Zombieland (Columbia Pictures)
Maybe If Woody Had Played A Zombie
Up front let me say I am not much of a Woody Harrelson fan. He was okay in Cheers but I havent liked him in anything since then. Now he is in a zombie comedy and I would have liked it only if he had played a zombie.
Instead he plays a drifter named Tallahassee who is roaming the country hunting down zombies to kill. It seems the entire world has become infected in some way and all but a very few people are in a zombie state. All of these creatures are hungry for flesh.
Also alone and doing battle is a young man named Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg). He is trying to get home to Columbus, Ohio where his parents live. To stay alive he has developed a series of rules that he lives by when he comes into contact with zombies. So far these rules have stood him in good stead.
He and Tallahassee meet up and join forces. They then meet up with two sisters who are headed for California. Witchita (Emma Stone) and her little sister Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) dont really trust anyone so they keep their eyes open even when around Columbus and Tallahassee.
The mood of this film is light-hearted even if it is all about survival. There are zombies everywhere and bad things do happen to good people. Still the violence is more gross than gory and more hysterical than heinous. These four people manage to kill tons of zombies and never seem to run out of ammunition when they need it.
The plot of the film is okay as it is a more comical take on zombies than we usually are offered. The problem is the cast. Harrelson is just an annoying actor, never injecting anything into his character other than smug satisfaction. He is the same in this movie as he has been in his last four movies. The names may change but the essence of the characters doesnt.
Then there is Eisenberg. He comes across as a second rate Michael Cera. They sound alike and act alike. This is not to say I wish Cera had been in this movie. I just wish Eisenberg hadnt reminded me so much of Cera. Cera is like Harrelson in that he plays the same role in every film.
Of the two women only Stone makes an impression. She looks like a throwback to the sixties with her heavily mascarad eyes and her black hair with bangs. She also has the smoky voice to go with the look.
Breslin is now a tween and is awkward in her role. She seems detached from all that is going on around her. She is eager to ride the rides at an amusement park in California but also likes shooting zombies.
The movie is rated R for profanity and violence.
One bright spot for the film is a cameo that takes place about half way through. It is a surprise and is totally entertaining. If the whole movie had the spark that occurs when the guest actor arrives it would have been a much better film. But the guest is only on screen for a short time and then the movie focuses back on Woody, yawn!
There are some laughs to be had in Zombieland but not enough to make it much better than average. Woody is wooden and Eisenberg is too Cera-like to pep things up.
I scored Zombieland a creepy 6 out of 10.
