Alright, finally got around to giving it a bash ... some thoughts:
1) The opening scene was really funny - I enjoyed the 'first world problems' in an office setting as un-noticed carnage escalates outside.
2) Yes, they should have just done four different characters within the same world. I don't understand the need to keep the same characters from the movie.
3) Some of the 'emotional stuff' needs decided work ... the dialogue, the acting ... it lacks importance, if that makes sense? It feels trivial, a bit generic ... it needs work.
4) The idea of them being cursed when finding other survivors I actually quite enjoyed.
5) Tallahasse needs better dialogue. Some of it is just the sort of thing he'd say or do, but other parts in his dialogue felt under-written and off-the-shelf. This guy has more of a flair to what he says at all times.
So yeah, it's the 'fun-pocalypse' angle, which can work. I'd not want to see a bunch of immitators though - there's enough poorly written zomedies out there - and, I kinda feel that, if "they're" not going to take the genre seriously and treat it with respect (particularly when trying to find ways to freshen up the approach - and failing), then I'd rather "they" leave the genre alone entirely and leave it to the dedicated sorts of folks - it's clear-as-day that the folks working on TWD have a great love and respect for the genre - a love and respect that I don't see applied to many other zombie-related productions, where it can feel more like people exploiting the genre and treating it like a tricked-out whore for a quick buck, rather than seeking to do something worthwhile to elevate the genre.
Went off on a tangent there ... so yeah ... the 'fun-pocalypse' thing can work, and it worked in Zombieland, but Zombieland has always had an asterisk next to it for me, a proviso of sorts, that it's just a bit of fun. It's enjoyable for this - singular - to have this sort of fun and irreverence with zombies employed, but this isn't how it should be done generally.
And yes, Shaun of the Dead is the "zomedy" out-there. Every single one since has been riding it's coat-tails, and 99.9% of the time falling right-the-hell-off immediately. Zombieland was a rare exception ... even if it didn't reach the dizzying heights of Wright & Pegg's love letter to the genre.
In summary - this Zombieland pilot needs work - the characterisation and emotional core is the weakest point here, which is unsurprising as that's the hardest thing to nail, but they got it so right in the movie ... I would have really preferred it if they had just taken four totally different people in this same world and gone from there, rather than trying to shoe-horn these new actors (and creative staff behind the scenes) into the custom-fit shoes of Harrelson et al. The new cast wasn't terrible, but the shadow loomed very large over them - they should have never been placed under that shadow in the first place.
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Originally Posted by kidgloves
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