Zombieland: Double Tap Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Zombieland: Double Tap Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 22, 2020

If Zombieland was the rush of riding that roller coaster for the first time, then Zombieland: Double Tap is sort of like riding it for the umpteenth time: it's still fun, but the thrill is long gone. It's been a decade since Director Ruben Fleischer's original film entertained audiences with a hybrid of zippy humor and horrific imagery, quickly cementing itself as one the quintessential genre films. Since then, it at least feels like the zombie craze has lost a step in its forward momentum, ambling now rather than running, and ten years is a long time in between movies. But credit the filmmakers for not rushing things, for not jumping the gun and cranking out a second and third and half a dozen more in the direct to video realm since. Unfortunately, Double Tap isn't much of a movie anyway if one is looking for something as groundbreaking as the original. Ruben Fleischer returns to direct and simply repurposes the original without much novelty. It's got its moments to be sure but it does little to advance anything but time or reshape anything but a few zombies that get squashed and squished or torn to bits or mashed up into a bundle of hay.

The survivors -- Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), Wichita (Emma Stone), and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) -- have moved into the White House. It’s “truly safe” from the zombies, which are themselves evolving, some slowly gaining intelligence and others relentless drive to devour their pray. Still, others remain just plain stupid. Unfortunately, the group is fracturing. Columbus wants to settle down with Wichita, who balks at his clumsy marriage proposal. Little Rock is itching to leave the nest, to find love and purpose in life beyond surviving and slaying zombies. Only Tallahassee, it seems, remains content with the status quo. One day, the guys discover the girls have left. A month passes, Columbus meets the ditzy Madison (Zoey Deutch), and right after they consummate their relationship, Wichita returns to tell them that Little Rock has run away with a guitar playing pacifist known as Berkley (Avan Jogia). Now three-quarters reunited, the troupe travels to Graceland, and beyond, to rescue one of its own from a danger greater than zombies: pacifist hippies.

To his credit, Fleischer capitalizes on the movie's relative repetitiveness and redundancy in several fun moments. Spelling them out would ruin the fun but suffice it to say it's often when the movie feels most familiar -- for the audience and for the characters -- that it is at its best. But for the most part, Fleischer and company are content to roll with a movie that is simply a generalized rehash of the original, with a few new faces and several new locations that don't reach full potential, whether the White House, Graceland, or a high rise hippie haven. Double Tap is less concerned with the story’s overall direction and more concerned with the here-and-now, and both ends suffer for it. It's a movie built for and around set pieces. Story is razor thin and the new characters are just as flimsy, perhaps with the exception of the brain-dead Madison, but even with her the movie could have played up the idea of the mindless zombie mentality infesting today's human race a bit more than it does.

Everyone else, at least within the main cast, is back up to form without missing a beat, not that these characters are particularly challenging to begin with. The actors wear the characters like comfortable, worn-in shoes, returning after a decade hiatus like the movie was shot back-to-back with the original. But as with everything else in the movie, there's no forward momentum, no character growth beyond Little Rock's yearning to set off on her own in a spat of teenage rebellion. The returning characters, and everyone and everything else in the movie, fits into a mold that offers no wiggle room and certainly no escape. The movie is sadly more manufactured than it is organic, playing like a cash-in a decade in the making.

Zombieland: Double Tap Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Zombieland: Double Tap's 1080p Blu-ray presentation is built on a solid digital foundation. The picture's digital sourcing shines on Blu-ray, hindered only by a fairly steady barrage of lower light noise artifacts (and some visible traces in bright light, too). Away from that the image is pristine, capable and hearty with just about as much visual muscle as the format can provide. Clarity is excellent from top to bottom, from live action visuals to digital renderings, such as the overgrown White House exterior that practically passes for real and looks quite sharp on Blu-ray. Characters are wonderfully revealing, showing extremely fine skin details and makeup application with striking ease and command. The picture's softness is only limited to source; viewers won't find anything less than Blu-ray's best on the detail side. Likewise, colors are dynamic. Pop and punch occur frequently, whether natural greens or spilled blood, of both the bright red fresh and murky blackened varieties. Madison's pink clothes and accentuating makeup are amongst the tonal highlights, but anywhere and everywhere, no matter the spectrum's stretch or any given color's intensity or subtlety, the Blu-ray never never misses a beat. Skin tones are quite good and black level depth borders on perfection. As expected, Sony has done a great job with this release.

Zombieland: Double Tap Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Zombieland: Double Tap's Blu-ray is absent the UHD's DTS:X track, replaced by a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless option. The lack of greater spacial fill is obvious from the get-go with the Metal music that plays over the opening titles. It's fluid and fulfilling but can't quite immerse the listener in the same manner the DTS:X track can. Still, it delivers expert instrumental clarity to the sharp guitar riffs while supporting a hearty low end support and modest surround engagement. Music throughout the film follows suit, finding fine stage balance and element clarity. The track handles other core duties well, including pounding gunfire; whether rattling machine gun fire, shotgun blasts, or pistol rounds, each shot presents with a promise of destruction, which it does on impact with zombie flesh, usually accompanied by an audible squish. Action chaos immerses the listener regularly, whether that gunfire, zombie rushes and groans, or other varied support pieces. It's all harmoniously assembled. Positioning is key, and the listener will always feel turned in the appropriate sonic direction to match on-screen action. This extends to gentler atmospheric effects, too. Dialogue is clear and nicely detailed, enjoying accurate front-center location and faultless prioritization.

Zombieland: Double Tap Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Zombieland: Double Tap includes an audio commentary track, deleted scenes, featurettes, and more. A DVD copy of the film and a Movies Anywhere digital copy code are included with purchase. This release ships with a non-embossed slipcover.

• Audio Commentary: Director Ruben Fleischer breaks the movie down from narrative and technical perspectives.
• Extended Bloopers & Outtakes (1080p, 4:52): Humorous moments from the shoot.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 12:42 total runtime): Included are The Beast Is Gone, Van Ride, Would Have Never Met, In Bed, Breakfast at Babylon, Car Ride, Melting Gun, There's a Party Tonight, and Alternate Proposal.
• The Doppelgängers (1080p, 7:02): A closer look at Thomas Middleditch and Luke Wilson's characters and places in the movie.
• A Day with Bill Murray (1080p, 3:11): A look back at Murray's character and performance in the first film and his return for this film (along with a few other familiar faces).
• The Rides of Zombieland (1080p, 4:14): Exploring the cool vehicles that drive around the movie.
• Rules for Making a Zombie Film (1080p, 9:10): Just as Columbus has his own rules for surviving a zombie apocalypse, cast and crew share some rules concerning sets and locations, increasing the sequel's size and scope, zombie makeup, and even coffee.
• Making Babylon (1080p, 5:04): Inside (and outside) the movie's hippie tower.
• New Blood (1080p, 4:51): Spend a few minutes with the movie's new characters.
• Single Take Doppelgänger Fight (1080p, 2:18): One camera captures a key fight scene in the movie, as seen through the viewfinder.
• Zombieland Ad Council (1080p, 0:32): How to plan for the apocalypse.
• Previews (1080p): Additional Sony titles.

Zombieland: Double Tap Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Zombieland: Double Tap remains a national affair, with characters only taking names from the continental United States, but it's in Italy where the movie ever-so-briefly detours to find its funniest and most memorable scene. Even remaining close to home, though, the movie never feels like it really goes anywhere, content to recycle gags within something more resembling a framework than a story. It's still a fun little ride as it is, but groundbreaking this is not, not within the Zombieland world and certainly not within the larger Zombie genre. Sony's Blu-ray is first rate, though. Video and audio presentations approach reference quality. The studio has included plenty of extras to boot. Recommended.