Thursday, October 11, 2007

28 WEEKS LATER (2007)

TITLE
28 Weeks Later

STARRING
Jeremy Renner, Rose Byrne, Harold Perrineau, Imogen Poots, Mackintosh Muggleton, Robert Carlyle, Catherine McCormack

WHAT THE BOX DOESN'T TELL YOU
Please save us Danny Boyle! Let me preface this review by saying I am a huge fan of the original movie, 28 Days Later. It is among my top ten favorite movies (good company considering The Shawshank Redemption, Unbreakable, Imitation of Life, Holiday Inn, Die Hard, Wonder Boys, Kill Bill, and a revolving door of 10th movies are my gold standards. This movie is unlike any of those aforementioned.) Keeping this in mind, children are not designed, nor are they intended to survive an apocalypse or a dystopian future. Repopulation among true survivors capable of the most extreme forms of adaptation is the only hope for the preservation of human life and when you throw children into a movie like 28 Weeks Later, you treat all moviegoers like kids.

I'm sure it was the first illogical premise stumbled upon, which could continue the series and simultaneously spread the virus to other land masses (apparently select people are immune but can be carriers of the rage virus and this trait can be passed down to children, but you only know it after you've been bit, bled on, sprayed, etc. and don't go fully apeshit, but are still a little weird.) The movie spirals out of control after an initial scene and fails to identify or stick with a protagonist/antagonist. Acceptable in an ensemble feature, this movie is not privy to such exclusion and then severs logic from the filmmaking process completely when it kills off every character with even an ounce of known purpose or courage, all in the vain of saving a potentially important discovery contained within the blood of two children who are of course the root of the safezone's breach, allowing the virus to recontaminate an innocent populous.

WHY I WOULD RENT IT AGAIN
No, I would not and quite simply it's because it is awful. We are asked to believe someone with the rage virus is capable of consciously stalking his son and refraining from action because the moment to strike has not yet presented itself. We are asked to believe that a government would not instantly kill a person whom they learned was infected with the rage virus. We are asked to believe too many things which contradict the original film and the virus itself. Furthermore, these things are not even in good cinematic taste. The addition of recognizable talents proves to be less compelling than the original cast, which was anchored by only one veteran of the world stage. In other words, this movie was a horrible mishap; I expect better if there is a third film in this series.

WILL MY GIRLFRIEND/BOYFRIEND LIKE IT?
No, they won't because it is a bad sequel with possibly an even worse third movie forthcoming in the trilogy.

SPECIAL FEATURES
There are supposed to be some features centering around the original movie, I'm unsure why they appear on this disc.

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3 comments:

Manny said...

Admittedly I haven't seen ya in over two yers, but when did you become a Tarantino fan? I remember taking you and Steve to Jackie Brown and I thought you were gonna heave right there.

I'm not surprised you like Kill Bill, I'm SHOCKED.

-Manny

Manny (again) said...

Oh, and this movie was awful. It's a lack of Danny Boyle (production/direction). The whole kid thing - agreed.

You should come to LA - you would do well/like it.

kathycfg said...

I really, REALLY, do love Kill Bill, Vol. 1 and 2. I am trying for L.A.; are you there now - doesn't seem like grad school should be over for you?

This movie let me down in ways few could possibly understand. I think the brillance of 28 Days Later and the way that it makes you think about societies (especially in the last 25 minutes) is second to none! Weeks Later is just that - weak and we all know it's about profits.