28 Weeks Later Review

"28 Weeks Later" reviews

Movie

28 Weeks Later

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2007-05-11 22:46:54

Rating

3/5

Provider

CinemaSource

Review

A nonstop assault on the senses almost to a fault, 28 Weeks Later is not your average sequel in that it actually equals, if not tops, its predecessor.

Story

With 28 Weeks Later being a sequel to 28 Days Later, surely you weren't expecting normalcy to sweep over a still-rebuilding London, right? The movie opens with one of the more memorable sequences in recent years—that is, if you can refrain from covering your eyes and ears. Don (Robert Carlyle) and his wife (Catherine McCormack) are amongst a houseful of sitting ducks who think they've outrun the last of the Rage-infected. It's not long before Don leaves his wife for (un)dead as he runs like hell to save himself. Cut to 28 weeks later, when the last of the infected have seemingly died off and London is close to achieving that aforementioned sense of normalcy, albeit with a caveat: It is only inhabitable in a quarantined ''green'' zone. Slowly, British refugees are being allowed back in. Among them are Don's kids (Mackintosh Muggleton and Imogen Poots), who are devastated about what apparently happened to their mum and eager to venture to their old house. So they do, slipping through the security barriers set up by the U.S. military that now guards the city, and in the process they—by way of a massive plot twist not to be revealed here—indirectly trigger the return of the virus. Now they're on the run from the infected and the trigger-happy American forces while being chaperoned by an American doctor (Rose Byrne) and sniper (Jeremy Renner). All hell, once again, has broken loose.

Acting

Like 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks opted to spend most of its likely modest budget on everything other than the cast. But as always, an actor's talent can't be measured by his or her per-movie quote. Lost's Harold Perrineau, as a helicopter pilot who serves as the eyes in the sky, will be the only actor most people will recognize, but his presence is mostly intermittent until the end. The true star is Carlyle, whose name might draw blanks but not his vast resume (which includes Trainspotting, The Full Monty and Eragon). Carlyle's performance, it's safe to say, has two very different shades to it, and both are compelling—let's leave it at that! His onscreen kids, newcomers Poots and Muggleton, wind up with the most screen time and handle it like seasoned vets. It's always a risky proposition to have inexperienced child actors with big roles—in a horror movie, no less—but these two deliver and make the wholly unrealistic seem more real. As do rising stars Renner (North Country) and Byrne (Wicker Park), both of whom give us some grownups to root for, in addition to the kiddies.

Direction

Trepidation is usually warranted with sequels, especially when no one from the original has any involvement other than an exec-producer credit for the original's writer and director. But this sequel doesn't play by those rules. Director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo—whose thriller Intacto was highly regarded—has absolutely everything to do with that. He outdoes 28 Days' director Danny Boyle visually, creating images of a post-zombified London that are somehow scarily realistic. You can't help but marvel at the end product and then ponder the logistical undertaking it must've involved. The director also knows how to frighten the living daylights out of us, even if we know what is coming and when. When he puts his visual skills together with those scare tactics of his, though, that's when unforgettable sequences are created, like the assault-on-your-senses opening. Oddly enough, however, that kind of horror occasionally holds 28 Weeks back. When Fresnadillo doesn't leave any room for daylight, literally and figuratively, the film can get a tad claustrophobic. The script is partly to blame. Initially clever, the story evaporates in favor of Fresnadillo's fun. That usually means our fun, too, but a break from the bleak every now and then wouldn't hurt.

Bottom Line

Hollywood.com rated this film 3 stars.

Movie

28 Weeks Later

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2007-05-11 00:00:00

Provider

MyMovies

Review

Danny Boyle morealess managed to reinvent the zombie genre with his 2002 hit "28 Days Later" and now Spanish director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo takes over the reigns of the franchise with this follow-up. But, given that this is only his second feature film, can Juan Carlos justify expectations? The action is set six months or so after the original movie. The rage-filled zombies who ravaged the country have all starved and the US Army is in charge of a mission to repopulate London. People are arriving back in Docklands while the rest of the country is slowly being cleaned up but as you can no doubt guess, it's not long before the virus resurfaces and people are running for their lives.

Considerably more blood-thirsty than its predecessor, "28 Weeks Later" certainly isn't for those of a fragile disposition. But for horror fans this is a dream come true. Fresnadillo has made the infected much scarier with blood and terror oozing from every orifice as they sprint, not stagger, towards their prey while those fighting back use increasingly innovative weapons to defend themselves - one scene involving a helicopter will have you squirming with delight. And the army's method with dealing with an outbreak is every bit as terrifying as the infected.

The reasonably low-key cast work well with Robert Carlyle standing out as a grieving husband who gets the shock of his life. And London too is just as much of a character, her deserted streets giving the film a spooky and unsettling effect as the survivors try to reach safety.

It's rare that a sequel outperforms the movie on which it's based but for dedicated horror fans "28 Weeks Later" may just be that film.

Movie

28 Weeks Later

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2007-05-04 15:00:36

Provider

Review

Dystopian Zombie movies don't get much more violent than this. Six months after the events of Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later, the so-called 'Rage Virus' has killed off the entire population of Britain, decimating London and every other major city along the way.

After quarantining the British Isles, the American army declares the virus has died off and enter the UK to begin reconstruction, starting with a 'Green Zone' on London's Isle of Dogs. In the first wave of returning refugees, a father, Don (Robert Carlyle) who survived the original outbreak is reunited with his children Tammy (Imogen Poots) and Andy (newcomer Mackintosh Muggleton). Don carries a terrible guilt, as he only managed to survive by abandoning his wife as zombies attacked their hide-out, months earlier. But before Don can start rebuilding his family, a terrible secret emerges - the virus is not dead, and this time it's more lethal than ever.

With the help of US army heroes Scarlet (Rose Byrne) and Sgt Doyle (Jeremy Renner), the family not only attempt to flea the bloodthirsty, cannibalistic zombies, but the rest of the US army whose orders are to wipe out anything that moves.

The jumps, blood, guts 'n' gore come thick and fast in Juan Carlos Fresnadillo's (Intacto) movie. But as with George A Romero's more thought-provoking zombie flicks (Dawn Of The Dead), it's not just about flesh eating, there's also a subtle socio political message thrown in and plenty of moral dilemmas, particularly for family members to discuss afterwards.

Without giving too much away, Carlyle is on great form, revisiting the disturbing violence he brought to Trainspotting, while refreshingly believable teenagers Poots and Muggleton inject some convincing terror, especially when the lights go out underground. However, the real star of the movie is the overall production. London is convincingly transformed into a ghost town thanks to some impressive shots of deserted landmarks and the horrifying scene involving a helicopter and a few hundred zombies in an overgrown Regents Park will live long in the memory.

Not for the faint hearted, 28 Weeks Later is a high-octane thriller that'll have you gripping the edge of your seat - and scowling at anyone who sneezes in your vicinity for weeks afterwards.