Directed by: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Written by: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, Rowan Joffe, Enrique López Lavigne & Jesús Olmo.
Six months after the rage virus was inflicted in on the population of United Kingdom, most of the infected have starved to death. The US army has secured a small part of London to begin re-population. As people move back to London, the virus starts spreading, and the nightmare begins again.
Originally it was 28 Weeks Later that my friend Rose recommended for me, I just wanted to watch 28 Days Later first, mostly to understand the story but partially because it was directed by Danny Boyle. It was of course a bit disappointing to see 28 Weeks Later wasn't directed by Danny Boyle. It's not that I wouldn't like Fresnadillo, considering this is the first movie I've seen from him. It was just mostly when a sequel has a different director, there might be a drop in quality. Of course it's not a fact, it just has happened way too often (Hostel 3, anyone?)
But my friend Rose made a great point while we discussed the movie. Sometimes you have to lose something great to gain something great. Maybe we lost Danny Boyle as a director, but we gained an astonishingly good Scottish actor, Robert Carlyle. He is the main reason I watched this movie. If it wasn't for him I might've left it at the first one, because it hardly felt like it needed a sequel.
Did 28 Days Later need a sequel? Probably not, but I'm still glad we got one.
The story in 28 Weeks Later is happening in significantly smaller area. In 28 Days Later the main characters travel a lot while in this one the characters mostly stay in London, and especially that small, secured area in London. The more confined milieu gives the story something more, since the virus and the infected aren't really a thread somewhere outside, but it's inside, among you. And it creates even more chaos when the US soldiers are trying to control the situation. It's brilliant and agonising.
While all of the movie is very good, one of the most effective moments is at the beginning of the film, when Don (Robert Carlyle) runs when the infected attack his wife. Another friend of mine had seen the movie and described it to me when we were younger, when I was about 11 or 12. And I still remember the way she described it and how impressive, maybe even awesome that scene was. You're used to seeing people being heroes in movies, and that was the opposite. Even if we may not really experience Don's fear in that scene, his actions are incredibly powerful.
Also the shaky camera, quick and fast shots at the beginning were a bit worrisome. I was afraid that's what most of the movie was going to be like, because it just kept going on and on. It's effective, but also makes everything really hard to follow. Yet you could see the most important things.
The only thing I like less about this movie is how American it seems. Of course it takes place in UK, and Juan Carlos Fresnadillo is a Spanish director, so it's not the movie itself. It's mostly how the US army is involved in securing London, letting people back in London. It's annoying, but also it seems really fucking typical. It's annoying because you know that's exactly how it would go.
28 Days Later doesn't necessarily need a sequel. 28 Weeks Later is different, and a certain touch is missing with Danny Boyle, but Juan Carlos Fresnadillo has made something haunting and amazing. You don't need to see it, since the story is different, but it's still absolutely worth your time.
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
9 / 10
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