Hollywood nabs an indie horror that made the big bucks...and that's not a bad thing

Rating: 8/10 (22 January 2008)

The original film came out of nowhere and became even more than a cult classic. Danny Boyle's original 28 Days Later redefined an ailing 'Zombie Horror' genre and put this intense, story driven spin to it and it worked and it was fantastic. It only made sense that they would hard to find a way to serialize the successful film and I think they did a great job but in all fairness they threw tons of money at it and made it a completely different type of film while still keeping the core idea in tact. I think it's terrifically ironic that the film is focused on the US Military coming in and taking over Great Britain following the Outbreak much like Hollywood took over Danny Boyle's small little indie film. Still the story is decently well written although toned down significantly and I would not call this sequel story driven as much as it is horror and action and somehow it doesn't surprise that the majority of people seem to think 28 Days Later was a superior and better film than the original and I would tend to agree with them. I suppose the thing is 28 Weeks Later is just fast paced, adrenaline charged and more entertaining as far as Horror/Action films are concerned. There are no returning characters from the first installment which always disappoints me but the returning characters is the infected beings that come around for another attack.
Strangely the lead male in the film is kind of split between two...one in the first half, and one in the second half of the film. Robert Carlyle takes on the role of devoted father who is living with the guilt of having left his wife (his kids' mother) behind in an abandoned farm house where they were hiding during the infection. Carlyle is very good and has some strong moments of emotion in the film. Then he gets to take a completely different turn as one of the infected, crazed zombies and gets the prestige of really being the first member of the infected that we, as movie goers, follow. He doesn't just get mowed down right away like the rest of them. Imogen Poots and newcomer Mackintosh Muggleton are the focus of the film as Carlyle's children who return to Great Britain after being overseas during the outbreak. They both do a great job together and are essentially the focus of the entire film. They carry the weight of the movie on their shoulders and do it without hesitation. Amanda Walker does a decent job as the American Doctor who discovers that the kids may have an immunity to the infection and does everything she can to protect them. She is good as kind of a supporting main character but they don't utilize her much. Jeremy Renner is also kind of the back seat star as the reluctant hero who finds himself determined to help these kids and the doctor escape before the military obliterates the infected area. He just isn't used as much as one would expect for a hero.
Very much unlike the original film this is far less of a character study and more about the actual infection and following one of the infected more closely and the fast re-spread over the area. What the means is you get more special effects, buckets more blood and gore but only a portion of the story. Technically in this case it does make it more of a mainstream horror and maybe more interesting for horror fans which is why some consider this superior. I think director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo is a little green to be taking on a project like this and doesn't have quite the vision that perhaps Danny Boyle had behind the camera but nonetheless from a Horror Genre perspective it was very well done and very entertaining and you do still care about the characters. I don't oppose serializing this franchise, I just wish they brought back someone from the original film and maybe they will in the future. I think it could be a very lucrative franchise if Danny Boyle takes back the helm. 8/10