Tuesday 26 January 2010

Review - Zombieland

In a nutshell:- Proving there's life (aha ha) in the zomcom yet...

The Basics:- The zombie apocalypse as arrived and nerdy Columbus meets borderline-psychotic Tallahassee (no names, it's not worth getting attached) to make his way through the deadly landscape. Columbus has only survived due to his strict adherence to The Rules and Tallahassee is a man on a mission - he searching for that elusive Twinkie...

The Good:- Right from the word go, it's funny and stylish with the zombies treated as a serious threat but the humour arising from the characters reactions to the situation. The cast are uniformly good but the real standout is Woody Harrelson who appears to be having the time of his life as Tallahassee. I have to say that I think Harrelson's an underrated comic actor - he's usually good value for money. There are a few belly laughs in there and a couple of nice gross-out moments. Oh, and an appearance that is great and would be spoilt if talked about...

The Bad:- OK, so it feels slightly like it's treading slightly similar ground to the superior Shaun Of The Dead but it's got enough of it's own identity to stop it feeling like a carbon copy. Also, it still features those occasional lapses of logic - you're in a country overrun by zombies; would you really turn on the lights and music at a funfair thus acting as a giant beacon for all the undead in the area? I bloody wouldn't! But these are minor niggles, really - the sort of disbelief you can suspend if you've come this far.

The Verdict:- It's a good, fun film and definitely worth a watch. Apparently, it was originally pitched as a pilot for a TV series (and, thinking about it, it does feel a little bit like the first of many) so apparently we can expect potentially many a sequel. I have to say, I'd be happy to spend another hour and a half in Zombieland...


3 comments:

Chelle said...

Oh God, I loved it.

That Baldy Fella said...

I had an almost psychic intuition that I'd get a comment from you on this post...

Chelle said...

You must be clairvoyant.