A sequel that no one really asked for or expected, Zombieland: Double Tap arrives 10 years after its predecessor. The first instalment offered guts and gore and was far from taking itself seriously, with annoying nerd Columbus (Eisenberg) paired up with gun-toting Tallahassee (Harrelson) as the zombie apocalypse took hold of America.

It’s fair to say that a film titled Zombieland does give you a clue of what to expect. This is not high-brow art, you’re not going to leave the cinema pondering the meaning of life, and to be honest you probably won’t rush to go and see it again. But Double Tap follows in the original’s footsteps by offering gruesome laughs, zombie killing montages and genuinely being quite entertaining, with the cast obviously having a lot of fun. The fact that the original cast is all back together may explain the 10-year gap, considering Emma Stone and Woody Harrelson have been busy gathering (and winning, in Stone’s case) award nominations.

The plot of Double Tap is wafer-thin to the point of being non-existent, with it almost being a carbon copy of the original but with even less purpose. However, there are some genuinely funny set pieces and at just 99 minutes the film never risks feeling flabby. Eisenberg manages to make Columbus even more irritating than in the first film and Harrelson revels in the general silliness of it all.

Was a sequel to Zombieland really needed? Probably not. Is it a bit of pretty harmless fun? Definitely. While there definitely isn’t a need for a third instalment, it’s good fun to see the group back together this one time. Fans of the first film, be sure to stick around until the very end of the credits.

RATING: 3/5

INFORMATION

CAST: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin

DIRECTOR: Ruben Fleischer

WRITERS: Dave Callaham, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick

SYNOPSIS: Columbus, Tallahassee, Wichita, and Little Rock move to the American heartland as they face off against evolved zombies, fellow survivors, and the growing pains of the snarky makeshift family.