Zombieland

Viewed: Theater

Yeah, I know it’s been out for several weeks. I actually saw it about two weeks ago, but I’ve just now gotten around to writing something about it.

I was hesitant to go see it at first, because the trailer made it look like a silly romp. I’m not really interested in a silly zombie holocaust. But a friend, whose movie opinion I trust and tend to agree with, said it was good and funny, but not silly.

It’s only been in the last few years that I’ve gotten an interest in zombie movies, and I’m not sure why. The only zombie movie I remember seeing in the theater was Return of the Living Dead in 1985. The next zombie movie I saw was 28 Days Later, on DVD. (I know, you can argue all you want, but I still call 28DL a “zombie” movie.)

Then I saw I Am Legend, (again, I know it’s not a true “zombie” movie), and something about the zombie apocalypse genre snagged my interest. Since then, I’ve watched about half a dozen other zombie flicks (including the original, black-and-white Night of the Living Dead), and I’ve even bought a couple, including the recent Dawn of the Dead remake.

But the trailer for Zombieland hinted at silliness like I saw in Planet Terror — stupid silliness that I didn’t find the least bit funny. My friend assured me that this movie was not silly like Tarantino’s goof-ball project, so I decided to give it a try. My first theater zombie experience since 1985.

Much to my happiness, I found this movie good. It’s funny, but not silly. It’s zombies eating people, but not gore just to gross the viewer out.

I love the survivor characters and actors. The story is decent and well enough thought out that I wasn’t jolted by dumb plot holes. (There was only one spot/action that was dumb enough to irk me, but I got over it and let it slide quickly.) I like the way Columbus’ rules for surviving in Zombieland were integrated into the story, through both dialog and visual effects.

And the cameo role: brilliant. Since seeing the movie, I’ve read that this actor wasn’t the first chosen for the role, but it worked out so well that I just can’t imagine anyone else pulling it off like he did. And it completely got me — I really didn’t see it coming.

After going to see this film, I emailed my brother to get his opinion on whether I should see it or not. He constantly tells me that I should check with him before going to watch a movie. He claims to know what’s best for me at the theater. I didn’t tell him that I had already seen it, and he said that I would probably like it. So he was right this time. <golf clap>

Bullgrit