After waiting a decade since the first Zombieland movie, was Zombieland Double Tap able to become a “great” movie? 

The movie, created by Rhett Reese, Dave Callaham, and Ruben Fleischer, was a nice refresher to the zombie/apocalyptic genre. 

The story follows four main survivors including Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), Wichita (Emma Stone), and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin). The survivors are trying to find a suitable home to live as a simple family while still trying to outrun the horrors that surround their everyday lives. They have only each other to support which brings them closer together.

The cast deserves every ounce of the credit they have received. Since the zombie genre in games, movies, and books is basically dead, I didn’t expect much from the movie; however, the original cast brings life to the genre and reminds you of the same good humor that made the first movie so interesting in the first place. Eisenberg and Harrelson’s wit and comedic timing, paired with Stone and Breslin’s sarcasm and deadpan attitude cultivates the same feeling as the Three Stooges, a comedy team from the 1920’s to the 1970’s.

Director Ruben Fleischer made sure Zombieland: Double Tap does exactly what it’s supposed to do, which is to create a fun, interesting, creative world with scarce resources and lots of zombies. The characters have to try to continue functioning as regular humans while also having to always watch their surroundings for any zombies lurking nearby. The movie did a good job at showing the audience how much of a threat the zombies were while maintaining a comedic air.

A movie like this one is never perfect, though. Some things in this movie were unnecessary. For instance, some characters were introduced to the story, but ended up dying a few minutes later, and it didn’t seem to change the story in a drastic way. Plus, there were a lot of Elvis references, and I didn’t see the purpose of them other than maybe adding a small amount of humor, which didn’t quite hit the target.

This movie isn’t for everyone. If you’re looking for a movie with an interesting and intriguing story, I probably wouldn’t recommend this movie. The plot is lukewarm at best, and leaves you wanting more; however, the humor is fun and really makes this movie, and the franchise, what it is.

The original cast and writers of the original Zombieland movie came back with a bang and deserve some final love for making the wait worth it.