Dir. Ruben Fliescher

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Jesse Eisenberg
Woody Harrelson
Emma Stone
Abigail Breslin
Zoey Deutch

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Anyone who goes to watch this film expecting anything more than exactly what it is is going to watch the wrong film.

There are zombies, there’s teenage drama, there’s Elvis, and there are a few plot points unexplained but, that aside, it really is a homage to the brilliance of Zombieland (2009) tied together with quick whit and just enough gore to move the story at the perfect pace.

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Picking up 10 years later after the first film ended we find Tallahassee (Harrelson), Columbus (Eisenberg), Wichita (Stone) and Little Rock (Breslin) living in Washington DC having found comfort and safety ironically within the White House.
Little Rock finds herself in need of adventure and runs away with Berkeley, a pot-smoking pacifist she met on the road, Wichita goes after her and thus ending her relationship with Columbus. In an attempt to cheer himself up after their unfortunate breakup Columbus and Tallahassee go on a shopping (looting) spree in the local mall. Whilst browsing for candles in the local Yankee Candle outlet Columbus meets Madison (Deutch), a fellow survivor, who has managed to live this long by living in the freezer of one of the food stores within the mall.

Madison joins them on their quest to find Little Rock when Wichita comes back in search for weapons.

The gang follow the only lead they have and make their way to Graceland, Memphis in a bid to track down Little Rock and Berkeley.

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Standout performances throughout from Eisenberg, Harrelson and Stone. It was a shame for Breslin’s character to be used so little, she’s a great young actress and her character had a lot to give but they skimmed the edges a bit too much with her which I thought was a shame. Zoey Deutch creates a storm as ditsy, valley girl Madison bringing an enthusiastic presence to the film and mixes things up in a bid to put a fresh spin on things. Carrying on from the success of the first film Bill Murrays cheeky cameo is everything fans of Zombieland want to see and he is as brilliant as ever. Luke Wilson and Thomas Middleditch bring an entire plot within the plot as they appear as look-a-likes of Tallahassee and Columbus, both aptly named Albuquerque and Flagstaff, and take on the new breed of zombies (T-800’s…names due to their endurance).
My favourite new character was Rosario Dawson’s redneck, Elvis loving, gun welding Nevada, a female force not to be reckoned with.

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Jam packed full of belly laugh humour and pure escapism, and holding a solid 66% on the tomatometer, Zombieland 2 embraces exactly what it means to make a horror/comedy film about zombies in a post apocalyptic America and does it with finesse and style. Great direction from Ruben Fleischer as he manages to capture exactly what it is that makes these films as great as they are.

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And whatever you do, wait through the credits because he ain’t afraid of no ghosts.