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Zombieland: Double Tap Early Reactions - A Familiar, But Enjoyable Sequel
Early reactions are in for Zombieland: Double Tap, and it sounds like the zombie-action-comedy sequel is familiar, but still enjoyable. The original Zombieland hit theaters ten years ago and was led by a cast that included then up-and-comers Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin, and Emma Stone, in addition to Woody Harrelson (who had already been a name actor for more than two decades, thanks to his role on Cheers in the '80s).
Double Tap picks up in real-time after its predecessor, with formed family members Columbus (Eisenberg), Wichita (Stone), Tallahassee (Harrelson), and Little Rock (Breslin) still making their way together through the post-zombie apocalypse American heartland. The Double Tap trailers have already introduced the film's new characters, which include hard-edged survivalist Nevada (Rosario Dawson), kind but dim-witted Madison (Zoey Deutch), and Columbus and Tallahassee's "doppelgängers", Albuquerque (Luke Wilson) and Flagstaff (Thomas Middleditch). Even Bill Murray (as himself) is back in some capacity, as evidenced by his appearance in the Double Tap red band preview.
If Murray returning after his surprise cameo/death in the first Zombieland seems like a bid to tap into audiences' nostalgia for the original movie, then it appears to be reflective of Double Tap overall, judging by the early reactions. For more on that, check out the tweets from various film critics and journalists embedded below.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1182797124141895680
https://twitter.com/i/status/1182528783124967426
https://twitter.com/i/status/1182515023916097536
Judging by these reactions, the chemistry among Zombieland's main cast remains just as crackling in Double Tap, and the sequel's four newcomers (especially Dawson and Deutch) make for pleasant additions to the franchise. At the same time, they suggest Double Tap is more than a little similar to the original movie, story-wise, and doesn't try to break fresh ground so much as give audiences more of what they adored about its predecessor, but in heavier doses. That's more or less the same approach that Zombieland series writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick took with their script for last year's Deadpool 2, and it mostly went over well with critics and general audiences.
For the same reason, it sounds like Double Tap should please those who loved the first Zombieland and have spent the last decade eagerly waiting for the followup. All the same, Double Tap will probably struggle to have the same impact (cultural or commercial) as its predecessor, if only because it's arriving well after the zombie genre peaked in popularity - as opposed to the original film, which premiered just as the zombie craze was really heating up. Still, if Zombieland: Double Tap performs better than expected, then who knows: the cast may yet return for Zombieland 3 in 2029.
Zombieland: Double Tap/Zombieland 2 (2019) release date: Oct 18, 2019
