MPAA Rated – R
It’s 1:31 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right
| 28 Weeks Later Movie Stats & Links |
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| Starring: | Robert Carlyle, Imogen Poots, Mackintosh Muggleton, Rose Byrne, Jeremy Renner |
| MPAA Rated: | R |
| Released By: | Fox Atomic |
| Kiddie Movie: | Only if you want them to have nightmares. |
| Date Movie: | If she likes a gore-fest. |
| Gratuitous Sex: | Some peeping-tom action. |
| Gratuitous Violence: | Lots of killing, eating, and blowing shit up. |
| Action: | Lots of running. |
| Laughs: | Nope. |
| Memorable Scene: | The helicopter. |
| Memorable Quote: | Nothing really. |
| Directed By: | Juan Carlos Fresnadillo |
| Produced By: | Enrique Lopez-Lavigne, Andrew MacDonald, Allon Reich |
Stupid sister. Now you’ve doomed us all.
I figured I would open this review of “28 Weeks Later” with those seven simple words. Why? I’ll get to that later.
Anyway, “28 Weeks Later” is the sequel to “28 Days Later,” and the rage virus is back. It isn’t supposed to be back because we have found out that Great Britain was, indeed, quarantined during the initial outbreak of rage (rage is a virus that make you like a zombie on speed, where you are either going to be feeding on people, or infecting them along the way), simply so that those where were infected would die of starvation. It’s now 28 weeks later, and a UN military/rebuilding force, led by the United States, has been dispatched to London to help rebuild the city and let people back in. Don (Robert Carlyle) can’t wait because after surviving the initial rage infestation, in which he presumed his wife was dead, well, his kids are coming back to live with him.
Enter Tammy (Imogen Poots) and Andy (Mackintosh Muggleton), Don’s kids.
Reunited with dad, the kids learn of mom’s supposed fate, but Andy is having a hard time dealing with the death of mom, and the fact he doesn’t have a picture of her, so our rambunctious kids flee the safety of the green zone (the safe area of London) to go back to the old homestead and get some things, including a picture, and low and behold, there is mom. Mom is alive, it seems, because although infected with the virus she doesn’t have the symptoms, namely the desire to eat people or vomit blood on them. The military finally round up the kids, pack up mom, and it’s back to the medical center.
Now dad finds out that mom is alive, and because he is still filled with guilt for leaving her to die the first time, he uses his high security clearance to visit, maybe ask for forgiveness, and it’s time for the virus to rear it’s ugly head again.
People are running from the infected, the infected are gaining their stronghold, so the military pulls out the “Code Red” order, pretty much meaning all the people they just let back into the city are going to get killed.
But wait, we’ve got Tammy and Andy to worry about, don’t we? Well, the good doctor Scarlet (Rose Byrne) thinks one of the kids might be the secret to finding a cure for the virus, now that mom is dead, and with the help of one of the soldiers, Doyle (Jeremy Renner), it’s off to the races to safety.
I suppose I’ve already given away too much of the story, but I don’t think it matters because, for the most part a lot of the scenes of the movie are telegraphed as it moves along. We know the rage virus is coming back, and it comes back through in an obvious way. We know the rage infected people run really fast trying to eat or infect other people. And we know there will be a group of survivors doing their best to stay one step ahead of the infected.
Me, I think I liked “28 Weeks Later” actually a little more than the original “28 Days Later,” even though there were a boatload of plot points that just seemed ludicrous, i.e., why wasn’t there 24 hour surveillance on mom? The rave infected folks were just as fun to watch as in the first film, you’ve got just as many stupid people who deserve to die in this one, and I have to say this movie had the best use of a helicopter in a movie, ever.
With that I’m giving “28 Weeks Later” 4 stars out of 5. Sure, the first film was a little more creepy with our hero waking up in the hospital only to find everyone gone, but this one had that helicopter.
And, oh yea, the stupid sister. Sure, it was necessary to set up the sequel, which might be called something like “280 Million Dead Later,” but thanks to her and her “promise” the rest of the world might be screwed.
That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!