Zombieland

Nut up or shut up is the de facto slogan of Zombieland. That phrase sets the tone of the movie from the start. Zombieland is a non stop ride of action, comedy, and thrills. Zombieland is a movie that will make you laugh out loud and even scare you a few times

Set in a post-apocalyptic America, two months after “patient zero” took a bite of a contaminated burger at a Gas ’n gulp, zombies out number humans by the thousands. With only six humans seen in the movie you get the idea that things are not going to be easy for the 4 main characters, and at times it is not.

With a budget of $23,600,000 this movie looks remarkable. The make-up is top notch, and the effects are simply stunning. The man behind the make up is no other than Tony Gardner. His most known work was on Michael Jackson’s Thriller. The Director of this film, Ruben Fleischer, is a rather new to the directing scene. It is safe to say that Zombieland will be Ruben Fleischer’s calling call from here on. The movie is written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick who are mostly known for TV shows like “The Joe Schmo Show”.

The acting is where this movie shines. Woody Harrelson plays Tallahassee, the lovable psychopathic bad-ass. Jesse Eisenberg plays Columbus, the cautious rules for survival making loser. Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin play the sister con team of Wichita and Little Rock. All four roles are strong despite a little more character development needed on the part of Wichita and Little Rock.

I must devote one small part of this review to the cameo to end all cameos in this film. Never would I say that a cameo that doesn’t further the story at all and that takes up near ten minutes of a movie was a good decision before Zombieland. I stand corrected. The ten minutes in question steals the show and gets some of the strongest laughs. Epic is not even close to what I would begin to call it. If anything Zombieland is a must see for this cameo.

So at the end of the day what is Zombieland? Is it as good as Shawn of the Dead? I would have to say it is as good as and better in some ways than Shawn of the Dead. It holds its own as a comedy and as a horror movie just the same. Some have also said it is Left 4 Dead the movie. I would say that is very close to that, if you are a gamer and know what Left 4 Dead is. Zombieland is one you need to see. Drop what you are doing and go see this movie. You will not regret it at all. As for me, I am off to find a damn Twinkie.