Zombieland

B

Directed by Ruben Fleischer

Yet another zombie movie is upon up and this one, I must say, is not that bad.

You know the drill. A virus is sweeping the United States, leaving those infected looking desperately for fresh human meat to feast upon. A few survivors, as always, remain, including the nerdy Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) who has stayed alive by following a few simple rules which he shares with us at the beginning of the film. Wanting to locate his parents, Columbus takes off for, well, Columbus and meets Tallahasee (Woody Harrelson) on the way. A road trip ensues.

Sometimes it's difficult to decide what grade to award a film (seeing as how my ratings have such a permanent and important impact on the success of most films…) but sometime I watch a movie and say "Wow. That movie was a total 'B!"' And so it is with "Zombieland." This film, ladies and genteleman, is the clearest "B" I've ever seen. It's not horrible, it's not great. It's just alright. And that's probably a good thing for a zombie film, seeing how saturated the market is. Indeed, the explosion of Zombie films in recent years has sort of skewed the rules of supply and demand, insofar as filmmakers seem to want to give viewers more Zombies than they can handle, and as a result films like Fleischer's don't really stand out. Actually the film itself is pretty medicore but it's elevated from mediocrity to decency by the presence of Woody Harrelson as Tallahasee, an example of a casting director earning his keep if I've ever seen one. Likewise, Bill Murray's brief but hilarious cameo as himself is fantastic and I'd say that it's worth watching "Zombieland" for these two elements alone. The script, although amusing at times, seems a bit halfhearted and lacks the laugh out loud moments of "Shaun of the Dead," its closest work of comparison. I also think Flesicher's film would have been better if he'd replacedJesse Eisenberg, the broke man's Michael Cera, with the real Michael Cera or really with any other actor available. I can't stand that guy's limp wristed persona. Personal vendetta's aside, the rest of the supporting actors are pretty decent despite the fact that no one is asked to do anything too demanding.