28 Weeks Later (2007)

 I do like sequels when they decide to do something different from the previous installment. There is no Cillian Murphy and no Noamie Harris so we don't know what becomes of those characters and there is no reference to them in this film. Instead of Cillian Murphy, 28 Weeks Later uses Robert Carlyle so as disappointing as it is not to have Murphy involved, having Carlyle is a very good replacement. Instead of getting Danny Boyle to directed we get Juan Carlos Frenadillo and whilst he is no Danny Boyle, he does give it a good go a makes the film feel different enough from the last film to feel like some time has moved on and yet close enough to the last one so it feels like it is in the same world.

The opening scene is often touted as one of the best opening scenes in a movie and it's not hard to see. The start sees Robert Carlyle’s Donald seemingly going about things as normally as possible with his wife Alice before things go absolutely chaotic and it ends with Donald abandoning his wife. Fast forward in time and Donald is reunited with his kids and he tells them that their mother has died. I genuinely like the twist that Alice had in fact survived.

With a clearly bigger budget they are able to do things that they could never have done in 28 Days Later. There is more stuff on the road to suggest that something bad had gone on instead of just a few bits of rubbish all over the roads. Here we get cars turned over and rubbish bags piled high. Also the names are bigger and it's quite surprising how many famous names are in this. Not just Carlyle but we have Idris Elba, Rose Byrne, Jeremy Renner & Harold Perrineau. Everyone is pretty good but its clearly early on im of their careers so they all would go on to give better performances later on

If I had an issue with the film it would be that the second half of the film doesn't quite live up to how good the first one was. Once Carlyle is infected and isn't in the story as much the film does just feel like a generic horror film. Things move along fine but I was never as invested in the first as I was in the first half. The end of the film sees the action move to Paris but of course this doesn't lead to anything which is a shame but bearing in mind that it took 18 years for us to get another 28 film then it would suggest there were issues. 

This might go down as a bit of a nitpick here is that scene where Andy and Tammy are about to be picked up at Wembley Stadium but in fact it is actually the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. Most people outside the UK probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference but it's the sort of thing that I spot. 

Overall I like 28 Weeks Later but dont think that it is as  good as Days. The attempt to do something different is a big reason why this film is worth watching again. I initially didn't like it BECAUSE it wasn't like the previous one but as the years have gone by I have appreciated it a bit more and it is till worth watching if you are a fan of the series.