Probably among the best of the "Zom-Coms," (possibly second only to Shaun of the Dead,) Zombieland is, at its core, a big-budget road movie! And since a successful road movie depends on likable characters, we get Columbus, Tallahassee, Little Rock and Wichita, played by Jesse Eisenberg,Woody Harrelson, Abigail Breslin, and Emma Stone, (who, surprisingly, have all returned for the recently released sequel!)
Each of the characters' personalities is pretty clearly defined without having to be over-the-top. (Don'cha hate how many characters in zombie movies are always yelling? I mean, like, Always!?!) Zombieland's four survivors also show great chemistry and are fun to watch. The horror aspect, although tongue-in-cheek, is enough to glue the story together, but not so much as to repel those with er, more sensitive tolerances.
The first person narration introduces Columbus, the unlikely hero, and his survival 'rules' This intermittent monologue points out the differences and similarities between himself and the others and also provides insight and motivation for the four to give those characters a bit more 'depth.' It is a very well-done vehicle and fortunately, kept to a minimum. Clouding the whole story with first-person perspective would, probably, have sucked. This doesn't. In fact, held up to the cold, unflinching logic of the ZMR, Zombieland scored a 3.75 out of 4.0! Zoinks!
Original movie trailer here: ZOMBIELAND
An original series was being developed for Amazon, but got scrapped because of fan feedback regarding the actors being NOT the stars from the movie, but playing the same characters. I actually thought it looked decent, but see for yourself here: ZOMBIELAND: THE SERIES
With the new glut of zombie TV shows, (Walking Dead, Z Nation, iZombie, In The Flesh, et cetera,) a zom-com TV program like this probably would've worked, and definitely would have seen more and more parody opportunities over time! Oh well.
Zombieland also gets the Very Best Big-Star-Cameo Award for any zombie movie ever made.
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