Zombieland

Zombieland

I've heard rave reviews about Zombieland. Folks loved it, a lot of them said it was as good, if not better, than Dawn of the Dead. That's not exactly the best way to convince someone who is a fan of the older DotD and was 'Bleh' about the remake. Nonetheless, there I was, watching zombie-bashing action and sure enough, it was a good experience. The movie I mean, not the zombie massacre itself. Alright, so maybe just a little bit. 

The story of Zombieland is pretty simple. A jittery college student, Columbus, is trying to survive in a world that has been taken over by zombies. Being neurotic and all, he has a list of rules which he adheres to; these are ever growing must-do survival tactics. Then he runs into a colorful character, Tallahassee, who doesn't live by any rules. He's out there, he loves guns and he is exceptionally good at killing zombies. They stick together, planning to drop off Columbus as the nearest stop to his destination (his hometown). Then they run into two girls, one older wannabe badass, Wichita, and her little sister, Little Rock. At first everyone doesn't get along (the girls con them again and again out of their possessions) but in the end, they end up liking each other. Well, that's after a big stand-off with a whole lot of zombies.

In all honesty, there is not much of a story here. It's more about putting together hilarious moments and developing funny characters. In this way, if you are looking for comical encounters with zombies and such, this movie will be an absolute delight to watch. Remember, it's all about goofy moments and somewhat exhilarating zombies chases; you're supposed to have fun watching it, as opposed to coming away with a message about humanity's vices and all that. I'd say that the movie was quite entertaining in this regard.

Where character development is concerned, Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) is the one who makes the movie work. Alright, so the graphics are pretty, the effects are awesome but for someone like me, quirky characters are of more interest than shiny pretty things. And Tallahassee definitely stands out. I wonder if it was the actor who put in extra effort for the character as opposed to the brains behind the movie itself. I say this because everyone else comes across as a rough caricature of social stereotypes.

First, the main protagonist is the typical nerdy guy; shy, anti-social and lacking people skills. Oh and let's not forget, the 'I've never had a date' bit. Then there are the two girls. As far as I know, the little brat loves theme parks and Hannah Montanna. For the life of me, I cannot remember anything else they added in that makes her character stand out. Everyone else was alright by far though; they had their place in the movie … fine so, I'm still debating about Little Rock.

But, to me, it looked like Wichita is there for two main reasons: a) the romantic angle, which for some reason, is a must in most movies and thereby, is an angle that comes across as weird and forced even in the best of movies (Matrix anyone?). And then, b) a half-hearted attempt to create a 'cool female' character. I don't know understand why she is marked up as a badass character. She has been depicted as a deviant, one who breaks the rules in ways that are 'acceptable' in the eyes of male viewers. Thus, she uses her feminine wiles to con people. And, other than that, what you get about her character throughout the movie is that she is the nurturing mother figure to her sister. Surely they just took a few traits you would normally assign to women and just used that as part of character development? A bit lame, don't you think? 

Like I said earlier, this is noticeable because of Tallahassee. The man has a past, he hates zombies vehemently because of what happened to him, he loves Twinkies and he is a die-hard fan of Bill Murray. No to mention, that he has an impulsive side. Why go all out to flesh this character out and fizzle out when building up others? I should also mention that the funniest bits in the movie involved him and Columbus or just him fighting off zombies. Actually, bits with Columbus were also hilarious; the only problem here was that some bits stretched out a bit into slapstick moments.