A bland copy of the original

Rating: 5/10 (17 December 2007)

In 2002, the zombie genre was forever altered by the arrival of Danny Boyle's gritty and realistic "28 Days Later", which first and foremost introduced a new brand of zombies, the supercharged, red-eyed sprinters which made for a delightful change to the classic Romeroesque undead. Shot mostly on hand-held low-tech camera (which contributed greatly to the general feeling of the story), the movie followed a small group of survivors after a virus outbreak in London. The viewer was instantly dropped into the center of the steamrolling action and followed through to the end in a dramatic, very human story that most of all felt as if it could be happening right now outside your very window. And it was scary, as hell.
Now, 5 years later later, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo directs the sequel piece, "28 Weeks Later", with a similar attitude and look as the original. The storyline, without divulging any crucial spoilers, centers around a small group of survivors living in a military-guarded security area during a rebuilding time of London, after what is believed to be the extermination of the virus infection. Not long into the film, we do however get to see a lot of people running around, chased by "infected ones", and like the original, some touching moments.
Unfortunately, as good a copy as this new edition might be in it's feel, it does lack the spontaneity of the original. While Danny Boyle's movie kept far away from classic movie clichés and always kept the viewer on the edge, this one feels a bit to calculated. Almost as if it tried to much to be the original, but with failing result. Not to mention some really bad turns towards plain goofiness and absurdity (relating to the last 30 minutes). Also, I feel obliged to comment on some rather heavy usage of shaking cameras, which although may do well to convey a feeling of panic, feels a bit overdone after a while.
So, as a conclusion; as with most sequels, "28 Weeks Later..." does not live up to it's predecessor, which remains as the ultimate piece in new-genre zombie flicks. And we shall do well to hope that they don't decide to produce a "28 Month/Years/Decades Later". Not even if it's starring Clive Owen or Pierce Brosnan.