28 Weeks Later is the sequel to 2003's 28 Days Later. 28 Weeks Later accomplishes the rare sequel feat of being an interesting movie on its own and still having the essence of the first movie.
Tammy and Andy are sent to repopulate Britain and reunite with their father Don, after the people infected by the rage virus die of starvation. An unfortunate break in security causes a re-infection and the re-inhabitants are left to try to survive. Many of the character's past and current situations haunt them during their quest for survival. Meanwhile, the American military, which has been charged with the well being of the people who are repopulating, is making decisions about their lives without their permission.
I was impressed that 28 Weeks Later could stand alone as a movie. 28 Weeks Later's antagonist is less the zombies and more the interpersonal and policy problems. Dad, mom, son, daughter, military, and humanity all struggle against each other to find the proper balance and to figure out the most humane solution to the infection problem. The writers' (Rowan Joffe,Enrique Lopez Lavigne, Jaun Carolos Fresnadillo and Jesus Olmo) decision to abandon the characters in the previous story line and pick up with new characters makes it easy for a viewer who missed Days still understand Weeks. For those of us who had seen Days, Weeks did not forsake its predecessor. Weeks uses many of the storytelling elements of the previous movie. The music, some of the themes and a lot of the visuals are taken directly from the previous movie. It has the proper mix of novelty and familiarity.
Robert Carlyle plays Don, the dad, with an emotional precision unusual to zombie movies. Don's character is multi-faceted, with surprising depth. There is an apology scene when he must essentially beg for forgiveness from someone who probably should not forgive him. His admissions are heartfelt and his emotions honest. He leaves you wondering what you would do in the same situation; another feeling you almost never get in a zombie movie.
The writers also did a great job of figuring out how work in British people who had never been in contact with the infected. Sent away on a school trip, the children, Tammy (Imogen Poots) and her little brother Andy (Makintosh Muggleton) had no exposure to the infected or the horrors they caused. It was a fantastic way to introduce characters who would be horrified and have no jading.
Imogen Poots is remarkable as Tammy because of her ability to go a little bit crazy and also to stay strong in the face of what they to endure to survive. There is a scene in the dark near the end of the movie that could have gone a little cheeseball if Poots wasn't able to restrain her emotions to a controlled frenzy.
For sheer pinchability, Jeremy Renner takes the cake. Renner plays Doyle, a soldier in the protecting American Army. His character faces a unique moral dilemma in the film, first be a soldier or first be a person. For a soldier he is incredibly tender and sweet. I wanted to cuddle him.
Like in all zombie movies, there is a great deal of "what the heck" moments. As my friend Eric says, "The military treats every problem like a nail because they only have a hammer." The short sided policies of the military are stunning and they do a great number of downright stupid things. In one scene they lock the front door but don't lock the back door. In the military's defense, no one else in the room encouraged the closing and locking of the back door either. People succumb to the infection much faster than in the first movie. The "twist" of the movie can be figured out if you understand foreshadowing and can count to three. The flaws weren't enough to make 28 Weeks Later unenjoyable.
I had real fears that this movie would try to play too much on the heart strings, using the children for false suspense or drama. Much to my surprise and glee, 28 Weeks Later did not put its predecessor to shame.
LaRae Meadows
laraemeadows@gmail.com
FilmFanatix
The Movie Insider
Monsters and Critics
Movie Pulse
Premier Movie Reviews
Associated Content
Spout
Writers's Cafe
Livejournal
Myspace Profile
Myspace Blog
Vox
Blogger
No comments:
Post a Comment