Zombieland: Double Tap Review Roundup

It’s been an entire decade since Zombieland first arrived in theaters, morphing the undead genre into a gut-busting action comedy. Fans quickly took to the unique and violent style of the movie, and nearly everyone who enjoyed it assumed that there would be a sequel on the way sooner rather than later. It took much longer than expected, but Tallahassee, Columbus, Little Rock, and Wichita all return to the action with Zombieland: Double Tap this weekend.

For fans, the real question heading into this long-awaited sequel is, can it possibly hold up to the original? Zombieland came out of nowhere and charmed everyone. Will Double Tap be able to do the same thing 10 years later?

The reviews for Zombieland: Double Tap began arriving online Wednesday morning, and it looks like director Ruben Fleischer and his team have somehow managed to create a worthy follow-up to Zombieland.

Some critics like the sequel better than others, and there are a couple out there that aren’t big fans at all. But the overwhelming opinion is that, if you enjoyed the first Zombieland, it’s going to be hard for you not to have fun with its successor.

Check out a few of the reviews below:

Brandon Davis – ComicBook.com

“If you liked the first Zombieland, you’re going to enjoy Zombieland: Double Tap — and you’ll definitely like it more than someone who has not seen the original. A handful of jokes call back to the original film, avoiding and hindrance to a newcomer’s viewing experience, but supplementing the watch for long time fans. It’s an absolute blast, has non-stop action and heart, and gets two big bloody zombie thumbs up.”

You can read our full review here.

John DeFore – The Hollywood Reporter

“Rounding up all the original’s stars and throwing several more surviving human characters into the mix, the pic is plenty entertaining for those of us who, paradoxically, find zombies comforting in dark times. Few of its new ingredients are home runs, and some elements play out like obligations — especially the romantic travails of Columbus and the restless woman (Emma Stone’s Wichita) he loves. But with Walking Dead threatening to lurch onward until every bit of appeal falls off its bones, and with George Romero gone to the mysterious ghoulish beyond, taking another road trip with this crew is certainly worth a fan’s time.”

You can read THR’s full review here.

Leah Greenblatt – EW

“Director Ruben Fleischer (Venom) is herding them all toward some kind of ultimate man-vs.-zombie showdown, but the action sequences often feel like the least necessary thing about the movie. For all the flying intestines and skulls that split open like past-due melons, Double Tap has another squishy organ at its center: a big, goofball heart.”

You can read EW’s full review here.

Josh Spiegel – Slashfilm

“Zombieland: Double Tap, like its 2009 predecessor, is a triumph of casting and style over substance. As the original was, Double Tap has the slick sheen of the highest-end marketing campaign, looking polished and buffed even as it depicts the blood-soaked world in which a zombie apocalypse has taken over and a few human stragglers fight their way towards survival. Double Tap manages to succeed even mildly thanks largely to its core cast members, who charm their way through a script that sometimes smacks of being written on the day of shooting.”

You can read Slashfilm’s full review here.

Peter Debruge – Variety

“The zombies have evolved in Zombieland: Double Tap; the comedy not so much. But that’s OK, because Ruben Fleischer’s 2009 breakout hit — which gobbled up $75.6 million in a genre fast approaching its pop-culture saturation point — was already a few steps ahead of the curve: Its central quartet actually knew they were living in a walking-dead movie and were therefore armed to defend themselves against a breed of modern horror baddies to which previous film characters had been frustratingly slow to adapt.”

You can read Variety’s full review here.

Kate Erbland – IndieWire

“For some audiences, that may be enough to get their fix: 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.”

You can read IndieWire’s full review here.

Matt Goldberg – Collider

“All of this is to say that Zombieland: Double Tap is not coming back to sacred ground like Zoolander 2 or Anchorman 2. Instead, the original creative team and cast of actors have reunited for another fun mishmash that’s surprisingly delightful even if it never feels necessary. Rather than trying to reinvent what made the first movie work or offer a bold new approach, Double Tap is a collection of goofy gags and charming new characters that make the sequel a nice companion to the original.”

You can read Collider’s full review here.