The Rage of Destruction (28 Weeks Later (DVD))

Member Name: paranormalhandy

Product:	28 Weeks Later (DVD)
Date:	06/06/09 (25 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Exciting opening, a nice atmosphere

Disadvantages: Too silly, hyper-energetic, in the end - you don't care

From the moment back in 1898 in "War of the Worlds" when HG Wells first imagined London's population using the defeated Martians' alien plants as kindling for their fires, most post-apocalyptic works of art have had to deal with the ideas of reconstruction and rebirth. Without that, it would not be "post-" and most stories would end quite quickly and very definitively.

"28 Weeks Later" is the sequel (of course) to "28 Days Later", and deals with exactly that: the reconstruction and rebirth of a post-Rage-ravaged London. The original movie, released in 2002, was a startling mixture of post-modernism and technical innovation which successfully walked the tightrope of parody (as a pre-production "Shaun of the Dead" was waiting in the wings) and also managed to avoid clear, blatant plagiarism. Certainly, as you can see from my earlier review of "28 Days", it is possible to pick apart many of the influences - John Wyndham, Terry Nation, and George Romero, basically - but unlike the proverbial dissection of the frog, none of the charm is killed off in the process (or even left undead).

"28 Weeks Later", however, is a very different film, in atmosphere, execution and (it appears) budget. If you have not seen "28 Days" I would recommend you watch it before watching this film, and most importantly, before reading any more of this review - there will be spoilers!

The film opens fantastically well, with a hugely dramatic scene (happening during the original outbreak of the Rage disease) in a picturesque farmhouse. Some of the scene is filmed in almost total darkness, before some Infected human burst into the house and all hell breaks loose. Main character Don (played by Robert Carlyle) soon finds himself running through a field, chased by several hundred of the Infected, hungry for blood. Most importantly, he has left his wife Ann trapped in an upstairs room in the farmhouse, about to die. Unable to save her, he finally bursts through the undergrowth onto a riverbank, and escapes the Infected in a small boat (in a scene which has rather unfortunately humorous echoes of Indiana Jones) ...

Half a year later, the Rage disease (and the by now starving, zombie-like Infected) has died out in an empty Britain. One small area of the East End of London has been designated a "safe zone" by UN forces (the American Army, in reality). The enforced quarantine of the UK (as seen in the last half hour of the first film) seems to have been a success, and Rage has not spread to any other country. Now Don is returning to "District 1" London to be reunited with his two children. The subsequent introductory scenes about this tiny enclave of civilisation, guttering and flickering amidst the huge, gleaming expanse of an empty London, are particularly affecting and unique. We see public transport happening in a demilitarised zone, with a demoralised population. We see surreally clean and modern flat accomodation set up for the returning population. This part of the film is appropriately eery, as the sheer quiet of London is conveyed in both sound and shot. This is not the confusing silence of the London from the first movie - this is a London of loss and grief, a scar with no voice.

It is after this point, I must admit, that I began to lose interest in "28 Weeks Later". The director, Juan Fresnadillo, is very keen on dramatic cuts, juxtapositions, and unusual or overly-obvious camera angles. But it has the effect of a very rich meal: if your starter is prawn cocktail with a side order of chicken curry, you probably won't plough into the main course with much enthusiasm. Then, there's the problem of Robert Carlyle. Previously to "28 Weeks Later", Oor Bobby had appeared in the dreadful, Walmart-checkout-friendly disaster flick "Flood", which was show on British TV in two parts on the May Bank Holiday of 2008. Quite frankly, "Flood" is rubbish - and Carlyle seems to have carried his character over into "28 Weeks". There's lots of earnestness, and not enough depth. (As a side issue, Carlyle now seems to have cornered the market in slightly down-market sci-fi and fantasy, with appearances in "Eragon" and "Stargate Universe", and a new movie about the - yawn - Knights Templar in pre-production).

Thankfully, Carlyle is soon Infected (by a kiss from his wife, a dormant carrier of the Rage virus who is discovered hiding in a deserted London flat when her children go AWOL from "District 1") and we no longer have to withstand his cod-stern determination. The Rage Virus is suddenly out in the general population again, and spreads rapidly (mostly from the lips and teeth of the rabid Carlyle himself). In the first movie, all of the Infected were unknown bit (no pun intended) actors: this time, the main protagonist of the disease is a well-known movie star, which does seem to alter the chemistry a bit. Rather than think 'there's a terrifying member of the Infected', we instead ponder 'hmm ... there's Bobby Carlyle with red contact lenses ... ' which just adds an extra barrier to the suspension of disbelief.

Plot-wise, I really don't want to reveal any more about the movie that I already have. Suffice is to say, I found the last hour pretty unwatchable, as ra[idly turned into a charmless slasher movie (and believe me, there are many charming ones). Imagine a night at a rave with a Nintendo DS strapped to your eyes, and you get some idea of the fast-cut, fast-flashing "delights" of the second half of "28 Weeks Later". However ... getting through to the end is worth it for the final twist, a terrifying expose of the one thing that humanity hoped would never happen (and never did, at least in the first film ... )

Of the DVD extras, the director's commentary is actually very interesting - partly because it shines light upon the rather strange "franchise" mentality that Alex Garland/Danny Boyle had about the follow-up to their original movie. I'm sure Fresnadillo's direction and writing were seen as being a valuable and necessary change in speed from the first movie (which, despite its greatness, is admittedly probably quite slow). But for me, it didn't quite work.

£3 in Morrison's. Sold - but with reservations!

Summary: A half-good film with a dramatic tail off past 60 minutes