Another finger-lickin' good entry in the zomedy genre...

Rating: 7/10 (10 October 2009)

..."Zombieland" isn't quite the masterpiece that its current IMDb rating would seem to indicate, but nonetheless earns its place alongside genre entries like "Shaun of the Dead," "Fido," and even hoary old classics like "Return of the Living Dead" and "Dead Alive." Written and produced by a reasonably experienced writer/producer team, "Zombieland" features a serviceable, if not terribly original, script that succeeds primarily on the strength of decent ensemble acting and strong production values. Much like Zack Snyder's reworking of "Dawn of the Dead," the best part of "Zombieland" is the opening sequence, a lovely, kinetic intro that sets the extremely comic-booky tone of the film.
The leads handle their (mostly) stereotypical roles well; Jesse "Cursed" Eisenberg riffs on his well-established Jewish nerd persona, and likewise, Woody "Cheers" Harrelson does his shtick. Emma "The House Bunny" Stone and Abigail "Signs" Breslin play our nebbish leads' faux antagonists with aplomb, despite the lack of much to work with character-wise. It's mostly the production design by Maher "The Guardian" Ahmad and camera-work by Michael "Cloverfield" Bonvillain that carries things along with sass and vinegar. Ruben Fleischer's debut feature direction is competent, if unshowy; there's really only so much one can do with a relatively pedestrian script.
The ratings on this one are going to drop considerably once it reaches home video (with its older, more sophisticated--and jaded--audience) and wider international distribution. "Zombieland" is sufficiently entertaining, but a far cry from a Top 250 film, or even a Top 500 or Top 1000. Zombie fans will not be overly impressed, since the "zombies" are pretty much "28 Days/Weeks Later" viral infection victims and not the undead; head shots are not required. Nebbish comedy fans will have to deal with the extraneous gore, and road movie fans will have to endure the film's general lack of significant characterization and thematic content.
All that said, "Zombieland" is still fun. Just don't be fooled by its current lauding here on the IMDb. Instead, simply let this one whet your appetite for the eventual release of "World War Z," which will (hopefully) make you forget all about "Zombieland."
Edit: Had a second look at this one on DVD, and stand by the above comments. It seems obvious to me that younger viewers than myself are easily impressed, apparently by slo-mo spewing of bodily fluids, bouncing of zombie breasts, and TV-grade one-liners. Again, this one is more than worth a watch--it's far from bad--but don't expect to be cranking this one through the visual cortex on a regular basis; there's just not enough meat on "Zombieland"'s bones to provide more than a snack.