“ZOMBIELAND: DOUBLE TAP” — 3 stars — Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson, Abigail Breslin; R (bloody violence, language throughout, some drug and sexual content); in general release; running time: 99 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — The zombie genre has felt a little more like its subject matter in recent years, but Ruben Fleischer’s “Zombieland: Double Tap” has arrived to meet the challenge.
“Double Tap” is the follow-up to Fleischer’s popular 2009 postapocalyptic comedy “Zombieland,” which joined 2004’s “Shaun of the Dead” in the zombie subgenre that added wit and sight gags to the usual slate of undead gore. The story brings back the four principal survivors of “Zombieland,” but when internal conflicts threaten to break up the band, they all have to learn that even after the apocalypse, family still counts.
As the film opens, neurotic millennial Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) and tough, sarcastic Wichita (Emma Stone) are officially a couple. They’ve taken up residence in the abandoned White House and live with redneck Twinkie lover Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) and Wichita’s kid sister Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), who isn’t really a kid anymore. All is well until Columbus decides to propose, and with Little Rock already longing to find a guy her own age, the two sisters decide to head out on their own again.
Columbus is heartbroken, but rebounds with Madison (Zoey Deutch), a world-class ditz draped in pink who has somehow spent the last 10 years surviving in a mall freezer. But things get complicated when Wichita returns to report that Little Rock has run off with a pseudo-hippie named Berkeley (Avan Jogia).
“Double Tap’s” plot is a meandering excuse for jokes and set pieces at best, but it basically boils down to Columbus, Wichita, Tallahassee and Madison teaming up to find Little Rock. To add some tension, a new breed of zombie — dubbed the T-800 after the new-and-improved Terminator of 1992’s “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”— has been making postapocalyptic life considerably more dangerous.
If you liked “Zombieland,” there’s plenty more where that came from. In “Double Tap,” we hear more about Columbus’ ever-expanding list of survival rules, and the pop culture references fly fast and hard. Deutch has a great time with her cringe-worthy new character (her best moment involves an Uber joke), and Rosario Dawson also shines as an Elvis-loving kindred spirit that Tallahassee meets along the way.
Like the first film, “Double Tap” is pretty thick on R-rated CGI zombie kill gore, though the impact is usually tempered by a heavy dose of comic styling — like a running gag about the “Zombie Kill of the Year” contest.
The sense of humor is really what makes “Double Tap” work. Like most sequels, Fleischer’s film doesn’t approach the heights of the original, but there are enough good laughs and highlights to paper over the weak spots. (Also, be sure to stick around for a mid-credits bonus scene that will be especially satisfying for anyone who was disappointed by the underwhelming “Dead Don’t Die.”)
If you’re looking for original, you should probably stick with the first “Zombieland,” or even better, the aforementioned “Shaun of the Dead.” (And if you prefer a more PG-13 brand of zombie comedy, try “Warm Bodies.”) After 10 years, “Zombieland: Double Tap” doesn’t really bring any new brains to the dinner table. But it’s still a clever, fun and funny place to visit.
Rating explained: “Zombieland: Double Tap” easily draws an R rating for considerable CGI zombie gore and violence, consistent profanity, some implied sexual content and drug references.