Review Zombieland

Rating: 7/10 (3 May 2020)

*Spoiler alert*
Zombieland is a movie about a young man named Columbus, played by Jesse Eisenberg, in a zombie apocalypse. He´s trying to make his way to Columbus, Ohio to see if his parents are still alive. Columbus is young, lives alone and keeps to himself in his apartment. It is apparent from early stages in the movie that it is an action comedy genre going on. His life is basic, with few significant events. That is until his neighbor shows up on his door, begging for help, saying she saw a crazy looking homeless man trying to bite her. He realized the day after that she had been bit by a zombie and had also transitioned herself.
While traveling he meets a man called Tallahassee, played by Woody Harrelson. The two become companions and travels together until they meet two girls. Wichita, played by Emma Stone, and her little sister Little Rock, played by Abigail Breslin. The girls trick them into handing over their car keys and guns, before they take off, stranding the two men.
Not long after, Columbus and Tallahassee meet the girls again, experiencing almost a déjà vu when being robbed yet again. They all agree to travel together, but the tension is tight. After some days on the road they become friends and a romantic relationship between Columbus and Wichita starts to evolve. I think every single person watching the movie hoping he would get her. They go to Bill Murray´s mansion in Hollywood, finding the decorated acter in zombie make-up living his best life. Columbus unfortunately accidentally kills him when the others were pulling a prank on him and Little Rock.
A major plot twist was when the girls, Wichita and Little Rock had left the boys behind one morning, bound for Pacific Playland, a huge amusement park. At this point, Columbus has developed sincere feelings for Wichita, and they decide to go after them. In an epic, blood-filled, gun blazing battle against the zombies at the amusement park, Columbus and Tallahassee save the girls from being eaten alive, and Columbus and Wichita finally had the moment we all had been waiting for. Normally a shy nerd, Columbus worked up the courage to grab the girl he was so in love with and kiss her.
Zombieland seems like an American twist on the movie Shaun of the Dead. The two are similar in many ways, but also differ appropriately. Two major techniques used in the movie are the narrator voice of Eisenberg, as well as the use of Twinkies, which turns out to be especially important for Tallahassee. The narrator voice gives a good mix of both conversations between the actors as well as an insight into Columbus´ mind. The Twinkies are in my opinion a symbol for how things were before. Before the apocalypse, before all the people in the world started eating each other.
Overall, the action comedy is a good movie, but it has a basic timeline that could not have taken long to patch together. The story is not amazing, but it has its moments. Something that worked well was the relationship between Wichita and Columbus, a young man many would relate to. The Twinkies, aside from the painfully obvious "hidden" advertising, also served its cause in tying the movie together.