28 Weeks Later

After rewatching 28 Days Later led me to find a new appreciation for the film, I naturally wondered if the same could be true for its sequel, 28 Weeks Later. Because, much like how I felt about the original film, I didn’t really care for 28 Weeks Later when I first watched it. So I was genuinely looking forward to rewatching this movie in preparation for 28 Years Later.  

Unfortunately, 28 Weeks Later does not hold up as well as its predecessor. Which was disappointing, especially since the film does have a rather interesting premise. 

28 weeks after the events of the first film,  U.S. NATO forces successfully establish a safe zone in London. Rebuilding the city seems to be plausible, until two young siblings break protocol to find a photograph of their mother, resulting in the reintroduction of the Rage Virus into the safe zone. So this is one of the first zombie related projects to focus on how rebuilding society could look like after it already collapsed. That’s a pretty cool concept. 

The biggest problem is that that story follows several different characters. The original film told a single story about a character played by Cillian Murphy, but the sequel tells a much different story with an ensemble cast. And there’s nothing inherently wrong with an ensemble cast, but I don’t think the film does any favors for its own cast. Especially since, in trying to make the story feel more realistic, a bunch of the characters end up dying for no real reason. So, as characters start dropping off like flies, the movie doesn’t leave the audience with a single character to root for. 

The plot begins to bounce around from one character to another, but before we get enough time to flesh out one character’s story, the movie is already moving on to the next one. And that’s a real damn shame, considering that this is a really solid cast. 

Jeremy Renner, Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Idris Elba; these are all incredibly talented actors. And they all give really good performances here. But their performances weren’t enough to elevate the material, especially since their characters all end up dying. 

Now, in case you didn’t know this, Cillian Murphy’s character, Jim, was originally supposed to die in the first film. Danny Boyle even filmed his death scene! But that ending didn’t test well with audiences, so he decided to switch the ending. And I believe this change was for the better. Sure, it may be more realistic to see that a guy like Jim would end up dying, but a realistic ending doesn’t necessarily make for a narratively satisfying one. And I really wish that someone would’ve taken that lesson and applied it to this movie. 

But I guess having all of the characters die was meant to compensate for bigger names in ensemble cast. Because, by featuring a cast of better-known actors, the sequel had a completely different vibe than the original. 

On the plus side, it was also a much sleeker looking film. But better visuals did not make for a better movie. And I guess that proves that a good story is a good story, regardless of the way that it’s told. Which is exactly why 28 Days Later holds up a lot better than its sequel. That, and the fact that it was written by someone other than Alex Garland and directed by someone other than Danny Boyle. 

So I’m glad that Garland and Boyle have returned to work on 28 Years Later. Because, if 28 Weeks Later was a sequel that the studio demanded to be made, I’m hoping that 28 Years Later was a movie that the duo actively wanted to make. And hopefully that desire will be reflected in the quality of the film. Even if it’s not great, I just hope it’ll turn out to be better than this. 

Because 28 Weeks Later would, unfortunately, not get a recommendation from me.