Zombieland rises again for ‘Double Tap’ — but it’s a few thrills short of a rollercoaster
★★★☆☆
As its subtitle would suggest, Zombieland: Double Tap understands and honours the tone and humour which made its predecessor a hit. Unlike many comedy sequels and reboots produced years after the original film’s release, Double Tap retains enough of the original meat and bones of its characters and jokes to be entertaining. Where it is far less accomplished is in providing a strong sequel in terms of story. Certainly, Zombieland was more comedy than drama, but even the best comedies need a worthwhile plot to prop it up. It’s a shame to see Double Tap opt to reverse the resolutions of the first film and repeat the same drama all over again, rather than creating new rides to play on.
As such, it takes a while for the film to take off, which is disappointing given how energetic the opening to the original Zombieland was. Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) struggles to slip comfortably back into his role of narrator through the theme-park of the apocalypse. Rather than using the whole Zombieland history as a means to skip over awkward exposition in the early scenes, Double Tap is burdened with it. Columbus begins by explaining the ‘evolution’ of new types of zombies that have come into play, the Homers (stupid), Hawkings (smart) and T-800s (very, very tough). All of this a bit laborious — doubly so because it’s essentially just the set-up for a single joke at the end of the film and inspires little with the plot.
After that, Columbus’ relationship with Wichita (Emma Stone) is put out onto thin ice. Despite what the first film might let us believe, Wichita has never really adjusted to the idea of spending the apocalypse in one place with Columbus and crew — even if that place is the White House. Immediately, interest in the plot plummets; even if Columbus and Wichita pull through the length of this film, who’s to say she won’t change her mind again? The drama just isn’t worth caring about at that point.
Likewise, Wichita’s little sister Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) yearns to ‘fly the nest,’ partly due to her overbearing father-figure (if we can call him that) Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) and partly out of envy over her elder sister’s stable relationship with Columbus. All of this would be a lot more engaging if the characters were willing to talk like adults — instead, Wichita and Little Rock take off, leaving nought but a note in their wake. If they ever want to see them again, Tallahassee and Columbus must once again set out in search of a new theme park: Graceland, home of Elvis Presley.
That’s not to say that nothing in Double Tap is new. Albuquerque (Luke Wilson) and Flagstaff (Thomas Middleditch) appear as Tallahassee’s and Columbus’ uncanny doppelgangers, complete with their own set of ‘Commandments’ for surviving Zombieland. Rosario Dawson kicks ass as Nevada and gives Tallahassee someone more age-appropriate to, erm, talk to. Zoey Deutch is hilarious as Madison, a girl with fewer brains than most of the zombies, who survived against all odds thus far by hiding in a mall-shop fridge — Tallahassee and Columbus meet her there while trying to get over the grief that undoubtedly comes when two of the three living people you know have apparently walked out of your life for good.
Regrettably, Madison is stunted by her involvement in a love triangle in which, frankly, she stands no chance, if ‘literally any movie ever’ is a good enough guide to go by. Rather than seeing her join as the crew’s fifth member, it’s pretty clear she’s only there for a quick ride while the main characters resolve their differences.
An even bigger waste is Breslin as Little Rock, though by no fault of her own. Despite her age and experience since Zombieland, Breslin is given far less to work with this time around. Relegated to the role of character-who-protagonist-pursues-across-country-for-90-minutes, most of her lines are done opposite charmless ‘musician’ Berkeley (Avan Jogia). He, too, could be immensely funny in his own right, if only he wasn’t so predictably expendable; the only suspense he brings is in whether he’ll kick the bucket before Little Rock dumps him.
At the very least, Berkeley and his commune of pacifist millennials/zoomers at the new city of ‘Babylon’ (named for the David Gray song, not the ancient city) provide a comical (albeit indulgent) stereotype of the current generation’s response to an innately violent catastrophe. Unlike Columbus (and his new doppelganger) they only have two rules: no guns and no group sex. The generational stereotype is certainly low-hanging fruit — so are Madison and her flawless barbie wardrobe in that regard — but inoffensively so. If anything, the film might have benefitted from a greater focus on life in Babylon and how they cope with the zombie epidemic without guns.
Although the jokes mostly land, the comedy isn’t quite enough to carry the film — what Double Tap really needed was to rely on its new characters and settings, rather than using them only as catalysts to revisit the same drama of the first film. It’s difficult to predict if Zombieland will be resurrected for a third film — though if it does, it will find itself in severe need of some new life to inject. Double Tap is entertaining but it leaves little reason to revisit.
