Review of 28 Weeks Later (2007) by Seanw. — 13 May 2007
Simply stated, 28 Weeks delivers in a big way. I had two criticisms, though they don't prevent the film from being highly enjoyable. First, the principle characters in the film are little more than victims, and I was never attached to them the way I was in the original film.
My favorite characters were the guardians and subcharacters that appeared throughout the film, and most of them are killed. Secondly, the director was compelled to recreate the horror of the infected that was discovered during the first movie, undoubtedly for those who never saw the original.
However, I think he ventured slightly into the realm of overkill. There were too many visually disturbing images. I felt every scene in the original belonged there, while I'm not convinced the same case existed for the sequel.
The rest of my comments are all positive. The same maoral dilemmas exist in the sequel that did in the first. The movie opens with a husband and wife being trapped by the infected in a bedroom. The wife ignores the husband's urges to come with him, running instead to a closet to save a child.
When the infected break in, she yells for him to help them and he must either slam and lock the door or run to his wife's aid. Clearly, in this type of environment, the traditional rules of behavior don't apply.
What should he do? I also enjoyed analyzing the military's approach to containment, which involves considering whether to shoot uninfected civilians who are being chased by the infected. They are likely dead anyway and are potential infected themselves.
At times, I found myself questioning their decisions, but after thinking about it, one tends to agree with them. Again, I enjoy the moral dilemmas faced by such terrible circumstances. Finally, the film ends with a few second clip of a tantalizing lead-in to a potential third movie.
It also provides an instant lens regarding whether or not the actions of all the characters in the movie were wise or not. Go see it. It doesn't disappoint.
This review of 28 Weeks Later (2007) was written by Seanw. on 13 May 2007.
28 Weeks Later has generally received positive reviews.
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