Zombieland

I confess that despite the excellent responses, I didn’t believe in Zombieland, at all. The trailer didn’t interest me in the slightest and given how much I (didn’t) like that other highly praised zombie comedy (Shawn of the Dead), I expected 80 minutes of boredom and suffering. Fortunately, the heroes of Zombieland are a lot more likeable than the gang around Simon Pegg. Where I fundamentally disagree with most other reviewers is in my opinion about the course of the film. I consider the beginning as the weakest part (those first fifteen minutes made me fear a new Shawn, with the corresponding two stars), the quiet moments in the middle (the interactions of the characters) as the best, and the action-packed climax as a fun end to the ride. BM’s cameo was awesome! (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)

The first part had exactly the amount of rawness and blood that I had been longing for – it parodies the aesthetics of teenage horror and comedy, peppers one-liners one after another and culminates with a famous cameo by Bill Murray, which is destined to be a cult cameo. Unfortunately, any and all invention is lost thereafter and Zombieland starts to lose its way and the banal finale cannot improve on the lost tempo. Suddenly, what was parodied before is now part of the film, as well as awkwardness and implausibility. We also have the fat redneck Harrelson, who saves the ship from completely hitting the rocks and sinking. Partial elements of Zombieland are amongst the great representatives of horror comedy, but it's too bad that Fleischer et al. were unable to connect them into a meaningful whole. In fact, it’s too bad that they even tried. Because they deserve a smack on the head for the family ending. (11/19/2009)

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)