Greetings and Salutations, Blog friends!

Today we are following up our review and discussion on the first movie in the franchise, we are now discussing the second in the franchise Zombieland- Zombieland 2: Double Tap.

If you haven’t seen it yet, Spoilers are ahead, and if you have, great.

So grab some drinks and snacks and lets watch this movie!

As you may recall from my first Zombieland review, these are rarely short, so, I am instead saying that this will be more of a review and mild discussion, saving my discussion in which I compare the two, for later, to keep this from getting too long.

But, I would recommend you at least have at least read my blog about the first one, or have seen the first one, to really appreciate the second Zombieland.

Zombieland 2: Double Tap

This movie takes place ten years after the first, in storyline and real life.

We learn right off the bat that the surivival key has been adapting and learning the types of zombies. Yes, now we have zombie types.

The Homer- a dumb zombie, they say dumb like Homer Simpson, but also…iuno Homer never passed up on food, whereas the Homers are so dumb they will get distracted by a butterfly. So…Iuno if Homer is the right term.

A Hawking- A smart zombie- Which is awesome as I have often said a smart, thinking zombie, is the most terrifying…sadly they don’t use the Hawking type much, mostly only during the opening scene to see what this kind is like. I do not make the same mistake in Flake City, by the way, although the zombies are different.

Ninja- Finally, randomly quiet zombies who can sneak attack have a name. And a reason. Because frankly, otherwise noisy zombies sneaking up on people has always been annoying. Their name, in Zombieland, is simply, The Ninja.

We later learn of another type of zombie, but let’s hold out until then, as these types do feature, plenty, later on.

The characters have fought their way to Washington D.C. to live in the White House, despite the fact that the opening of the first Zombieland showing the nations capital as overran, which would make you think the White House would for sure be overran with either survivors or zombies, but alas, the group of four manage to clear out the entire building and secure it so they can freely walk around and enjoy the grounds.

The group has been living in the White House for several years, Columbus and Wichita falling into a sort of domestic bliss that will soon be called into question, Tallahassee has started reworking the old Obama Presidential limo (Remember, Zombieland started when Obama was in office, we never see a Trump administration in this world).

This bliss is marred, quickly in the run time of the film, with the two main issues. Little Rock, now a decade older, in her twenties, craves to not only find a romantic interest of sorts, but anyone her own age. Little Rock’s desire to leave is understandable, as is what is soon shown to be Wichita’s issue.

Look, commitmentphibia is a big deal, and a good way to NOT fix a girls commitmentphobia in regards to marriage, is to propose using the Hope freaking diamond.

It’s a giant, clunky, rock that has no place in Zombieland. Even with the White House being secure, this is a giant chunky rock that has no place on someone’s hand if zombies break in. Hell, it isn’t even Wichita’s style anyways.

He also proposes, with the freaking Hope diamond, when Wichita is OBVIOUSLY already preoccupied with worrying about her sister’s obvious displeasure at their living situation. And we find they have already discussed that Wichita doesn’t like marriage, and thinks they all end in divorce. Also worth noting, Columbus tries to do his whole “tuck a lock of hair behind his girls ear” thing that was so key to him in the first movie, and fails to do so, sitting at an awkward angle. This is beautiful foreshadowing for what immediately follows: his horribly timed and awkward proposal.

So, Wichita asks for time to think about it when Columbus proposes, or rather, Columbus tells her to think about it AFTER she gets mad about the proposal, and, very obviously, the next day, (or the scene, but it feels like the next day is the intent with the editing here) she and Little Rock are gone.

Like, come on.

Obviously she is going to leave a note and chunk the deuce out of there, Little Rock is being driven crazy by not having anyone her own age, and by Tallahassee treating her like his own child and being possessive of her, and with Wichita, she is being forced beyond her boundaries in terms of commitment.

Sadly, from the online reviews I have seen from many people, most folks think Wichita was out of line. A lotta guys who remind me of Columbus, actually.

Oh well. Her exit DOES open up the chance for a new character, and, despite what you may think, I am not Team Wichita- I am obsessed and in love with this new character.

Tallahassee, or Tal, as the gang starts to call him, and as someone who has to type that name, over and over again when writing these review/disucssions, I seriously approved shortening Tallahassee to Tal- Tal takes Columbus to a mall for some retail therapy to feel better about Wichita leaving.

We learn of the new Zombie killing award- Zombie Kill of The Year- Which is the newest honor Tal is going for.

At the mall, Tal then confides in Columbus that Tal has Native American blood in him, “Blackfoot Indian, to be exact” and he then tells a story that will matter in the finale, about the Indians who hunted buffalo by heading them off the cliffs to their deaths. Will this matter later? Looks at camera what do YOU think?

So while Tal confides something that he has never, not even once, mentioned,
Columbus wonders off, and starts to smell candles. He hears something, and nearly shoots a living person. A bubbly blonde wearing all pink, Madison.

TeamMadison

Madison, who could easily play Elle Woods, is a vegan, who has survived by living in the freezer. For ten. Freaking. Years. She’s “like, really good at surviving” and carries mace everywhere she goes. (Also mace stuns zombies, we learn) Madison hugs Columbus, obviously happy to see a person.”It’s nice to touch a human” Madison says it is “awfully chilly” in the freezer but she couldn’t find the switch to turn it off. Madison, who I adore, is going to feature in a blog all about how much her and her other new female character, Nevada, are fucking badass. We learn that Madison also survived by being in good shape, “I can run really really really fast”, rule number one of Zombieland, #1- Cardio, mainly being into hot yoga and soul cycle before the zombies took over. Madison immediately wants to know all about the rules and wants to “double tap” Columbus….sexually.

And she doesn’t waste much time. Soon as they are back at the White House, flirting over the rules of Zombieland, she asks for a tour, and hops his bones. When Columbus offers any resistance she says “Look, I have been in the freezer for ten years, either we’re doing it, or I’m doing the old guy”

As a side note…Madison, I think, was smart to flirt over these rules, not just to secure a position with this new group, as it were, but, with learning rules from other survivors who have lived this long. She hasn’t left the freezer much, and as soon as she is out, Madison is learning other survivors rules, to make sure she knows things, and also seeks out what she has wanted for a good long while. We love a self assured Queen who goes after what she wants and is sex positive.

Anyways, back to the breakdown/review/discussion- “Soy random” As Madison would say- we then have our characters hear some noises…not just the noises of Madison and Columbus doing the deed, but noises of someone in the White House, and of course it is Wichita, back from her time on the road to “gather guns and ammo”. She later says she may have had other reasons, like Columbus.

Other business includes informing us that Little Rock has ran off with her new…boyfriend.

A pacifist, hippy, musician, named “Berkley”.

While on the topic of these new people, Madison offers her name as Madison, and has been alone for ten years. She isn’t trying to get to Madison, and, seemingly, Madison’s name is, maybe, probably, Madison.

Wichita does tell us that Berkley is from Berkley, so it is likely his name is something else. He’s also been out and about so since it seems most people follow this name rule established in the first movie (Check out my first blog to see some of that analyzation), so it makes sense that Berkley would be called Berkley since he is coming from Berkley and is a peaceful musician type. Nevada, who we later meet, is, it seems, from Nevada. (Reno, we find out at the end.) Point being, I think that Madison, while having a name in common with a city, may be using her pre-Zombieland name.

So, while Madison does whatever one does after sex with Columbus, Wichita and Tallahassee discuss the new zombie Berkley has told them about, these super strong zombies, T-800’s named after the terminators.

Finally, Tal goes off to rage about the musician and Little Rock, not yet knowing about the now long lost car, with Wichita and Little Rock having stolen the vehicle he had been fixing up, and Little Rock and Berkley having stolen that.

Wichita apologizes for leaving with only a note, and Columbus muses that this could be a turning point for them, right as Madison shows up and asks if Columbus is returning to bed. Wichita angrily leaves and we cut to the next day when the gang piles into the mini van Wichita had been able to find.

Tal is now mad and raging at that, and to make things better, Madison joins them with all her luggage. Tal leaves her stuff, but Madison comes along, to the chagrin of everyone, except me, president of Madison’s fan club. I was just offended that Tal left all her shit. I get that one of the rules is to travel light- Rule number 7, in fact, but, like…light doesn’t mean without stuff. They keep tossing her shit an Madison keeps kicking ass. I love her.

Please note, I am cheering for Wichita and Columbus, but I love Madison. Frankly, Columbus isn’t good enough for either woman, but Wichita is obviously already in love with Columbus so, leave it be. Still, I am Team Madison in so much that I want her to live and be happy.

Anyways, the gang drives, Columbus and Wichita bicker, Madison comments on how sarcastic they all are, and they search for a better ride. They come across an RV, and the alarm goes off, leading to a bunch of zombies showing up to give our characters something to do.

With Columbus up top on the RV calling out zombies, the group kills the approaching zombies, with even Madison hitting a zombie with her mace to protect Wichita. “Narsty!”

We see a “Hawking” in so much that is climbs up and is kind of clever but nothing too smart and Hawking like, and a Ninja nearly gets my girl Madison, but Columbus dispenses it.

Then they meet their first T-800, and after spending like ten bullets and stomping the dudes head, they kill, and finally, they can load into the RV and head out.

The spikes exiting the yard the RV is in, however, puts the RV out of commission, and as that Columbus isn’t willing to ride in the refrigerated clown car, they return to the mini van Wichita had arrived with.

Interestingly enough, the Mini Van they are in is visually the same kind of mini van that Tallahassee destroys in the first one, however, after rewatching both scenes, they are different kinds of vans, just similar style. Still, fun, and I really hope that was intentional, more so since we learnt the obvious, ten years into the zombies, there are very few cars that work.

We go back to Little Rock’s perspective, and learn that Berkley rips off real musicians’s music as his own, but, he does have a large bag of pot, which is pretty great. As Little Rock had said “I have always wanted to smoke like…too much pot.”

So back to the group, Tallahassee, Madison, Wichita and Columbus get back on the road and we learn that Madison has the brilliant idea for Uber, but the group makes fun of her, having never lived in our reality where we do in fact order car rides from strangers, and rate them well if they don’t “try to murder us.”

Wichita also shares her trail mix with Madison. Now, some people say Wichita didn’t do this on purpose…I think low key it may have been.

But…Madison begins to have what is very obviously an allergic reaction, if you have every been around one….but apparently no one in the car has, so when Madison gets red and puffy, and starts puking, with her tongue and face all inflamed, the group decides that they need to kill hr before she turns into a zombie. As Wichita says “If you love soemthing, you shoot it in the face so it doesn’t turn into a monster.”

Columbus enters the forest to shoot Madison, and, we hear him shoot her twice, while she screams “No, don’t come near me” and “please, no, Im a monster” at him. Madison keeps puking, and pointing to her tongue, and we hear two shots, for the Double Tap.

Wichita tastes no time in tossing Madison’s coat and purse onto the road and they carry on, okay with having Madison gone, and no one asking questions about how she turned or anything else.

Which makes me hate them all a little, but oh well.

oh! I have forgotten to mention that along with Tallahassee’s new found Indian blood, he is also obsessed with Elvis Presley now. Which is why Little Rock, and then the gang, eventually go towards Graceland, and, finding it in disarray, they end up at a nearby Elvis themed hotel.

In front of the flashy neon sign, “Hound Dog Hotel” we see The Beast, so Tal, Wichita and Columbus enter the place that “Despite not being Graceland this place looks an awful lot like Graceland.”

The group splits up in search of Little Rock, thinking she may be there since she had The Beast last and The Beast is parked outside. (And during this search, Wichita doesn’t call her sister her real name, either, which is kinda weird since she wanted to go ahead and look for her sister herself, wouldn’t she use her sisters real name? What is with this stuff?) and while Tal plays a piano, we meet…Nevada.

Nevada is a badass, having survived for ten years, however many at this hotel, she runs a tight little ship. Nevada “Nevada’s as close as you get” she says, by way of name, showing the naming rules of Zombieland applying to someone else without any prompting.

Nevada tells the group that Berkley and Little Rock took Elvis’s car, leaving the “too establishment” Beast behind, and the two were headed to some young Millennial Generation Z place called Babylon where guns are banned.

Meanwhile, Little Rock and Berkley arrive, and Little Rock passes over her big gun (although anyone paying attention notices she only hands over one gun and earlier when Tal gave her Elvis’s gun, she said “oh yeah another gun” which tells us she has more than one so…), and are given a little peace medallion, which are made from the melted metal of the guns.

Yeah. They melt down the guns. They really don’t do guns. Lame.

So, back at the Hound Dog, Nevada and Tallahassee maybe spent the night, but Tal wakes Nevada up by dancing like Elvis in an Elvis jumpsuit, and is interrupted by an asshole in a big truck driving over The Beast.

The new guy, the main asshole, reminds everyone of Tallahassee, and then his partner shows up, who is just like Columbus.

How like Columbus?

He is tall, thin, curly hair, just like Columbus, and has “commandments” instead of rules

Yup.

Basically, the asshole versions of Tallahassee and Columbus. Albuquerque and Flagstaff- Querque and Flag for sure, but, whatever, they are just the two assholes.

You may have thought that Columbus and Tallahassee WERE the asshole versions of themselves but you, as it would turn out, would be wrong, because these two new guys are super annoying. The four compare rules versus commandments, which is fun, while Nevada and Columbus watch, horrified.

Nevada asks what brings them back so soon, running some sort of survivor BnB it seems, and the group learns that there is a heard of “bolts” or T-800’s are pushing east, due to dwindling food sources. Inside, Tallahassee and the asshole get into a dick measuring contest, before we hear noises, and find a few T-800’s have followed the jerks, and the jerks, insisting they can handle it, take them out. Rule #52- Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

When they get back, of course, they are both bitten, and turn, quickly, into T-800s themselves, leading to another fight scene in which Columbus, Wichita, Nevada and Tallahassee take on Querque and Flag who have now turned into T-800s.

Once the two are dispensed, it becomes apparent that they need to continue, if nothing else to make sure that Little Rock is still safe, and off they go.

And merily they drive along, with Wichita and Columbus finally talking and Wichita admitting that maybe she was coming back anyways….until they see a clown ice cream car driving down the road.

My girl. Madison. #TeamMadison Alive and well, with an outfit change, somehow, and having magically ran all the way back to where they had found the RV, and somehow gotten the ice cream truck to work, had started driving as well, possibly looking for them, Babylon, or hell, maybe looking for wherever I end up in Zombieland, because I would gladly welcome her into my group.

Madison, for some reason, joins the gang, explaining that she has a nut allergy, alluding to the fact that maybe Wichita knew, but it is never stated. I think Wichita maybe knew. Either way, Madison, while in anaphyaltic shock, ran all that way back to the clown ice cream truck, got the car working, somehow found a change of clothing and a way to touch up her makeup and hair, and got on the road. After being shot at, twice, but “thanks for shooting above my head” Madison says, explaining that Columbus didn’t shoot her. Columbus adds he only wanted to scare her off. Madison survived though. Madison is amazing. Madison is a SURVIVOR. In my blog about the new characters in Zombieland, I will go into more detail, but come on! Madison was shot at, during a allergic reaction episode, ran back to the spot with the cars, changes her whole damn outfit, fixes her hair, gets over the allergy, gets the car to work and was further down the road than the gang was. Team. Freaking. Madison.

When the gang arrives at Babyon, Columbus, in a big show of bravado and stupiity, blows up the mini van, forcing them to then have to give up their guns to enter Babylon, versus merely waiting in the car while they find Little Rock.

Why they don’t leave the guns outside, I will never know, but either way, the entire group gives up their guns, all of them, I guess? Probably because Columbus is thinking this could be their new forever home.

I would have left them outside, so maybe they would be there if I needed them. Whatever.

The group enters, finds Little Rock, and is informed that while she is happy to see them, and such, they may not fit in with the new crowd, who are all very good, kind people, and none of them are prone to violence. The is a place for organic food, weed, and drum circles.

Madison finds a giant bowl of weed and says “I think we should stay” and they inform Little Rock of Columbus’s new girlfriend, and Little Rock judges a little, because holy crap they were together ten years you didn’t waste any damn time, and Tallahassee realizes he can now hit the the road, with Little Rock safe in Babylon.

Of course, when Tallahassee is driving away, he comes across a heard of T-800s who are headed right towards Babylon who tends to blow off fireworks every night, some how.

This leads to a big race back to Babylon, and when Tal arrives, they immediately begin trying to plan a way out of the shitty situation, they decided to funnel the zombies all into a circle, and blow them with bio diesel, then kill off any stragglers with melee weapons.

(For the record, while I do love the idea of Babylon, they should keep the better weaponry so some people can get them and defend the spot if needed. Like, the main dude who acts as the peace officer could keep a key and keep the place locked up, so guns aren’t out and about and they can keep a peaceful society, but like…c’mon, at least keep some weapons! Bow and arrows even! SWORDS! SOMETHING.)

The back up plan is to use bits of fencing and wood to form a gauntlet to have zombies run up the stairs after someone, to the top of the tower in Babylon, and then heard them off the edge, with the bits of wood, like the Blackfoot Tribe used to do with Buffalo, given the story some relevance.

Way more zombies than they thought would come, come, but, Nevada shows up in the monster truck to lay waste to the zombies who poured in after the first wave. The truck does great work for a while, but then, turns over, with more zombies on the way.

The group races out of the truck and with the help of Madison and Berkley, they are able to continue with the plan after the bio diesel doesn’t kill enough of the zombies and the zombie run/ jump happens, with of course, Tallahassee leading the way.

All works out, and of course they have a last minute moment of crisis when to zombies handcuffed to each other jump and begin to drag Tal down, but Little Rock removes her Elvis gun and shoots the one holding Tal.

“I forgot about it, but I smoked a lot of weed” Little Rock says.

Wichita says “yes” to Columbus, and Madison hands the ring over, while Little Rock gives her blessing to Berkley and Madison, who start making out. Berkley doesn’t deserve Madison, but it is impressive to survive ten years in Zombieland on a strict policy of nonviolence.

The group then parties into the night, and then takes off in the pink Elvis Caddy “It takes a real man to drive a pink car” with Nevada with Tallahassee, Wichita with Columbus, and Little Rock, once again, alone.

I smell a third movie coming.

As the credits roll, we do get some more Bill Murray content, seeing him eating with day one of the outbreak, which is actually fun.

All in all, Zombieland 2 is exceptional, and a very well done sequel. It’s a fun movie, the franchise isn’t meant for serious films, but for more comedic zombie content, and Zombieland 2 delivers.

Sure, I could knit pick some things, but overall, as far as sequels go, this is exceptional, more so when comedic zombie movies can be so tricky to do in the first place. The second film gives us a bit more of the world they now live in, we get to meet more characters, more zombies, and types of zombies.

We get new rules, and we get Madison. #TeamMadison.

If you have enjoyed this review and discussion of Zombieland 2, be sure to come back for the next Zombieland discussion about the characters in the second movie, where I go off on how much I love Madison, Nevada, and yes, even have appreciation and respect for the pacifist who can survive Zombieland, Berkley- Bookmark this blog, follow me on social media for reminders, subscribe to the email alerts, whatever works for you. Or just make a note of it, because with Flake City coming out this year, I will be posting plenty of zombie content to get you all in the mood.

🙂

Thanks for reading.

❤️

Abbi

PS- If you want to buy your own copy of Zombieland 2- Feel free to click this link! I get a small percentage of the profits, at no cost to you!