Plot: What’s it about?
Over the last decade, zombie and vampire movies have become the new “it” thing in terms of films. While I’m getting a bit tired of vampires (thank you Stephenie Meyer), I find it nearly impossible to become tired of zombies. Anyone reading this review will have undoubtedly seen the 2004 film “Shaun of the Dead” and if you haven’t, please do so. Also in 2004 was a favorite of mine; the remake of “Dawn of the Dead” albeit set inside a shopping mall. I don’t know what it is about the undead that brings me to life, but I simply can’t get enough of those blood-suckers. With the newest installment “Zombieland”, originally written for television but was rejected and then turned into a feature film, we see a new yet not so old take on things. Before I progress, let me sort out a few things here: the star Jesse Eisenberg is NOT Michael Cera. Eisenberg WAS in “Adventureland” with Kristen Stewart. Emma Stone IS in this and was also IN “Superbad” with Michael Cera. Oh and then there’s Woody Harrelson and Abigail Breslin. Everything cleared up now? Fan-tas-tic.
We meet our hero “Columbus” (Jesse Eisenberg) as he’s on his way from Austin, Texas to Columbus, Ohio to see if his parents are alive. You see, the entire world has been overtaken by zombies ever since someone ate a tainted hamburger. The main characters are referred to as where they’re headed as names make things too personal. Columbus has managed to survive due to a strict set of rules that he adheres by. For instance, rule #1 is “Cardio” in that the fat people were the first ones to become zombies simply because they weren’t in good enough shape to out run them. Rule #2 is “Double Tap”. See a zombie and shoot it and think it’s really dead? Don’t be shy with that second bullet my friend, put another one right between its eyes. And so on. Columbus meets up with Tallahassee (Woody Harrleson) and the two try their best to form a friendship. Things are going well until they encounter “Little Rock” (Abigail Breslin) and Wichita (Emma Stone) (and oddly enough, I used to live in both Wichita and Little Rock. Weird). The two manage to hustle Columbus and Tallahassee, but eventually the foursome make their way out to California where the girls are headed. Are the rumors true that there are really uninfected or is the whole world full of zombies?
“Zombieland” works so well because it doesn’t, not even for one instant, try to take itself too seriously. The movie is about as tongue-in-cheek as they come and when dealing with zombies, is there any other way to go? It’s little things like Columbus’ rules flashing on the screen whenever they’re executed correctly. Admittedly, there isn’t a lot of screen time for the actual zombies and as with most zombie movies it’s all about the chase and avoiding the confrontation of them. As one of the writers tells us in the featurettes, the movie is like “Midnight Run” with zombies. And, amazingly enough, that’s a fairly accurate description. As for the cast, well I think I wrote in my review of “Adventureland” that Jesse Eisenberg seemed somewhat miscast and they should have just gotten Michael Cera instead. In “Zombieland” he seems perfectly cast as the neurotic, introvert who must rise to the occasion. Lastly, I loved the “Watchmen” super slo-motion opening credits, something about the way those are done really impresses me. For fans of the undead, “Zombieland” will most likely become a cult-classic but for right now it’s just a very entertaining film.
Video: How does it look?
Sony has given “Zombieland” a stellar 2.40:1 AVC HD transfer that seems to leap off the screen. I was hard-pressed to find anything wrong with the transfer and despite some deliberate choices by the filmmakers, this is a perfect transfer. From the opening “Sony” logo to the closing credits, the image seems to exude a 3-D like quality with fleshtones being near perfect, color balance is right on the money and the level of detail is simply amazing. Case in point, notice the “Hollywood” sign when they enter Los Angeles. I can make out every single letter and it’s not even the focus of the shot. For those of you that want to show off how good a film can look on your new HDTV, this is a title I’d recommend.
Audio: How does it sound?
As one might expect with a zombie movie, there are plenty of gunshots to go around and light up all of your surround speakers. While the action isn’t that of say, a war movie, it is fairly robust and I found myself cranking my head to see where the gunshots were coming from. There are a few decent car chase scenes but aside from that (and the guns) the rest of the film is dialogue-driven. While not as impressive as the video, “Zombieland’s” DTS HD Master Audio track does manage to convey a very good soundtrack.
Supplements: What are the extras?
“Zombieland” comes to Blu-ray sporting a wide array of supplements and one that’s sure to please even the most rabid of fans. We start off with a Blu-ray exclusive “Beyond the Graveyard” which is a fancy name for a picture-in-picture commentary track. In it we get some insight from the filmmakers about the script, the shoot and the allure of working with zombies. Some of the information is a bit redundant if you’ve watched the other features, but better to have than have not I always say. Next up is an actual commentary track with Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg and director Ruben Fleischer along with writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. The track is hilarious! Seriously, these guys must have had a good time making this film because the atmosphere is laid back and though we don’t learn a whole lot about the movie, it’s enjoyable to listen to. A pair of featurettes: “In Search of Zombieland” and “Zombieland is your land” give us some insight as to how the movie came to be, how it was supposed to be a television show until it was “rescued” and even a look at the building of sets and such. Both are nearly identical and both are chock full of some good material. Seven deleted scenes are included as well as some Visual FX shorts that show how some of the shots were made (with no audio, I might add). Also included is Sony’s “Movie IQ” which pops up some factioids about the film and the actors all linked in via Internet to the IMDB. The original trailer is shown and we’ve got a digital copy of the movie to boot. Zombie fans, this is what you’ve been waiting for!
