ZOMBIELAND: DOUBLE TAP
Carry On Columbus
RELEASED OUT NOW!
2019 | 15 | Blu-ray (4K/standard)/DVD/ download
Director Ruben Fleischer
Cast Woody Harrelson, Jesse
Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin
For George Romero fans, the scale of Zombieland’s success back in 2009 was kinda galling. Though genially goofy, it was missing any sense of threat (not a given
– Shaun Of The Dead had it in spades) or logic (who, mid-zombie apocalypse, turns on the rides at a theme park?). Now the family-youmake of Columbus, Tallahassee, Wichita and Little Rock is back.
This belated sequel is very much more of the same, though the advent of The Walking Dead has had its influence: the plot climaxes at Babylon, a walled community that’s basically a vegan hipster take on The Hilltop. The scale of the action’s been ramped up, and additions like evolved zombies, a low-wattage Valley Girl, and a “doppelganger” pair who mirror Eisenberg and Harrelson’s characters provide some novelty, but ultimately this second helping remains the undead equivalent of the Twinkies so beloved of Tallahassee, providing a quick sugar rush but no nutritional value.
Extras Ruben Fleischer’s very detailed commentary points out CGI mattes, cameos (his dad plays a dead scientist) and background details (like hobo signs), as well as discussing tweaks and gags that didn’t really work. Nine deleted scenes include a couple of rather sweet moments which imagine Columbus and Wichita meeting in an altenate timeline. Six featurettes (33 minutes) cover subjects like the new characters, the vehicles and Babylon, making apparent plenty of greenscreen, improv and larks. Plus: a twominute take of the “doppelganger fight” sequence; bloopers; a (real) US government PSA. Ian Berriman