Review of '28 Weeks Later'

A sequel to Danny Boyle's 2002 film 28 Days Later, six months have passed since the Rage Virus decimated Britain and has largely been controlled with a safe zone called “District One” set up in London's Canary Wharf. Don Harris (Robert Carlyle) survived the initial outbreak by abandoning his wife Alice (Catherine McCormack) when the farmhouse they were hiding in was invaded by Rage infected zombies and has been living with regret ever since. He overjoyed to be reunited with his children, Tammy (Imogen Poots) and Andy (Mackintosh Muggleton), who were abroad during the chaos. But when the kids sneak out to find their old home and discover Alice alive it is soon apparent that she is a carrier of the virus which soon begins to infect District One…Sniper Doyle (Jeremy Renner, familiar to many as Marvel superhero Hawkeye), unhappy with the decision to eradicate every living thing in District One, collects a group of survivors including Tom and his children, trying to escape before the bombs fall.

Perhaps a bit less of the “found footage” style of the first film, this sequel certainly delivers on the horror and high-octane action of the original though perhaps with a much bigger budgets so the effects are considerably ramped up with both the highly visceral, bloody, and btrual “Rage” attacks but also with the army's attempts at confinement. The plot is straightforward with it obvious what will happen within the first 10 minutes of the film…yeah, ok, survivors are holed up in a confined space with armed guards protecting the perimeter, seems like a great idea (!). I wonder what will happen when the kids escape the camp and find their bloodied mother huddled upstairs in their old house? Hum…

There are some bigger stars on the screen this time with Idris Elba (Luther, Luther: The Fallen Sun, The Wire…) as Brigadier General Stone, Jeremy Renner (Hurt Locker, the Marvel avengers films…) as Doyle, Robert Carlyle (Trainspotting, The Full Monty…) as troubled father Don Harris, and Harold Perrineau (Lost, The Matrix Reloaded, Romeo + Juliet…) as sympathetic army helicopter pilot Flynn.

Fans of the first film will likely not be disappointed though it does repeat much of the themes of the first - Horror, fast-moving Rage infected zombies, delusional leaders, redemption, troubled characters, etc…At the end of the day this is a horror/chase flick where we compellingly watch to discover who will survive the carnage with the answer here being, unsurprisingly, “not many”. There is little of the self-reflective nature of the disaster from the first film but most viewers will not need it here. The film scene setup takes a bit of time but be patient as the action then quickly ramps up and the blood starts flowing…

Rating: “Really good but I have some issues”

Review Date: 2025-08-16

Directed by: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo

Studio: DNA Films

Year: 2007

Length: 99 minutes

Genre: Horror

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0463854/