It gets serious this time.

Rating: 8/10 (3 September 2007)

I really liked "28 Days Later". Just like the Dead movies by Romero or the remake by Zack Snyder, "28 Days Later" featured a somewhat nihilistic vision of the future and even had a message behind it. When I heard that there would be a sequel, I wasn't really glad about it, especially when I read the title which I first thought was just ridiculous. After having read lots of positive reviews, I stopped prejudging and developed a certain interest.
And I was not disappointed with the movie. First of all, it is nicely connected to its predecessor and not just the same story brought up a second time, but it felt like some elements of the first movie were thrown away and other aspects absolutely pushed to full dedication. "28 Days Later" came up with little but still pretty shocking gore. But compared to "28 Weeks Later", the movie was children's entertainment - I'm talking lots of messy blood splashes, burned people, masses of skeletons and the already infamous helicopter scene.
The real terror which makes the movie as good as it is does not just evolve through some gore. The real terror is in how totally merciless main characters suddenly get infected or killed, in how relentlessly innocent people get killed by the government to prevent the infection, in how you started caring for something you see in ashes right away.
In term of atmosphere, Fresnadillo did a good job in replacing Danny Boyle..which easily could have failed since Boyle is a great director. Actually, I must say that I found "28 Weeks Later" partially even more gripping than its predecessor. The sight of empty London also was increased this time and though it looks beautiful, it's also extremely scary and unsettling.
For sure, it is not a perfect movie. Though there were some great actors at work, others didn't really seem fitting. Mackintosh Muggleton had his first role in the movie and he's not doing a really bad job, but I had a hard time ignoring how his emotions seemed unreal. But I can ignore one fresh actor, especially since he is a child and it did not interrupt the "enjoyment" of the movie.
Another thing I would criticize is the small development of the plot. The entire idea of the movie is presented early in the movie and built upon, but sometimes I had hoped for a little more story around the main plot.
All in all, "28 Weeks Later" was a very satisfying experience. It had lots of gruesome gore, shocking moments, great and gripping music, an interesting plot, well developed characters and a fantastic cinematography which led to a stunning atmosphere that made me care.
-> 8 out of 10.