Zombieland

I avoided Zombieland at the time of its release in movie theaters, as I didn't expect any miracles and after watching it, that feeling was confirmed down to the last detail. It is good to compare this film to the British film Shaun of the Dead. After all, they are both in the same genre and thematically about the same thing. From this comparison, it's clear why American cinema so successfully crushes its competitors. It has perfectly mastered marketing and can sell even average products as exclusive matters. Although Shaun of the Dead is a much more mature and clever spectacle, both films have the same rating scores and Zombieland easily leads in terms of viewers. All in all, it is an average affair and one of the numerous cases where the functional content is contained in the trailer and a substantial part of the film is filled with mere filler. The first ten minutes are fine, setting a decent pace and outlining the rules by which the main hero operates in his desire to survive the rampage of zombies. Then the film falls into routine, occasionally interrupted by a good gag, such as the destruction of a bloodthirsty zombie with a piano or Bill Murray's role with his undignified end. The film also shows an obvious effort to sell it to a teenage audience as the target group, so besides the horror parody, it also uses elements of a teenage comedy. Fleischer's film has tremendous untapped potential, as the subject matter allowed for countless gags and comedic situations. Overall impression: 50%. (04/17/2010)

Likeable main protagonists, a ton of laughs and eye-candy slow motion splattering blood. What more could one ask for? Woody Harrelson is awesome and Jesse Eisenberg was a very pleasant surprise. The zombies here aren’t spooky, so no horror, but maybe comedy of the year. You must learn to appreciate the simple things in life. (11/30/2009)

While I understand the overseas acclaim, I refuse to join in. In fact, Zombieland runs at about half throttle when it could easily push the pedal through the floor for 85 minutes. Ideas from the black humor barrel are piled on during the opening credits meaning that essentially nothing happens for an hour, and then they arrive at B. M. and then at the amusement park. Every now and then pop culture is mentioned (Facebook, actors, movies), and sometimes it switches to video game mode (the roller coaster ride is a "Painkiller" DLC), but rarely does something ball-busting pop up that would stay in my mind forever and make me want to watch this again... for that, all I need is the trailer. PS: Woody Harrelson is one of the absolute best guys of the year, no question about it. (11/03/2009)

The brilliant British Shaun of the Dead remains unsurpassed. However, Zombieland can be described as a pleasantly silly and at the same time mainly entertaining film with a reasonable runtime, which has good ideas and is adorned with the excellent (certainly not small) role of Bill Murray. However, the traditionally unsympathetic Eisenberg deserves to be eaten and spat out in the first minute. (04/08/2011)

Because it lacks a more robust framework, Zombieland starts and ends out of nowhere. But the characters are likeable and well directed, and the movie uses some very effective slow-motion shots. This is a pleasant chill-out movie, but Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead was bolder and more brutal, which pays off in the zombie sub-genre. (12/14/2009)