As good as a non-sequential sequel goes

Rating: 8/10 (19 May 2007)

Now a lot of people were initially skeptical about this movie. No Jim, no Naomi and no Hannah in this movie. You got to be kidding me!! It looked like a lame attempt by some lame Americans trying to Americanize (therefore making it lame) a perfectly good Euro-thriller. What we got was something far different.
28 Weeks can't top 28 Days, which is something I want to mention right away. But this film was surprisingly effective. While it did possess some plot holes, they were not enough of an issue to make the movie unwatchable. What we get with this installment is a taut and gripping movie that is both political and intriguing in its composition. From the first scene of Robert Carlisle running for his life to the last, we get a sense that the gloom and doom of this world follows the original vision of the film a little more closely. We all know Danny Boyle wanted Jim to die a the end of 28 Days Later...., but he chose to make the ending much happier. This movie is just downright bleak, a perfect reminder that not all cool movies need to be happy at the end to leave a feeling of satisfaction when you leave the theater.
Juan Carlos Fresnadillo did the best he could even though he had to use the cheap mediums of CGI to get the same effect 28 Days Later did without them. But one thing he did maintain was just the downright creepiness of the Rage victims. Unrelenting and genuinely scary, their thirst is still quite a sight to see. While the ambiguous ending laid the foundation of another sequel, at least they proved a movie with a completely different cast and crew can still carryover quite well.