28 Weeks Later movie review

The next movie I want to talk about is 28 Weeks Later. Now this is the sequel to 28 Days Later, however it doesn't follow the original characters, but instead follows an all new story with an all new cast. The movie starts off during the original outbreak, to establish the family in the movies background. On a side note, I never realized that this movie was quoted and referenced in one of my favourite songs by The Anorexic Olsen Twins, the song "So This Is What Brains Look Like" has the lines: "We were losing our minds In the dark of the cottage Cause we burnt the last candle We'd eaten all of the canned food... ... And he said Its just us in here and its them out there And survivors a few you know...". These lines reference the beginning of the movie. I just thought that that was interesting. Ok, so back to the movie, so basically after the opening scene we find ourselves back in London 28 Weeks Later. The infected have all died off, and American soldiers and NATO have come in to London to start resettling people into the city. The settlers are restricted to living in a certain contained part of the city. Well as we all know in a horror movie, that a set up like this is always doomed to fail, and sure enough human error causes the outbreak to happen again. This movie, ramps up the violence and the gore, as well as the drama. The directors still keep the awesome indie rock soundtrack and the artsy shots, which helped to make the first movie so great. The scenes in the sequel are bigger, and you can feel the money that they spent on trying to make the movie bigger and better than the last, there are far more characters in this movie than there were in the first one too. Now, I am not always a believer in that bigger is better, and I feel that comes across in this movie, I do think that it is in many ways inferior to the first movie. So basically the movie follows a family, a father who left his wife for dead in the beginning of the movie, and then he is later joined in London by his son and daughter. But focus soon changes to an American Sniper, a medical officer, the kids, and a rogue helicopter pilot. The action is pretty fast paced, and there really is no dull moments, it just seems like every scene is trying to be bigger than the scene before it. The make up and effects are fantastic, though some of the CGI was a bit over done, but overall the effect of the movie is really good. There is however not the same humanity that was present in the first movie, and the characters to me were a little less endearing. Overall it was a good movie, not quite up to the par of the first one, but still really good. The gore and violence was almost comical at times in its over use, which to me didn't create a scarier scene but more so a cheesiness to it. I mean really, we're going to be chopping people up with a helicopter propeller?! That is the silly shit that I would expect from a grindhouse movie like Planet Terror, not in a movie that seems to be taking itself seriously. The first movie of the series is a fresh new take on the zombie film genre, where this one to me seems more like what one would expect from the zombie movie genre. This movie is really just fleeing from the hoard, and the military. I don't know I guess, I just wanted and expected more from this movie. Don't get me wrong, it is good, and I will re-watch it, but I would almost always choose 28 Days Later over 28 Weeks Later. The acting, however was really well done for the parts that the characters were given, and the characters were really well cast. The other thing that this movie does do really well, is that feeling of impending doom, that feeling that there is no hope for these characters, and honestly the way it ends...well you will see what I mean when you watch it, just don't be expecting a happy ending my friends, because that isn't what this is about. Would I recommend this movie? Yes, I honestly would, especially if you are looking for a fast paced action horror movie, just don't expect the psychological horror of the first one, and know that they went more for the gross out on the horror than the true psychological aspects that the first movie went for. Definitely a fun movie, and if the first one of the series didn't exist I would probably have liked it more, because I wouldn't have been comparing it to its predecessor. But, yeah, pop up some popcorn, and sit back with some friends and enjoy this exciting horror movie, just don't expect any big impacting feelings from it.