Zombieland: Double Tap Is a Meager Second Helping

The return to Zombieland is welcoming enough at first. We’re thrown back into the postapocalyptic world of the first film, the plucky Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) breaks the fourth wall for a greeting, and we’re brought up to speed on the current crop of zombie designations while being reminded of the rules once more. But once we venture deeper into the decaying landscape of the zombie apocalypse, Zombieland: Double Tap only seems to come upon tourist traps of sitcom-ish asides.

Our heroes return. Jessica Miglio/© 2019 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

After 10 years, the four familiar characters from 2009’s Zombieland seem to have changed very little—for better and for worse. Columbus is still together with the brash Wichita (Emma Stone), but their relationship is on the rocks with a marriage entering the picture. Though Columbus jokes that divorce would be difficult with no lawyers, being on the rebound is still on the table when he runs into the dumb blonde Madison (Zoey Deutch). Her character is such a one-note joke that her being discovered in a freezer is like thawing out a stale stereotype.

Adventure sets in when their youngest member of the group, Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), runs off on her own to find people her own age and maybe a guy she can hook up with. After all, Columbus has Wichita, and the cocky Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) seems to only be in love with cool cars. But all Little Rock can find is another cartoon character, Berkley (Avan Jogia), a hippie with a policy of no guns and plentiful peace. There’s a moment when he seems to subvert his trope, seen in the trailers, when he seems insulted to be accused of being in possession of weed. But, of course, he does have weed, even doubling down by joking, “I mean, look at me.”

Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) and Nevada (Rosario Dawson). Jessica Miglio/© 2019 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Probably the only new character who isn’t portrayed like a one-shot joke vehicle is Nevada (Rosario Dawson), but that’s only because there’s not enough to her character to be exploitable for simple jokes. She’s genuine enough that she can connect with Tallahassee and his love of Elvis, and their conversations seem more real than anything else in the film’s dashing between snappy and goofy dialogue. Their romance feels cute but seems garish in comparison to the rest of the film’s silliness, to the point that even Tallahassee donning an Elvis outfit in an attempt to woo comes off as more sweet than goofy.

Don’t get me wrong: Nevada’s presence is much appreciated considering there’s not much else for the returning characters to play off of. This lack of creative characters is most pronounced in a scene where Columbus and Tallahassee seem to encounter their alternate-dimension equivalents, Flagstaff (Thomas Middleditch) and Albuquerque (Luke Wilson). This bit is funny in the first moments they interact and swap stories, but it’s then milked completely dry of any wit.

Tallahassee meets a kindred spirit. Jessica Miglio/© 2019 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

While the zombie action is still just as violent and gory as it ever was, even this element feels like it’s wasting potential. At the beginning of the film, we’re introduced to some new types of zombies, which initially sounds cool as it promises more variety to the running and gunning in the wasteland with new strategies and tougher situations to be placed within. Except we only see about a third of these new zombie designations on the field, and there’s little payoff to their introduction. And one particular type is so gruesome it seems like a zombie was from another horror movie entirely, clashing with the comedic aspects of such a goofy romp.

Double Tap is filled with so much simple silliness that the film resorts to two entries in the Zombie Kill of the Week award segments. I still found myself amused by the sequel’s energy, which remains with a certain zip, but this aspect really has to carry a picture that resorts to escapades more indicative of a TV series on its final season. It’s perhaps too on the nose that at one point Columbus finds himself reading an issue of The Walking Dead, remarking how the comic book is compelling but unrealistic. Quite the jab for a film in which monster trucks and historical landmarks are used as weapons against the undead. Let’s hope there doesn’t need to be a triple tap to ensure this franchise is finally dead.

Madison (Zoey Deutch), Wichita (Emma Stone), Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), and Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson). Jessica Miglio/© 2019 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.