A solid 8 out of 10

Rating: 8/10 (16 April 2008)

As most people in these reviews will testify, this is one of those sequels that makes a rare event of surprising you by being a fitting continuation- The direction cuts a well-placed balance between those with 1-minute attention spans and those after something a little more dark and melodramatic.
The pre-credit opening scenes are a rapid escalation into the horror and violence that 'Later normally provides, and Robert Carlyle gives a solid performance as ever. Danny Boyle is a secondary producer on this outing so the look and feel has been kept faithful in what seems to have been a quite happy student-teacher partnership in direction under Juan Carlos Fresnadilla.
The plot synopsis revolves around the re-introduction of surviving UK members back to London, after the original virus victims/zombies have starved and wasted away. This makes for some tense moments when Carlyle's children escape the borders of their quarantine zone in search of their old home in the suburbs; typically great set-piece shots and empty streets being the series trademark.
Plot spoilers- sadly it's all about the inconsistencies that stop this film being 9 stars, but in fairness any horror film that slots neatly together in reasoning is a novelty. As someone commented- the US military presence are rather forced and stereotyped with their banter, and a lot of their quarantine methods are ludicrous. Whether this was intended or not is a matter for debate, as there is supposedly a latent political context.
So many things- * why do the soldiers even think twice before killing Carlyle's infected wife who causes the 2nd outbreak? this could be explained by him beating them to her execution and kissing her in a moment of passion.
There's also the US militarys' order to open fire on all civilians as 'valid targets' after they have lost control of the safe-house and people are flooding out. This was annoying and frustrating, even in the most trigger happy gun-addled mind this would never happen, and there were clear distinctions between the infected and non. Picky, but it did seem a little far fetched that they would just say "kill everyone" in an event which would see them internationally disgraced. Not to mention his friend's order to scrabble several miles to a drop point in the middle of a clearly open city. Thanks buddy...
There is a refreshing callous disregard for age, gender and relationship in this films; the killing is indiscriminate and the regular horror film rules of punishment-for-indulgence do not apply. This is one of the things that makes 28 Weeks Later an interesting branch of this genre along with its refusal to give in to god-awful CGI monsters and predictable shots.
You will not feel cheated by the end, but I am hoping they don't make it a trilogy; Nothing personal, it's just the natural downward decline of these lucrative films (think Aliens etc) ... A very enjoyable watch and a good gory melancholy romp