Good sequel, not as good as the first.

Rating: 7/10 (13 May 2007)

28 Weeks Later was a sequel I didn't want to see.
The first film was so good in my books, that the idea of a sequel would undermine the whole thing. Fortunately, this film is hugely enjoyable.
The set pieces are thumping; the first ten minutes is a relentless siege upon a survivors den. The editing is extremely fast, which hardly gives the viewer any time to see what's going on. You're either going to love this or hate this.
The story is pretty good, considering it's a sequel. It revolves around a family - the father (Robert Carlyle), a cowardly figure, who you can actually sympathise with; the daughter, who looks after her brother, who apparently have special blood. I won't spoil any of the film for you, but suffice to say, when the family enter the quarantined district, things get a little out of control.
The involvement of American troops is not exactly inspired, meaning that we get some very clichéd military speak, which undermines the whole urban grittiness of the first film. Still, the actors are good and some of the best action sequences come from the military side of things.
Overall this is a very good film. It sometimes meanders - the film wanders into gung-ho action flick mode sometimes. But that's not exactly a big quibble - if you want a really entertaining film to see this week, see this one.