28 Weeks Later

[beyond]

Couldn't find a thread on this, so here goes:

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_atomic/28weekslater/

Anyone as excited as i am?
The infected seem to be a little less angry this time but who gives a fuck?
This is a must see for me.

[Latte Thunder]

I can definitely get behind this. The trailer looks pretty good and with a much bigger scale, it looks like a contender.

The Muse song really works, too.

[Chris Slack]

Looks cool to me!

[DylanDog]

Somehow, despite how good the first one was, I wasn't overly excited about this.

Until I watched the trailer. Thanks for posting it! Now I can't wait.

[Sillygirlwithaflower]

Can't wait to see this.

Was kinda unsure how they would equal the intensity of the first, the 1st movie freaked me out.... but with the storyline they have to work with hopefully it should be crazy.

[Frank the Hammer]

This weekend, right?

[Chris Slack]

Friday morning

[Remo D]

While I didn't look too deeply at the reviews, I noticed that reactions ranged from a simple "It sucked" to "All of the gore, none of the brains" to "Pretty good, but not quite up there with the first one."

Allow me to extend the range to the opposite end--I'll come straight out and say that 28 WEEKS LATER is a top-drawer sequel and completely worthy of the original.

Not that the original was a completely unassailable sacred cow--I thought it was terrific, but I doubt that it could have existed separately of the Romero-verse much more than SHAUN OF THE DEAD could have--nor did you ever hear me complain about SHAUN OF THE DEAD, for that matter. I'm just suggesting that 28 DAYS LATER didn't spring out of nowhere and assert itself as an original, groundbreaking masterpiece of "don't call them 'zombies'" horror. Therefore, to me, there's no reason that a sequel necessarily has to be second best.

And 28 WEEKS LATER is by no means a quickie, cash-in sequel. That would have been easy enough to do--sketch another dozen cardboard characters together and give the plague another crack at them. Wham. You want filmmaking like that? Fox Atomic (the same company releasing 28 WEEKS LATER in America, of course) just gave it to you with THE HILLS HAVE EYES 2, and we all remember what a smash THAT was.

28 WEEKS LATER is a logical, believable, carefully planned follow-up to the events of the original. And you know right from the prologue that it's in capable hands (Danny Boyle stepped down as director, but Juan Carlos Fresnadillo has the look and feel of the original down perfectly). It's populated by genuinely human characters (no Cillian Murphy this time, but Robert Carlyle is dependably excellent), and you FEEL it when bad things happen to them. No shortage of that, either--the reviews ARE correct when they play this up as a major gorefest.

The visuals include panoramic firebombings, some great overhead work as a fleeing vehicle tries to elude clouds of poison gas, and a claustrophobic nightmare straight out of THE STAND (only illuminated by sniper-scope in this instance). Some have complained that when the action gets too herky-jerky, it's impossible to tell what's happening to whom. Okay--there are a couple of bits where you have to pay attention--but isn't that what you're there to do in the first place? You won't get lost. I kept waiting for the part where it would slow down... you know, the second half that can't possibly live up to the first half (I read that review, too)? For me, it never happened. Nearly two hours FLEW by, and the movie was over before I knew it.

I already know there are some people out there--people whose opinions I respect--who will vehemently disagree with me. Fine by me. That only means that YOU'll never be sure unless YOU see this for yourself!

And when you do, be sure and let me know what you think.

[Remo D]

Ummm... am I the only one here who actually DID see it after all that?

[Chris Slack]

Ummm... am I the only one here who actually DID see it after all that?

I'll be seeing it this weekend, probably on Friday. Tuning up my motorcycle and Mother's Day consumed my time last weekend

[Melissa]

I saw it and thought it was fantastic.

[Griff [Mola]]

I saw it too and also thought it was wonderful. A zombie(-esque) action movie that thankfully didn't forget the horror. Quite probably the best of its ilk, in recent years.

[Chris Slack]

Great stuff! Could this and "Planet Terror" be ushering in a new era of big budget, high quality zombie movies?

[DylanDog]

Yeah, sorry for the wait, but I checked it out today. I liked it as well. Loved the extermination sequence and the new plot device that led to the re-emergence of the infected. I thought it was not only believable but also made for a nice idea to follow up on in a future release.

I did not like how the dad re-appeared near the end. That whole "zombie confronts family" bit is not only tired, but felt forced and unnecessary here. And though I'm sure it's total coincidence, it seemed ironic to see another helicopter scene like that.

All in all, a really cool film.

[skankdrummer]

saw it tonight ...... pretty damm good. I didnt like that Steve Perry lookin dude (the dad)

[Chris Slack]

Saw it for a second time today, just as good as the first