Film Reviews

Zombieland

• Rating:
• Director: Ruben Fleischer
• Starring: Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Abigail Breslin
• Details: US/80mins (16)

Hilarious and witty with brilliant action, this is one of the most fun flicks of the year.
Playing like cult classic Shaun of the Dead, only directed by Zack Snyder, Zombieland achieves that rare feat of being a genre hybrid that manages to entertain on more than just one level. This is some damn funny stuff, with action that doesn't feel by-the-numbers and gore that comes by the bucket load. While marking an impressive return to form for Woody Harrleson, first time director Ruben Fleischer deserves the bulk of the credit for crafting one of the most purely entertaining movies of the year so far. Zombies have taken over the world, after Mad Cow Disease evolves into something that sees those infected hungry for the flesh of others. Neurotic survivor Columbus (Eisenberg) has lived two months after the initial outbreak, mainly because he stringently obeys his own pedantic rules. While driving across America, just looking to survive, he meets Harrleson's Tallahassee, a man who has turned killing zombies into a fine art. Soon the mismatched pairing come across some wily sisters, who are even more determined than them to survive. Together they make their way to a place they heard is blissfully zombie-free, as Tallahassee risks life and limb to find the last edible Twinkie on earth. It's been a while since something this downright fun has reared its head at the cinema. Zombieland starts off in a stylish and witty manner, and somehow manages to maintain that for its entire running time. While it's a production that has its tongue firmly pushed against its cheek, the action here is slickly handled and executed with much aplomb by Fleischer. Generally when you get a film trying to do two things (in this case be funny and a horror), if one of them succeeds you're considered a success; here, it brings both, and brilliantly so. It has also cast smartly, giving Harrleson the best material he's had in years, while allowing Eisenberg send up the persona he portrayed so believably in another (Adventure)land. Emma Stone, too, kicks surprising amounts of ass, and is impressive. There's also one of the best (and funniest) cameos in recent memory - what more do you want?

Review by Mike Sheridan