Zombieland came out long before zombie entertainment had over saturated the market, and managed to satirise the genre to fantastic effect. The core cast of Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg, and Abigail Breslin were all great together. Well 10 years later we’re returning to that world. A world that feels more played out because we’ve had to endure tons of zombie films and TV shows.

I think it is to Zombieland: Double Tap’s credit that it doesn’t feel tiresome when most people have probably had enough of zombie content. However it doesn’t do a whole lot to distinguish itself from the original Zombieland save for adding a few more people that the core group interact with throughout the film. Much like the first it brings writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick’s signature meta comedy to life, as they have done with the Deadpool franchise. It does retread some old ground, not just from the original Zombieland, but from other Zombie Comedies past.

That said there are still plenty of good laughs in the film, and with the talents of the four main actors that is no surprise. Once again seeing those four together makes the sequel worthwhile, particularly Harrelson and Eisenberg’s relationship in the film as Tallahassee and Columbus. The movie even mocks this well by having Luke Wilson and Thomas Middleditch play characters very like the pair of them. It is also fun to see the change in the dynamic now that Abigail Breslin, playing Little Rock, has grown up. This is really where the only big difference in them occurs.

The other key new actors in the cast are Rosario Dawson as Nevada and Zoey Deutch as Madison. Nevada is a another great foil for Tallahassee, and obviously Dawson is great. But it is the addition of Deutch that really freshens things up. Madison is generally portrayed as a stereotypical dumb blonde, although someone who has survived 10 years of the zombie apocalypse, and Deutch’s performance is hilarious. She’s the complete opposite of Emma Stone’s Wichita, and it is their scenes that allow Emma Stone to really have fun with the character, when she probably was given the least to do overall.

Honestly if you enjoyed the first Zombieland chances are you’ll have a good time with Double Tap as well. Sure it lacks the freshness and originality of the first, but its a great cast working from a mostly funny script.

6/10