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Zombieland: Double Tap

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Wikipedia article




'Zombieland: Double Tap' is a 2019 American post-apocalyptic zombie comedy film directed by Ruben Fleischer and written by Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and David Callaham. A sequel to 'Zombieland' (2009), it stars Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin, and Emma Stone reprising their roles from the first film, alongside new cast members, Rosario Dawson, Zoey Deutch, Avan Jogia, Luke Wilson, and Thomas Middleditch.

Talk of a 'Zombieland' sequel began before the release of the first installment, with Reese and Wernick suggesting ideas and the cast voicing their desire to make a second film. By 2017, a script had been written, the cast was on board, and the film was confirmed in July 2018 by Sony Pictures. The four main stars and Fleischer all signed on that month, while additional cast members, including Dawson and Wilson, joined in early 2019. Filming took place from January to March 2019.

'Zombieland: Double Tap' was theatrically released in the United States on October 18, 2019, by Sony Pictures Releasing through Columbia Pictures, received mostly positive reviews from critics and has grossed $122 million worldwide.

Plot



Ten years after the events of the first film, survivors Tallahassee, Columbus, Wichita, and Little Rock have become experts in identifying and disposing of various zombies. Since then, they have set up their new home in the abandoned White House. They have also come across new strains of zombies, including "Homers" (very slow with no actual drive to feed), "Hawkings" (smarter than your average flesh-eater), and "Ninjas" (hides in the shadows waiting for the right time to kill). Columbus decides to propose to Wichita using the Hope Diamond, while Tallahassee rebuffs Little Rock's hopes of finding people her own age. The next morning, Tallahassee finds a note from Wichita and Little Rock. The girls took off after feeling too attached/repressed respectively to the men in The Beast, heavily modified by Tallahassee.

A month later, while exploring a mall, Columbus is mourning his relationship with Wichita. Tallahassee, claiming Native American blood runs through his veins, is ready to head out on his own. Columbus is startled by a ditzy blonde named Madison, who has survived Zombieland by hiding inside the freezer of a Pinkberry store. Columbus invites her back to the White House, much to Tallahassee's annoyance, where Madison pounces on Columbus and the two have sex. Returning and discovering Columbus has slept with Madison, Wichita explains that Little Rock has left for Graceland with a pacifist from Berkeley, with no weapons save for "The Beast". Fearing for Little Rock's safety, the group heads toward Graceland in a rundown minivan, including Madison.

While trying to switch vehicles and secure an abandoned RV, they fight off another horde of zombies. Madison appears to be scratched on the foot by a "Ninja" and is saved by Columbus. The last zombie in the bunch is a new strain of super-zombie that takes multiple gunshots to kill, leading Columbus to nickname it the "T-800" after the 'Terminator' franchise. They fail to secure the RV and retreat back to the minivan. Madison begins to show signs of "zombification," such as pale, flushed skin, deforming facial features, and uncontrollable vomiting. This forces them to pull to the side of the road so Columbus could lead her into the forest to shoot her.

The trio finally arrives at Graceland days later, only to find it in ruins. Little Rock, Berkeley, and "The Beast" are nowhere in sight. Tallahassee, a great admirer of Elvis Presley, is broken-hearted and pushes them to drive away. Further down the road, they discover "The Beast" at a nearby Elvis-themed motel. The place is run by a gun-slinging survivor named Nevada, who reveals Little Rock and Berkeley took another vehicle toward Babylon, a hippie commune. Bonding over their love of Elvis, Nevada and Tallahassee spend the night together.

In the morning, they are awakened to find "The Beast" being crushed by a monster truck driven by Nevada's friends Albuquerque and Flagstaff, who strongly resemble Tallahassee and Columbus in physical appearance and personality. Albuquerque and Tallahassee argue over Nevada while Flagstaff and Columbus compare "commandments" and "rules" for surviving a zombie apocalypse. T-800s soon appear in the driveway. Albuquerque and Flagstaff, trying to one-up the others, fight them alone. Almost immediately, however, they both exhibit signs of "zombification" and reveal they were bitten. The group is forced to fight the T-800 version of their counterparts. While proving to be severely difficult, they successfully kill the zombies. They hit the road again, this time heading for Babylon.

During an intimate conversation between Columbus and Wichita about their relationship, the group finds Madison, alive and well, driving an ice cream truck heading in the same direction. She rejoins the group and explains that her nut allergy caused symptoms similar to zombification. Instead of shooting her, Columbus spared her in the forest, shooting above her head to try and scare her off. They arrive at Babylon, begrudgingly giving up their weapons, and find Little Rock. A satisfied Tallahassee departs, only to find a horde of super zombies attracted by the commune's fireworks and drives back to warn everybody. Left without guns, Tallahassee devises a plan to kill the zombies with exploding biodiesel and then have commune members, armed with barricade shields, corral the stragglers off of a skyscraper with himself as the bait.

The zombie horde is more massive than expected, the exploding biodiesel is ineffective and the group is surrounded and almost overwhelmed. Nevada arrives in Albuquerque's monster truck, rescuing the group. They are able to take out several of the T-800s before the vehicle soon rolls over and they can't get it back up. Escaping upstairs, the survivors corral the zombies off the roof. Tallahassee uses a construction crane hook to dangle just out of reach, but the last two zombies seize his leg as they fall. Little Rock shoots them with a pistol given to her earlier by Tallahassee, rescuing him. The two reconcile and Wichita accepts Columbus' proposal of marriage. Little Rock breaks up with Berkeley, who hooks up with Madison. The original quartet leaves Babylon, joined by Nevada. Columbus remarks that they have finally found their home in each other.

In a mid-credits scene set during the start of the zombie outbreak in 2009, Bill Murray witnesses Al Roker turn into a Zombie during an interview promoting the fictional 'Garfield 3: Flabby Tabby'. Before making his escape, he kills multiple zombies, including zombie versions of Grace Randolph and Lili Estefan. In a post-credits scene, an outtake of Murray causing the cast to break character while he coughs up a hairball is shown.

The rules



Continuing the rules from 'Zombieland', Columbus' list of 73 rules includes:

Flagstaff's commandments or rules for staying alive:

Tallahassee considers adding a rule of his own: "It takes a real man to drive a pink Cadillac"

Madison's rule for surviving Zombieland: "Mostly stay in the freezer."

Cast





* Woody Harrelson as Tallahassee, Columbus' trusted partner

* Jesse Eisenberg as Columbus, who survives thanks to a strict set of rules

* Emma Stone as Wichita, a hardened survivor who is reluctant to settle down with Columbus

* Abigail Breslin as Little Rock, Wichita's rebellious younger sister

* Rosario Dawson as Nevada, owner of an Elvis-themed motel

* Zoey Deutch as Madison, a dumb blonde

* Luke Wilson as Albuquerque, Flagstaff's partner whose personality mirrors Tallahassee

* Avan Jogia as Berkeley, a pacifist, whom Little Rock picks up

* Thomas Middleditch as Flagstaff, Albuquerque's partner who has his own set of commandments for survival, and whose personality mirrors Columbus

A mid-credits scene features Bill Murray being interviewed by Al Roker, Lili Estefan, Josh Alex Horowitz, and Grace Randolph in the final minutes before the Zombie apocalypse hits them.

Production



Development

After 'Zombieland' success, writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick soon planned a possible sequel, with many more ideas they wanted to explore. "We would love it, and everybody involved creatively wants to do another one," Wernick said in 2009. "Woody Harrelson came up to us after the final cut of the last scene and gave us a hug and said, ''I've never wanted to do a sequel in the previous movies I've done until this one.'" Wernick said he wanted to have Jesse Eisenberg, Harrelson, Emma Stone, and Abigail Breslin star again, with Ruben Fleischer returning as the director, and that the writers had "tons of new ideas swimming in their heads." Additionally, they wanted to make the comedy into an enduring franchise. "We would love to do several sequels," stated Wernick. "We would love to also see it on television. It would make a wonderful TV series." From this, they wrote a TV pilot, starring a different cast, released in April 2013 on Lovefilm and Amazon Video.

At the time of the first film's release, Reese and Wernick said they were not planning on an immediate sequel, due to being heavily involved with other writing projects. By November 2009, the original cast and director were all set to return, with Fleischer enthusiastic about the idea of making the sequel in 3D. In 2010, Fleischer stated that he was working on the screenplay, and the creators had begun searching for another "superstar cameo."

In July 2011, Eisenberg said that he was "not sure what's happening" with the sequel, but that the writers were working on 'Zombieland 2.' He also expressed concern that a sequel would no longer be "relevant." Harrelson said that he was hesitant to return for a sequel as well, adding, "It's one thing to do it when it came out real good and it made a lot of people laugh, but then do a sequel? I don't know. I don't feel like a sequels guy."

In February 2016, the project was officially revived, with Reese and Wernick again set to write the script. In August 2016, Reese and Wernick confirmed that they were working on 'Zombieland 2' and meeting with Woody Harrelson to discuss the film, while stating "all the cast is pretty excited."

In March 2017, it was revealed that the script for 'Zombieland 2' had been completed, with Wernick and Reese stating:

In May 2018, Harrelson said that he hoped the film would be in production by early 2019, and that it would be released in time for the original's tenth anniversary.

Pre-production

On July 13, 2018, 'Zombieland: Double Tap' was officially greenlit by Sony Pictures. Ruben Fleischer returned to direct while Eisenberg, Harrelson, Stone and Breslin reprised their roles. Sanford Panitch, president of Columbia Pictures, declared in a press release:

In November 2018, Zoey Deutch and Avan Jogia joined the cast. In December 2018, it was confirmed that Bill Murray would return for the sequel, once again playing the fictionalized version of himself. In January 2019, Rosario Dawson joined the cast of the film. Thomas Middleditch and Luke Wilson joined in February.

Filming

Filming began on January 19, 2019, in Atlanta, Georgia. Primary production finished on March 15, 2019. The building used for the Babylon commune is located in Atlanta near the spaghetti junction. It was used for a hotel for many years, and is now abandoned. The film was also shot at Pinewood Atlanta Studios.

Release



The film was released in the United States on October 18, 2019. Worldwide, Sony spent about $60 million on prints and advertising for the film.

Home media

'Zombieland: Double Tap' was released on Digital HD on December 24, 2019, and on DVD, Blu-ray, and Ultra HD Blu-ray on January 21, 2020.

Reception



Box office

'Zombieland: Double Tap' grossed $73.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $49.7 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $122.8 million.

In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside 'Maleficent: Mistress of Evil', and was projected to gross $2530 million from 3,468 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $10.2 million on its first day, including $2.85 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $26.8 million, finishing third, behind 'Maleficent' and 'Joker'. It then dropped 56% in its second weekend to $11.8 million, finishing fourth, and made $7.4 million in its third weekend, finishing sixth.

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critical consensus reads, "'Zombieland: Double Tap' makes up for a lack of fresh brains with an enjoyable reunion that recaptures the spirit of the original and adds a few fun twists." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 56 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews." Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, down from the "A" received by the first film, while those surveyed at PostTrak gave it four out of five stars and a 64% "definite recommend."

Richard Roeper of the 'Chicago Sun-Times' praised the performances, saying "They're all terrific, but Emma Stone in particular kills with a sharply honed, funny and endearing performance as the battle-tested and cynical Wichita, who is fearless when it comes to taking on zombies, but terrified when it comes to fully committing to a human connection." Simon Thompson at IGN also praises the acting, writing, "'Zombieland: Double Tap' is a riot, and a lot of that is due to Zoey Deutch and her character, Madison. While it doesn't quite achieve classic status in its own right, when it comes to sequels that do the original film justice, it is up there. It's worth the wait, your time and your money."

Kate Erbland of 'IndieWire' gave the film a "C+", saying, "'Zombieland: Double Tap' still finds space for big laughs (the pairing of Eisenberg and Harrelson remains nutty and fun), a welcome cameo in the credits, and a banger of a final battle in which the body count soars to ridiculous numbers. But, after 10 years of anticipation, it would have been nice to see a zombie movie with more on its mind than the same goofy undead routine." Peter Debruge of 'Variety' wrote, "The zombies have evolved[...] the comedy not so much," and, "Here, humor turns every kill into a sick punchline, and while the writers do a fine job of making them funny, like macabre cartoons in which Wile E. Coyote can rebound from unthinkable injuries, the movies tone negates a fundamental respect for human life. Yeah, yeah, its just a movie, you say. But like the first-person-shooter video games the films 'Double Tap' title references, society cant just passively sit back and accept an attitude that mocks pacifism and makes light of such extreme violence. Or else were the zombies, and the jokes on us."

Accolades received by cast

The film is lauded for its casting of previously acclaimed actors like Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Abigail Breslin and Zoey Deutch.

*Rosario Dawson and Zoey Deutch, though not nominated for any major awards, have received widespread acclaim for various performances, most notably 'Gimme Shelter' (2013) for Dawson and 'Flower' (2017) for Deutch.

*Avan Jogia is best known for his breakthrough role in 'Victorious' (20102013)

'Academy Awards'


The following is a list of Academy Award nominations and wins received by the film's ensemble cast.

*Woody Harrelson was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' (2017).

*Jesse Eisenberg was nominated for Best Actor for playing Mark Zuckerberg in 'The Social Network' (2010).

*Emma Stone won Best Actress for her role in 'La La Land' and also received two nominations for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in 'Birdman' (2014) and 'The Favourite' (2018)

*Abigail Breslin was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in 'Little Miss Sunshine' (2006)

'Primetime Emmy Awards'


The following is a list of Emmy nominations and wins received by the film's ensemble cast.

*Woody Harrelson won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his role in 'Cheers'

*Thomas Middleditch was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his role in 'Silicon Valley'

Other media



Video games

A mobile game, titled 'Zombieland: Double Tapper', was released along with the film, featuring the characters.

The film also inspired a twin-stick shooter video game titled 'Zombieland: Double Tap Road Trip'. Developed by High Voltage Software and published by GameMill Entertainment and Maximum Games in North America and Europe respectively, it was released on October 15, 2019, for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, three days before the film's US release.

On Metacritic, the PlayStation 4 version of 'Zombieland: Double Tap Road Trip' received a score of 39% based on 5 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.

'Halloween Horror Nights'

'Zombieland: Double Tap' was featured as a scare zone at Universal Studios Florida's 'Halloween Horror Nights.' The zone included the modified presidential limousine "Beast" as seen in the film.

Future



Sequel and Spin-off

During the press tour for the film, the director, writers, and cast have all stated an interest in reuniting every 10 years to do a Zombieland film. Director Ruben Fleischer said, "I think we all had so much fun making this one, wed be really lucky to get to return to Zombieland. Although, I will say, Emma Stone said she thought it would be fun if we did one of these every 10 years. Knowing that Woody Harrelsons just the healthiest guy there is, hes going to outlive all of us, and so we can just keep doing them every 10 years, til the end of time. I cant imagine a better way to look forward to my future than knowing that every 10 years I get to hang out with those guys and make a movie with them again."

In another interview, Fleischer said, "I would love to do a Madison stand-alone movie."

As of August 2022, there has been no official confirmation of a sequel and/or spin-off. But, the cast and crew continue to remain optimistic about the future of the franchise.

References




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