28 Years Later

28 Years Later info:

Director: Danny Boyle

Writer: Alex Garland

Starring: Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Alfie Williams, and Ralph Fiennes

                Hello and welcome to another week here at 1guysmindlessmoviereviews.com. Happy summer, everyone. By the time you read this, it will officially be summer, and the weather has complied with some nice 90-degree days. So, if you’re into it like me, I’m glad for you; otherwise, I hope you find a nice place to stay cool. What’s one of the best things you can do when it’s hot out? Why go to a movie, of course. So, that’s what my family and I did on Thursday of last week when “28 Years Later” came out. We attended the opening night event and got the poster. But, before I give too much away, spoilers are ahead, so don’t wait 28 days to watch this, so you can come back if you don’t want to be spoiled.

                It feels like it’s been 28 years since I watched “28 Days Later” and “28 Weeks Later”, so we re-watched them before this one was released. Honestly, I don’t think you have to. I believe that this movie would play the same either way. The short version of this review is it’s a tale of two movies. The first half is sort of a horror movie mixed in with a little coming-of-age story. While the second half more resembles a journey one would take, like in the movie “Love and Monsters”. They are both equally good, but it just comes off a bit odd after the hectic pace of the first two films.

                It’s nice to see both Boyle and Garland back for “28 Years Later” as the director and writer, respectively, especially after they both skipped out on the first sequel. You can tell that this one does have the look and feel of the first film more so than the second one. I will say that this leaves me with some questions when it’s all said and done, but let’s do a quick recap first.

                Without being too obvious, 28 years have passed since the outbreak of the rage virus. The story mostly focuses on Spike (Williams in his feature film debut) with his father Jamie (Taylor-Johnson) getting the attention during the first half and Isla (Comer) taking over for the second. They are living on a remote island somewhere in the United Kingdom and are hidden away pretty good since they are only accessible by crossing a causeway during low tide.

                The whole town seems pretty involved as Spike is getting ready to go out on his first exploration trip with Jamie. Full-on party planning and everything. In the meantime, Isla is lying at home sick most of the time. Spike’s first trip doesn’t go as planned as they run into a new type of infected that are extremely overweight and also a little gross-looking. This is one of the best parts about “28 Years Later”, the introduction of new characters and infected types. They also see an Alpha who appears to be a mutated version of the normal infected, but is larger and much more intelligent.

                This whole first part is loaded with edge-of-your-seat moments, chase scenes, and plenty of virus-infected people. None more dramatic than when an Alpha is chasing the two boys on the causeway as they are trying to make it back home. There really isn’t much of a chance to breathe during the majority of the time here.

                Once they return, Jamie tells Spike the story of Dr. Kelson (Fiennes) after they saw the fire in the distance. After Spike sees his dad with another woman, he is pissed and decides to take his mother to see Dr. Kelson. So Spike and Isla make their way on a journey where, somehow, a kid and a sick woman are able to survive multiple attacks. Including Isla helping an infected pregnant woman give birth.  That was definitely a strange part that I didn’t think I would ever see in a movie.

                Eventually, they make it to Dr. Kelson, and it turns out that he is more misunderstood than anything else. Not only is he not a madman, but he is actually quite pleasant and is more than willing to help the boy and his mother. The sad part is that Isla has cancer and will most likely die soon. So he assists her in ending her life and then gives the skull to Spike to put on top of his bone temple. Then Spike journeys back home to drop off the baby, only to go out on his own again to explore the world.

                As big of a shift as it was between the two halves of the film, the ending was unlike anything I would have imagined. Little Jimmy (whom we saw during the prologue) is now full-grown and appears to be in a gang of tracksuit-wearing people who make an appearance to help Spike. This sets up another sequel, which we knew we were getting anyway… so no real surprise.

                I have lots of mixed feelings about the pacing and storytelling of “28 Years Later”. I also have several questions that I need answered. So, I loved how the film started; it made me feel like I was watching “28 Days Later” again in some parts. The music and the way it was filmed were very well done. However, a lot of the second part (mostly the last third), there was basically no infected, and it focused more on Spike and his mother’s relationship coming to an end. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Dr. Kelson as he adds a great character that I hope to see in the next film, but that whole part almost seemed drawn out, so hopefully they are setting us up for something next.

I know another sequel is coming out in a few months, but there are still many questions I need answered. What exactly is Jimmy doing now, and what group is he in charge of? I did some research online, but are we to assume that the virus is still only located in Great Britain? Has it gone any further? Will Jamie ever be reunited with his son, and what will that interaction be like? I feel like I had more, but maybe I need to sit with it for a little while for them to come back to me.

                Other than that, I have high hopes for what is to come for “28 Years Later”, especially if Boyle and Garland stay attached to the franchise. Pretty good acting all around. Williams is great in his first role, Fiennes is great as he always is, and Comer is the best one of all here. She was pretty convincing as someone who was sick and having episodes. Maybe not Oscar worthy necessarily, but very good nonetheless. I wish I could give this a slightly higher grade, but from what I’ve seen, I can easily give this a 7 out of 10.

                That’s it for me this week. Have you seen “28 Years Later” yet? If so, what are your thoughts? Do you think the movie is basically cut into two parts, and what do you think of the acting? Please let me know in the comments below what you think. I love to hear other people’s thoughts on movies. See you next week when I will be back with another mindless movie review of some sort.