Apart from its somewhat predictable plot, Zombieland: Double Tap is an entertaining and humorous movie with an intriguing cast of characters.

The first Zombieland movie was released back in 2009 and went ten years without a sequel, which is why the announcement of the second film came as such a surprise. Because I had seen the first one as a kid, I was excited about seeing the sequel.

Despite its name, Zombieland is far from a horror movie: it is a comedy through and through. The sequel’s general mood is very similar to the original; it is lighthearted in nature, unlike other movies centered around zombies that tend to be more serious.

The movie centers around characters Columbus, Tallahassee and Wichita, as they look for Wichita’s sister, Little Rock. While well-paced with an interesting storyline, the plot often struck me as predictable. Major events in the story reflect patterns stereotypical of an adventure-type movie, and there are not a lot of surprises. However, the story’s slightly cliché nature benefits the movie as well, as its simplicity adds to its lighthearted feel.

Zombieland: Double Tap’s characters are amusing, but stereotypical. Most of the characters in the movie follow common stereotypes of American culture and media. There is the nerd, the dumb blonde, the redneck, the rebellious teenager and the hippie. There is not a lot of character development, and most of the characters are static—the same in the end as they were at the beginning.

The movie almost felt like an extension of its prequel. Both Zombieland films’ simple story and stereotypical characters make them into movies that could be watched without thinking about any potential deeper theme. The Zombieland movies just let the audience sit back and relax.

But the main charm of Zombieland: Double Tap is not in the characters or the plot, but in the humor. The characters often come together to create funny scenarios, and the whole plot revolves around humor and jokes.

Humor from the first movie reemerged with a new twist, from Columbus’s 73 rules of surviving the zombie apocalypse to the “zombie kill of the year.” Additionally, there were plenty of new jokes, as well as multiple references to other movies and shows.

It was also fun to see humorous references to the original Zombieland, though watching the prequel is not required to understand Zombieland: Double Tap.

All in all, while the movie was playful and ridiculous at times, with a fairly generic plot, its humor makes it a good watch if you ever want to get away from stress for a bit. I would give it a 77/100.