It is hard to believe that a decade has gone by since the original “Zombieland” premiered. Now comes the sequel, which is enhanced by introducing new characters that provide spice and change for the four core survivors from the first film.

The film starts out having fun at the get-go when the Columbia logo fights off zombies from her perch. The four leads from the original movie, Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), and Wichita (Emma Stone), are still together.

As a brief intro, Columbus discusses the different kinds of zombies that they have deduced exist since the last film. The most humorous of these is the “Homer,” which wanders around in a daze.

Arriving at the now abandoned White House, they move in. Surprisingly, it appears that no one else thought to do this. They stay for some time, but tensions among the group start to surface. Little Rock, now much older, is getting fed up with Tallahassee’s teasing and antics. Wichita and Columbus are an item.

When Columbus proposes to Wichita, she hesitates due to her fear of marriage. During the night, she and Little Rock leave for parts unknown, only leaving a note behind to explain their absence. On the road, they meet a mediocre guitarist, Berkeley (Avan Jogia), with whom Little Rock becomes enamored.

Back in Washington, Columbus and Tallahassee are riding Segways in a mall to get supplies. In a candle shop, Columbus encounters Madison (Zoey Deutch), who is dressed for cold weather because she has survived by living inside a freezer that still works. She is the ultimate airhead, to whom Tallahassee takes an immediate dislike.

Nonetheless, they take her back to the White House where she has sex with Columbus. Then Wichita returns out of the blue. She was abandoned by Little Rock and Berkeley, who decided to go to a utopia named Babylon. Much sexual innuendo ensues when Wichita discovers Madison’s relationship with Columbus.

They all decide to go together to find Little Rock. On the way they discover a new kind of zombie, named the T-800, which is much harder to kill. After eating trail mix in the vehicle, Madison starts to become ill. Everyone thinks that she is becoming a zombie and Columbus is told to mercy-kill her. You hear two shots.

Tallahassee always has wanted to see Graceland. It is a dilapidated wreck. Continuing on, they encounter an Elvis-themed bar and museum. Assuming it to be abandoned, they run into its proprietor, Nevada (Rosario Dawson), who goes to bed with Tallahassee.

In a prop to Seinfeld’s “Bizarro World,” two more people show up, who are known to Nevada. Albuquerque (Luke Wilson) is the Bizarro Tallahassee and Flagstaff (Thomas Middleditch) is the Bizarro Columbus. Columbus and Flagstaff bond, but Albuquerque and Tallahassee are at odds, over Nevada in particular.

Albuquerque and Flagstaff go outside to show off their prowess as zombie killers. When they return, they have been bitten and become zombies who have to be fought off and killed. After their deaths, Columbus, Wichita and Tallahassee decide to continue their trip to Babylon to find Little Rock.

The initial interactions between the four leads are stilted and slow down the film. It is only when new characters come in that some life begins in the movie. Albuquerque, Madison, Flagstaff, Nevada and Berkeley are perfect additions to this franchise’s sense of humor.

The zombie effects are well done and the fight scenes are well-choreographed but most of these we have seen before. It is only at Babylon that the visual effects get upped a notch.

The concept of Babylon is brilliant. This is a community that melts down your weapons upon entry, and presents itself as a hippie-style paradise. The set design is very good as is the layout of the Elvis bar/museum. The White House seemed very drab, if spacious, by comparison.

The comedy can be hit-or-miss but when it hits, it is raucous and wildly funny. There are several running gags in the picture, such as their inability to find a proper vehicle that reflects Tallahassee’s macho sensibility. The interaction in the car between Madison and the other three is a priceless reminder of how annoying road trips can become. Berkeley’s attempts at musicianship and his posing are a nice addition to the ensemble.

Zoey Deutch is by far the acting standout. She truly captures the vapid cluelessness of Madison, who Tallahassee says has survived only because she has no brains for zombies to eat. But her resilience and perseverance in the face of troubles shows why she is smarter than she seems.

Of the other new characters, kudos to Luke Wilson and Thomas Middleditch, as Albuquerque and Flagstaff, for mimicking the mannerisms of Tallahassee and Columbus while retaining their own identities and nuances. The premise would have failed had they not been able to pull this off, but they performed admirably.

As far as the acting of the four leads, I found myself growing tired of the man/child that is Tallahassee—a little of this character goes a long way. The rest seemed to be going through the motions.

This is a worthy, if flawed, sequel to the original. You will be entertained and amused. If the film seems to bog down, give it a few minutes and something funny will happen. The ending is satisfying. Stay for the both the start and end of the credits as they mark an appearance of a well-known character from the first film.

Three out of five stars

A decade after Zombieland became a hit film and a cult classic, the lead cast (Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin, and Emma Stone) have reunited with director Ruben Fleischer (Venom) and the original writers Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick (Deadpool) for Zombieland: Double Tap. In the sequel, written by Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick and Dave Callaham, through comic mayhem that stretches from the White House and through the heartland, these four slayers must face off against the many new kinds of zombies that have evolved since the first movie, as well as some new human survivors. But most of all, they have to face the growing pains of their own snarky, makeshift family.

Cast: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin, Emma Stone, Rosario Dawson, Zoey Deutch, Luke Wilson, and Thomas Middleditch
Directed by: Ruben Fleischer
Written by: Rheet Reese & Paul Wernick and Dave Callaham.