For those of you thinking, “Oh no, not another Hollywood sequel!” you can relax, well at least until you see the film, and not because it is bad but because it is an action-packed thriller that will get the adrenaline flowing.
28 DAYS LATER was an OK film probably most famous for the scenes of deserted London and the fact that it was shot on £3000 MiniDV cameras; also it had “zombies” that could run really fast. But it also had its faults, which don’t need to be reiterated here. In fact you don’t even need to have seen Danny Boyle’s original to enjoy the new film.
It starts with Robert Carlyle and his wife hiding away in a country cottage with another older couple, until a mob of rage victims arrive and break into the house, but Carlyle’s character manages to outrun the attackers and escape. Then we jump forward to 28 weeks later. The virus has been wiped out and the US army is starting to help get Britain back on its feet by establishing a safe haven on the Isle of Dogs. Britons who happened to be out of the country during the epidemic are being repatriated and Carlyle’s two children happen to be among them, while he is “running” the new community (he’s a glorified caretaker). When the children decide to leave the confines of the new haven to visit their old home they find their mother hiding there. She is taken back to the military base where it is discovered she may have immunity to the rage virus even though she is still contagious. When Carlyle’s character discovers she is still alive he uses his AAA pass to visit her, they kiss and the rage virus becomes active again.
From here on the action kicks in as the children, aided by a medical researcher played by Rose Byrne, tries to get them to safety when she realises that they may also carry the same gene as their mother. Aided by a couple of well-meaning US soldiers they run through the streets of London to get to a helicopter that will take them to France.
Production wise it is similar to the original with lots of grainy footage and shaky, hand-held camerawork that does become a bit annoying at times. Deserted London is still impressive, especially as it has look like it has been abandoned for 28 weeks. Seeing the Docklands being firebombed was also particularly satisfying. There is no real need to comment on the acting because it is not really that important to the plot. Carlyle seemed to be having fun in yet another set of contact lenses.
The film is obviously aimed at the US audiences, not only because it has the US Marines to the rescue but the London geography is a joke, for us locals. It certainly got a laugh at the closing screening at SFL6, when our heroes had four minutes to make it from the Docklands to Regents Park, on foot! But there were plenty of other examples of that, but if you ignore them and simply go along for the ride then it is a great action film that shows that sequels can outshine their originals. And the ending is so much better in this one, it even got a cheer.
28 WEEKS LATER is on general release from May 11.