Zombieland

Director: Ruben Fleischer

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, Amber Heard

Sometimes there are movies that just want to have fun. Zombieland is one of them. Its very refreshing to see a zombie holocaust where it isn't total doom and gloom: quite the opposite, in fact, and it could make a good case for why zombies taking over the world might be a good thing. This also makes it fairly unique in the genre, and seperates it from Shaun of the Dead, which was as much a homage as it was a comedy. Here, the zombies are a backdrop for a character comedy.

Several weeks after a disease in a burger turned the world into zombies, Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) is one of the few uninfected humans walking around; a total wuss, so afraid of everything that he has made up a special set of rules to help survive “Zombieland” (as he calls it). He encounters the devil-may-care Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson; the survivors call themselves by location so that they don't get too attached to each other) and teams up with him. As they go across the country, they encounter two more survivors, two sisters (Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin) who may well be their match.

The film isn't about plot so much as the characters and the comedy. On that level, it is a terrific success. Jesse Eisenberg is spot-on as our narrator, who makes the character over-protective but not annoying or un-relatable. I'm ashamed to say it, but I did see lots of glimpses of me in his character. Make of that what you will. Emma Stone plays her usual character; hard, but with glimpses of a softer edge underneath. Easily the best two actors are Woody Harrelson and Abigail Breslin. Woody is just having a ball of a time here in what is easily one of the best performances ever. He just so embodies the character, making it incredibly fun to watch, particularly as he takes out seemingly endless hordes of zombies with ease. Breslin, on the other hand, impressed me simply by playing against type as the jaded younger sister. It shows how good of performer she is when she plays so against type and it still comes as credible. All of these great performers really bounce off of each other, making their scenes together very entertaining to watch.

The film has a terrific sense of confidence. First-time director Fleischer's style is loud, proud and slick. The film is edited very briskly (maybe even too briskly at points) and the film is just terrific to look at. One of the best things in the movie is the rules. The decision to add animated graphics illustrating each one and where they come in useful just adds the irreverent nature of the film and really adds to the humour. The slick style of the film, however, doesn't cover up all its faults. The episodic nature meets that the movie does hit a slow spot in the middle. However, the movie does recover thanks to a huge surprise (the professional critics who spoiled this moment in their reviews should be utterly ashamed of themselves), which will be one of the most talked-about moments in any movie this year.

The film is so focused on characters that the zombies themselves are actually more co-stars. They're used sparingly but effectively, for maximum effect. The gore is as strong as you might expect for a zombie movie, but the fact that it is spaced out around the movie means that those grisly moments are all the more effective. Many of the moments are so over-the-top that you'll be wincing as you laugh – a sign of the juicy vein of pitch-black humour that runs through the whole movie. It also should be interesting to note that there is very little real scares in Zombieland. There's the odd moment that will make you jump, but the movie is very much fixated on the comedy and therefore one really shouldn't call this a horror-comedy. To do so would be a grave disservice to the film, particularly putting it in a sub-genre that is very often done so badly that it is possible to argue that scares and humour can't really be meshed together.

Zombieland is easily the sleeper hit of the year. This movie really snuck up on audiences and I think it will have a tremendous amount of sticking power because word on the mouth of the movie will be terrific. It deserves it's success: its very, very funny and leaves you feeling incredibly satisfied despite its short running time, thanks to the great chemistry between all the performers. The plot may be episodic and has number of holes, but its charisma wins you over. As Tallahassee might say, “Gotta enjoy the little things.” Too right. Highly recommended.