This is a 2007 sequel to the 2002 movie 28 Days Later which is a zombie-esk film where a small group of people escape London from a horde of blood thirsty infected nutjobs. There were zombies that ate other people but this was called rage infection and transmitted by blood so a bite or just being dripped on would be enough to transfer the infection. Well after the original movie the world has moved on 28 weeks since the first infection and we start a new story which I will get to. This film was produced on a budget of $15M and went onto to make $64.2m from the box-office and DVD sales. It had a completely new cast of Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Jeremy Renner, Harold Perrineau, Catherine McCormack, Mackintosh Muggleton, Imogen Poots & Idris Elba. With none of the surviving characters of the first movie returning for this story it meant the creative people had a very popular base but a relatively clean slate to work with. Please note the smoothly segway into the plot here, which I've then ruined by pointing out what I had done. DAMN!
The story begins during the original infection wave. Where a small group of people including a husband and wife (Dom and Alice). They have secured a house on the outskirts of London and are just about coping when suddenly there is a bash at the door by a terrified boy. They let him in and it doesn’t take long to realise that the boy was being chased by the infected and they have now followed him right to their secluded hide away. They try to fight them off but lose out to the strength of the pack fighting their way in. They kill off many of the group and Dom (Robert Carlyle) decides to flea out of the bedroom window. Alice stops to save the boy but Dom has to either wait and help or ditch them all and flea.
He runs and jumps on a boat driven by another man who rescues him. The other man gets dragged into the water by the chasing horde. Dom true to form doesn’t wait and happily fleas on the boat leaving everyone to die in his wake. We then reach the 28 Weeks later stage and the Americans are co-ordinating a redeployment programme to repopulate the UK. Starting in District 1 on the Isle of Dogs a secure location fenced off from the rest of the country and managed by the US Army. The new people are brought in to return to the country as the infected are steadily dying out due to starvation. Two of which are two British children who were out of the country when the first outbreak happened returning to their homeland, they just happen to be the children of Dom and Alice. There is currently a caretaker of District 1 who has been there for the whole time and remained clear of the infection you are never going to guess who the caretaker is? Oh! ok you could guess its Daddy Dom. He meets up with his kids and he explains makes up a story about how their mother had dies. This spurs the younger son to have a nightmare about forgetting his mother so the kids decide to break out of the compound and go to their original home and find some pictures and memorable items. Whilst at the house they find, mum. Mum that is alive and slightly confused but awareness and not raging or showing any signs of the infection. The kids do the obvious thing and take her back to District 1. She is quarantined and tested and is confirmed as being infected but not showing any of the rage. She has very rare eyes in the one is brown and the blue which is the same as her son. Dom comes back involved and meets his wife and they get a bit smoochie. This gives him the rage virus and he goes on a rampage within the District. The army evacuate and the people have to flee into the desolate remains of London where the rest of the infected maybe hiding. Now I could stop here to leave you here but I will add. That a soldier and an army medic find themselves with the two kids. The medic points out that the boy with the mixed eyes may have the secret of the cure of the infection so they should protect him and get him to safety. All they have to do is, get across London to Wembley Stadium when the chopper will pick them up. Simple.
I think on this occasion I have given way too long of a plot description but there had been a lot to get through. The whole of the UK is coming back to terms with the fact it is been infected and within 28 Weeks the infected are done with it as most are dying of starvation and few remain. The US military have moved in to mop up the rest and set up a new populace for the UK. It’s a bleak setting to start with and it is trying to follow a great low budget first movie and it does it well. This could be one of the closest to the exact same score which is a subject that is gather speed with these reviews with me with 74% and IMDb on 7/10 and 71% on the Rotten Tomato’s site. That is because this is another good film with an interesting take on the zombie apocalypse angle. The infected are alive and fast compared to the historical slow lumbering lumps with bits falling off.The infected are raging screaming and alive with rage. It works and the sequel is well liked by fans and begs the question why isn’t there a third movie, well apparently before this lockdown business in 2019 Danny Boyle dropped some hints that there maybe a third and a fourth in the future. Nothing more than that at this stage mind you. Good follow up movie means, yes you should watch this movie but you have to go and watch the better first movie before you do. I would assume the first movie is in this list as well, so you could read about that one later.
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