Blu-ray & DVD Reviews

unWIRED Rating:

Zombieland

When a coward (Jesse Eisenberg) meets a hardcore butt kicking southerner (Woody Harrelson) they join forces to survive the now desolate world referred to as Zombieland.

Zombieland is one of those movies where you just get to have fun watching throughout. From the opening and the rules, to the over-the-top epic finale in a theme park, this movie invites you to sit down and enjoy the insanity. Jesse Eisenberg is perfect as the meek and rule loving Columbus, but it’s Woody Harrelson as Tallahassee that has the most fun. Something about him hanging from a swing ride and shooting zombies makes you love his awesomeness, and Woody Harrelson clearly enjoys the role. Emma Stone is good as Wichita, believable in the role of a con artist with her sister, Little Rock. Abigail Breslin manages to transition from cute child star to a more mature adolescent role rather well, but Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin’s roles were the weakest.

The story is standard zombie fare. The world has ended after a zombie invasion, and Columbus is heading back home to check on his family. On the way he runs into the rest of the crew, with Tallahassee searching high and low for a Twinkie, and Wichita and Little Rock heading to the theme park Pacific Playland, believing it to be zombie free. This is the one part of the otherwise simple story that is utterly baffling. They’re going to a theme park because it’s zombie free, but upon arriving and not spotting any rescue trucks or anything else to point towards it being clean, they barge on in and have themselves a good ol’ time. This in turn leads up to the finale, but the decision for them to go there and the hollow excuse Wichita gives to hand wave it away (“It’s been so long since she could be a kid”) is quite blaringly clear as a means to an end. Don’t get me wrong, the amusement park epic finish stands among the best zombie shoot out scenes mainly due to Harrelson. But it seems like if your supposed to be these uber clever con girls that’d you wouldn’t have survived very long making spectacularly bad decisions like that. Just saying.

The DVD comes with deleted scenes commentary, a behind the scenes featurette called “In Search of Zombieland,” and other little goodies for the movie lover. Zombieland is a terrific movie, and ranks up there among the best horror comedies. If you like comedies, horror, and Twinkies, then you’ll love this film. Remember Rule #3. Fasten your seatbelts, it’s a wild ride.

**Written by Mark Marquez