Good, but not as good as the critics are saying

Rating: 8/10 (10 October 2009)

Twice the critics have set me up to love a movie and after seeing it, I walked away slightly disappointed. The first time was "District 9," a true disappointment considering the acclaim it received. This time, to a lesser extent, it's "Zombieland." It's not "Shaun of the Dead." Too bad, too. It's more like "Juno" meets "Shaun of the Dead," without the pregnancy fun.
Bill Murray's cameo is great fun. Woody Harrelson does light up the screen at times, but the movie's main character is Jesse Eisenberg as "Columbus," who is quirky and fun, but never lights up the screen as well as Woody Harrelson does. Trust me, Woody gets LOTS of screen time and I believe he carries this movie.
The characters are rather shallow. With Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin never being fleshed out much more than Amber Heard's "406." Would have been interesting to find out why these two sisters were traveling together before the zombies attacked.
In general, the storyline is rather thin. There are zombies. Lots of them. They're angry and hungry, though not necessarily for brains. There is a reason given for how they turned, but it's not much of one and it's easy to miss the quick reference to "Patient Zero." Otherwise, not much is said to explain them. (Do zombies need an explanation?) Anyway, not bad, but not great... enjoy with lower expectations than the critics say and you'll enjoy a real gem of a movie. Expect something better than the average zombie movie and you'll probably walk away a bit disappointed.