Zombieland: Double Tap is superior to the original in every capacity. The humor is funnier. Its action is more intense. Each character is richer and deeper. Even the celebrity cameo raises the bar!

Set after the events of Zombieland, Columbus, Tallahassee, Wichita, and Little Rock find themselves struggling with surviving mundanity and each other more than the zombie hordes. Pressured by an overbearing insistence upon settling from Columbus and Tallahassee in a situation that does not truly meet their needs, Wichita and Little Rock take off to live life on their terms. When Little Rock meets a boy, she leaves Witchita behind in an ironic twist. Left alone, Wichita returns to Columbus and Tallahassee who have found a new companion, Madison. Once reunited, the team then moves on to find and… make Little Rock come home, I guess?

When I say it out loud, the patriarchal overtones of domestic bliss and nuclear family that seem to be the ideological destination of the film are creepy. I’ll be completely honest, this truth escaped my notice until I was writing it out here. Well damn. At least it’s subtle?

Also, it’s not important. The point of Zombieland isn’t the story. Similar to the original, Double Tap is about a nice blend of zombie action with quirky, satirical genre comedy. It benefits from being made 10 years after the original. While this would hurt most franchises, Zombieland was a little hampered by having been released while the zombie movie craze was in full swing. The majority of its satire was lost in a genre that was already feeling pretty tired, and this worked against its effectiveness.

Where Zombieland struggled with originality (outside of that scene), Double Tap has less competition to stand out against.

Additionally, Zombieland: Double Tap skews harder toward comedy than its predecessor. This differentiates itself more clearly as a satire of the genre, which is a pleasant direction. I laughed more and the laughs were louder. The comedic tone also helps alleviate the thin (if not outright bad) story. Composed as a series of short skits stitched loosely together by the plot, Double Tap creates a more effective impression of a late 90s zombie flick as opposed to outright being one.

The acting is on point. While it is always a joy to watch Woody Harrelson at his best, Rosario Dawson steals the show as Nevada. The music is a little old and a little too blunt, but it gets the job done and all of the tracks are good. It’s hard to go wrong with so much great music, but it also would be nice to feel some more creative choices.

Despite a paper-thin plot with slightly misogynist leanings, Zombieland: Double Tap is an outright blast. It’s better paced, funnier, and more action-packed than before and will make for a nice punctuation mark to your October.