Jesse Eisenberg has played both Mark Zuckerberg and Lex Luthor, Emma Stone has established herself as an Oscar-winning actress, Abigail Breslin is most certainly not a kid anymore, and Woody Harrelson…well, he’s still Woody Harrelson. I watched Zombieland again the night before I went to see Double Tap, and it is funny to see these actors so young in their careers, specifically Eisenberg and Stone, and to think of what they’d later become. Speaking of Zombieland, time to answer one of the age-old questions always asked when a sequel is released, is it necessary to see the first film if you haven’t already? And in this instance, I’m going to go ahead and say yes. While there is still fun and laughs to be had watching Double Tap without seeing its predecessor, I think the experience will be a more enriching one if you do. Double Tap does make multiple references to the original, and some jokes won’t land if you do not have the context. At the beginning of the film, Columbus, Jesse Eisenberg’s character, welcomes the audience back after the ten-year hiatus and if you were never there to begin with, then he can’t really welcome you back, can he?

            Zombieland: Double Tap does everything you could ask for from a sequel: it follows up from where we left off, continuing to develop the characters which are the heart of the story, it doesn’t lose the humor and gory zombie kills which made us fans to begin with, and raises the stakes a notch. One considerable difference I found between the two films, is Double Tap becomes Woody Harrelson’s movie. He is obviously great in the first, but in this one he really takes charge and leads the pack with best moments. But also great is Zoey Deutch, who plays not a dumb blonde, but the dumbest blonde. She is hilarious practically anytime she’s on screen and one of my favorite parts of the film. 

            I enjoyed this film as much as I did the original and would recommend it to all Zombieland fans. And for the question of whether or not it was worth waiting for? I mean seriously, were you on the edge of your seat from anticipation all this time? I didn’t think so.  7.5/10 P.S. Please stay for the credits, you’ll thank me later.