544: Zombieland: Double Tap

[00:00:01] Let's get to our second bonus review, which is Zombieland Double Tap. It came out in 2019. It is directed by Reuben Flesher once again. Stars the same cast as the first, as well as Zoe Deutsch, Luke Wilson, Thomas Middleditch, Rosario Dawson.

[00:00:26] And the synopsis is Columbus, Tallahassee, Wichita, and Little Rock move to the American heartland as they face off against evolved zombies, fellow survivors, and the growing pains of the snarky makeshift family.

[00:00:44] So this was a first time watch for me. Had been meaning to get around to it even though I liked the first one as I said.

[00:00:53] I didn't have a huge interest in seeing this. I think even for a lot of other fans, it's a sequel that no one really asked for.

[00:01:05] Of all the movies that get sequels, I'm not upset that it did, but even for the movie itself, it's not horrible.

[00:01:13] Like I think it's serviceable. It's entertaining. It's got some humor, but there's so little development.

[00:01:22] There's very few surprises. It's mostly hinging on the charisma of the cast.

[00:01:29] Honestly, there's not even that much zombie stuff in it.

[00:01:34] So my expectations for it were about what it turned out to be.

[00:01:41] Starting from the beginning, I like that the family is at the White House.

[00:01:47] And they're just enjoying themselves, living fairly normal lives.

[00:01:51] I mean, all considering an apocalypse.

[00:01:55] Plus in this film and the first one, I like the vibe of these movies where it's mainly just a hangout sort of feel.

[00:02:02] You're just hanging out with this group, getting out of jams and that sort of thing.

[00:02:09] The new cast of characters, overall, not too bad. We'll get to my favorites in just a minute.

[00:02:15] But I thought Zoe Deutsch, who I've seen her in a handful of things, I thought she was very funny as the stereotypical blonde bimbo.

[00:02:24] And some of her lines where they're kind of playing on her stupidity of mispronouncing certain words like saying it's the post-acropolis instead of post-apocalypse, that kind of thing.

[00:02:36] It's nothing amazing, but it had me laughing out loud more than I thought it would.

[00:02:44] Luke Wilson and Thomas Middleditch, who are basically doppelgangers of Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson.

[00:02:54] That whole section was a highlight when they turn into zombies, spoilers, and come after the other two.

[00:03:02] And there's a well-done, long single take of that whole fight.

[00:03:08] Woody Harrelson and Rosario Dawson had good chemistry, even though there's not a lot of time spent on that potential romance.

[00:03:17] I think it worked and I wouldn't mind seeing her in a third film if they did that.

[00:03:22] And I just like her a lot in general.

[00:03:24] Some other standout scenes, the fight at the RV when they're trying to get out of that area and then all the zombies attack.

[00:03:36] And there's the first look at the evolved zombies, which I think is a cool idea.

[00:03:41] I was talking about that on the Army of Dead review, where I don't really care if there's the different strains of zombies.

[00:03:48] I don't care if it's illogical. It's already illogical.

[00:03:52] Some can be smarter, others dumber, quicker, slower.

[00:03:57] The final action sequence calls back to the third act of the first one with the amusement park.

[00:04:04] In this one, it's this high building where everyone is living on the roof.

[00:04:10] And I like that. I think it looks good and I like the idea of that.

[00:04:15] There's the monster truck rescue by Rosario Dawson.

[00:04:22] And the zombie kill of the year is brought back from the first with the, I mean, it's a flashback of the guy on the farm rolling over the zombie.

[00:04:32] But then at the end, it's Woody Harrelson getting it because he does that jump off the roof and hangs on to the hook as all the zombies fall off.

[00:04:43] It's an okay ending, fairly predictable.

[00:04:46] I don't think there's nearly enough gore or interesting effects when it comes to the zombies or creativity, aside from the evolving strains that makes it that scary or that fun.

[00:04:59] It's just kind of a so-so ending. I think it could have been better.

[00:05:05] I don't mind that it's also 90 minutes long like the first.

[00:05:10] But unlike the first where I feel like that one could be longer potentially and make it work,

[00:05:19] Double Tap felt like it was pushing the 90 minute runtime with what story was there.

[00:05:25] So many of the new relationships like Abigail Breslin and the hippie guy, Zoe Deutsch and Jesse Eisenberg or the conflict between him and Emma Stone, it just felt so insignificant.

[00:05:42] So if you like the first one, I think it's worth a look, even though I doubt there will be anyone saying this one is better than the first.

[00:05:50] I think they could have done that in a way if they had written it or found the right story, possibly.

[00:05:56] But I have a feeling this will always remain the inferior film of the two.

[00:06:01] That is a heavy three out of five.

[00:06:07] I like the second one, I like the second one and I like the third one of the five.

[00:06:08] Like the third one is a massive part of that.

[00:06:08] I like the third one of the three three.

[00:06:08] But I'm not sure how do I think the next one is ever going to be the opposite.