Starring Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Jeremy Renner, Amanda Walker, Shahid Ahmed
Written By: Rowan Joffe and Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Directed By: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Studio: 20th Century Fox/Fox Atomic
Buy on Amazon.com link

“28 Weeks Later” picks up twenty weeks after the events that took place in “28 Days Later”. The Rage Virus that had infected the British Isles has been contained and the infected have died off due to starvation. A NATO force led by the United States Army has zoned off a section of London in hopes of repopulating the country. When things go wrong, all hell breaks loose.

I had hoped to get this DVD to review mainly because I have owned “28 Days Later” for about four years now and it had sat on my shelf unopened since then. I just never got around to watching it. Receiving “28 Weeks Later” would force me to finally sit down and watch the damn thing. Over the course of the past week I’ve managed to watch both films and I kicked myself for not getting into the series sooner.

With both movies fresh in my mind, it was a lot easier to make direct comparisons. “28 Days Later” was more of a drawn out, suspense-filled horror movie. The viewer was thrust into a post-apocalyptic world and was forced to figure out what was going on through the eyes of a lone survivor. “28 Weeks Later” is more of the gung-ho kind of horror/action film. The movie is fast-paced and contains more of an action element mainly due to the military aspect that is added to the film. When the military appears in any movie, you know that you are in for explosions and gunfights…and lots of them. If you’re a fan of the Resident Evil video game franchise then you should understand the comparisons when I say that “28 Days Later” is like Resident Evil 1 while “28 Weeks Later” is much more like Resident Evil 2.

With all of the details of the outbreak of the Rage Virus and what happens to the infected already given in the first movie, the sequel takes you back to that world by telling a new story with new characters without the hassle of re-telling what had already happened. With that being the case, I found that “28 Weeks Later” was a much better movie. The involvement of NATO and the US Military brought another dimension to the movie. There was an air of hope that England was in fact rebuilding and the military presence provided assurance that things were getting back to normal. But as thing would turn out, having the military there was most definitely a double-edge sword. At one particular point in the movie, when the second outbreak erupted, the military forces went from being the protectors to the killers in a split second. Much like in “28 Days Later”, the main characters not only had to deal with the infected, but now they had to deal with a military force that have been given orders to kill anything and everything that moves without question. It would be hard enough having to deal with angry monsters that bite and vomit blood at you let alone a jarhead in a helicopter loaded with missiles or a sniper on a rooftop shooting at you like you’re a clay pigeon.

Overall, the fast pace and action in “28 Weeks Later” really make it a much more accessible film than it’s predecessor. I found myself more emotionally attached to the main characters in this film, whether it was my hate for Donald Harris (the cause of it all), the sense of hope and loyalty I received from Sgt. Doyle or just a plain old physical attraction to Imogen Poots (She’s gorgeous!). It was obvious that there was more attention paid to the character development than in the previous film. I could have done without having both kids in the film and the writers could have provided a little more background information of a couple of the main characters but, other than that, I was pleased with “28 Weeks Later” and definitely look forward to finally seeing one of the movies from the series in theaters. Viva La France! If you watched this movie before, then you know exactly what I’m talking about.

Features:
Commentary with Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and Enrique Lopez Lavigne
Deleted Scenes
Code Red: The Making of 28 Weeks Later
The Infected: A Look Inside
Getting Into the Action: Interviews With the Cast
28 Days Later: The Aftermath Animated Comic Cook
Theatrical Trailer

Audio:
English, Spanish and French Language Tracks
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound

Video:
Widescreen (1.85:1)

Subtitles:
Spanish

Favorite Scenes: The turning point of the movie where the snipers are told that everyone is fair game and the single greatest monster death scene in film history where a helicopter is used to mow through a gang of the infected. Awesome!
Rating: R
Running Time: 113 minutes
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: