Damn. . ."28 Weeks Later" . . .what a disappointment

[bert]

OK. . so some of the scenes were well thought out, and I get what they were going for, BUT:

the two HUGE plot inconsitencies:



1) Bob Carlyle showing up multiple times. .it was like the producers said "hey, we got Bob Carlyle! Let's use him in every zombie scene we can. . even tho it violates everything we know about the 28 Days later universe -- namely, that the Infected wouldn't necessarily follow his children (and how did he survive the bombings to show up in the subway tunnel????

and the biggie:

2) a MILITARY helicopter, during a MILITARY action, goes "off the grid" for the majority of the movie (to perform a non-authorized extraction!!) and nobody notices? Really. How does that work?

No airspace clearance, no re-fueling. . . . . .

the shaky camerawork didn't do the film any favors either. . and too bad one of the "innovative" zombie-kills was utilized not 3 weeks ago in Rodriguez' half of "Grind-house"

overall, a pretty big disappointment. Some good moments, but only a 1 1/2 star film.

[The Beast Of Yucca Flats]

The owner of my local comic shop offered me a free pass to this movie a week or so ago. Needless to say, I declined without thinking twice.

[Matt Doc Martin]

The owner of my local comic shop offered me a free pass to this movie a week or so ago. Needless to say, I declined without thinking twice.

I'd see it on a free pass.

[hellokittykat]

Oh no, we've already got tickets to see it tonight! :(
Maybe I'll get drunk before we go.

[Matt Doc Martin]

Oh no, we've already got tickets to see it tonight! :(
Maybe I'll get drunk before we go.

That makes EVERYTHING better

[hellokittykat]

I didn't have time to get drunk but I didn't think it wast that bad.:eek: That's probably because I went in with low expections.;)
I agree with the issue bert had in his first spoiler.
With the second issue, I agree that it's unlikely scenario but I'm willing to suspend my disbelief.

[bert]

I didn't have time to get drunk but I didn't think it wast that bad.:eek: That's probably because I went in with low expections.;)
I agree with the issue bert had in his first spoiler.
With the second issue, I agree that it's unlikely scenario but I'm willing to suspend my disbelief.

I was excited to see Harold Prerrinou tho. . . I've missed him on Lost, and I loved him on OZ

I'm glad you liked it. . the low expectations probably helped.

I went in having read no pre-release reviews or anything, and was expecting greatness -- and was pretty disappointed.

From what I heard leaving the (crowded) theatre, I wasn't in the minority. . lots of folks didn't like it.

[hellokittykat]

I was excited to see Harold Prerrinou tho. . . I've missed him on Lost, and I loved him on OZ

I'm glad you liked it. . the low expectations probably helped.

I went in having read no pre-release reviews or anything, and was expecting greatness -- and was pretty disappointed.

From what I heard leaving the (crowded) theatre, I wasn't in the minority. . lots of folks didn't like it.

Which one was he? The sniper or the helicopter pilot?

[shrike]

I think I understand what Bert is getting at.

As a 'standard Hollywood' horror pic it is serviceable.

The thing is that 28 Days Later set a precedent for a more 'realistic' horror film. Many of the standard cliches went out the window. 28 Weeks Later felt like it COULD have been much better than what it ended up as... too many coincidences though kinda spoiled the movie experience for me.

I also agree with your assessment about Robert C's character. It was like 'Oh come ON now...' :rolleyes:

[bert]

Which one was he? The sniper or the helicopter pilot?

Copter pilot

[Deathstroke]

Thanks bert.

I didn't think I was going to see this movie anyway, but this is the latest in a line of reviews that confirms that notion.

[BlairH]

Copter pilot

WAAAAAAAAAAALT!

Waaaaaaa-ha-ha-aaaaaaaaalt!

WALT!

They took my SON!

[Alan Lynch]

I thought it was alright. Bobby Carlyle's stuff was...silly. Really silly. And it's shallow as hell. But I thought it was a decent enough little shocker; there are some excellent scenes in it.

[The Beast Of Yucca Flats]

I'd see it on a free pass.

Even though I didn't like the 'happy' ending they ultimately saddled the film with, I was never really interested in ever seeing a sequel.

[Dedagda]

so what did you think of Hotfuzz?

We just saw it...


AWE-some!

[bert]

so what did you think of Hotfuzz?

We just saw it...


AWE-some!

I thought the gore was completely over the top, and out of place (don't get me wrong, I LIKE gore flicks. . it just didn't fit).

but overall, I really liked it.

some parts were hysterical :)

[Tobias March]

I thought the gore was completely over the top, and out of place (don't get me wrong, I LIKE gore flicks. . it just didn't fit).

but overall, I really liked it.

some parts were hysterical :)

...............yarp? ;)

[Charles RB]

This thread has both made me decide not to see 28 Weeks Later and really want to rewatch Hot Fuzz. DVD NOW!

[Alan Lynch]

...............yarp? ;)
Narp.
This thread has both made me decide not to see 28 Weeks Later and really want to rewatch Hot Fuzz. DVD NOW!
You should still see 28 Weeks Later. It's alright, if a bit silly.

[Indigo Al]

I have to say, I didn't hate it at all. The jumpcuts actually annoyed me in the first one, but I was glad for them here. I think my gore and brutality tolerance is getting lower.

[Ian Boothby]

The first film was amazing. A good grounded, dark horror trip with odd twists and dark humour. This one started with a good ethical problem the father had and then... it was all bullshit running and characters we don't care about dying, more running and characters we don't care about dying, more running and...
bleh

[Motormouse]

28 Weeks Later isn't as good as the the first film, true, but i urge you to go and see it, if only to see the best "death-by-rotarblades" scene ever shot. :D

[bert]

28 Weeks Later isn't as good as the the first film, true, but i urge you to go and see it, if only to see the best "death-by-rotarblades" scene ever shot. :D



nope :)

Rodriguez out-did em in Planet Terror (his portion of GRINDHOUSE) 3 weeks before this came out. (the Planet Terror version is much gorrier too).

too bad too, as it's a clever gag.

[Tobias March]

nope :)

Rodriguez out-did em in Planet Terror (his portion of GRINDHOUSE) 3 weeks before this came out. (the Planet Terror version is much gorrier too).

too bad too, as it's a clever gag.

Yes but it doesn't look like we'll get to see that pic for a long, long time.

GARN!

[Tobias March]

Yes but it doesn't look like we'll get to see that pic for a long, long time.

GARN!

Ooo, it only took 11 months. Okay I'm done :tongue:

[Charles RB]

While I'm here, a question:

If the Infected fought the Reapers from Firefly, who'd win?

Coz I figure that the instant a Reaper gets the Rage virus, he will literally explode from the feralness, covering every other Reaper with his blood - and so on in a chain reaction.

[Monty_Cristo]

i'm not here to rate the movie but i really loved the beginning of it; Carlyle running for his life. i just liked the score playing in the background and the desperation of the situation.

[HomerJay]

I finally just saw it on PPV.
I actually really liked it a lot. I agree about the improbably of Robert Carlyle's returning and the rogue helicopter, but I also thought it had some of the best set pieces of any horror film in recent memory:
- The beginning escape.
- The firebombing of London.
- The helicopter rotor massacre.
- The escalator full of skeletons.

[Chiroptera]

Even though I didn't like the 'happy' ending they ultimately saddled the film with, I was never really interested in ever seeing a sequel.

Wait wait... 'Happy' Ending? :eek:

It's been awhile since I saw the movie but Nothing really seemed happy about the ending at all to me. :confused:

My personal big beef was the way the military responded to the re-emergence of the Virus. "Okay, we've got thousands of civilians in a small area, armed military personnel swarming over the city, and a lose rage infectee. What do we do? Hey lets turn out all the lights and cause a mass panic, that makes a whole lot of sense!"

That just really bugged me.

Then the rotor blade scene, while cool, was one of those things that just seemed way over the top and unrealistic in a movie where they generally tried to at least stay more on the side of realism than fantasy.

And as everyone said, Daddy dearest chasing his kids all across London was just ridiculous and really unnecessary.

It wasn't a bad movie, but it's certainly not something I'd ever choose to see a second time. They left the end open for a third, but they pretty much convinced me not to bother with going to see it.

[Stanlos]

I think I understand what Bert is getting at.

As a 'standard Hollywood' horror pic it is serviceable.

The thing is that 28 Days Later set a precedent for a more 'realistic' horror film. Many of the standard cliches went out the window. 28 Weeks Later felt like it COULD have been much better than what it ended up as... too many coincidences though kinda spoiled the movie experience for me.

I also agree with your assessment about Robert C's character. It was like 'Oh come ON now...' :rolleyes:

The Director purportedly wanted to do something with domestic and so he took liberties.

Like, a lot of them.

[Stanlos]

While I'm here, a question:

If the Infected fought the Reapers from Firefly, who'd win?

Coz I figure that the instant a Reaper gets the Rage virus, he will literally explode from the feralness, covering every other Reaper with his blood - and so on in a chain reaction.

I think the end result would be kinder gentler reapers--the rage virus would take out the raping and sewing of folks skin into garments while they were living. It would be more Eat Eat Eat which is a lot less frightening.

[Gilda Dent]

I saw it on BD a couple of weeks ago.

It probably isn't bad if you don't go into it with high expectations, and there are a couple of nice moments, particularly the sniper duel in the alley, but there were too many plot points that stretch credulity, and too much of the movie relies on people acting like idiots.

Idiot moments:

Bringing a civilian population back into Britain so soon after the virus destroyed life on the island and carries the potential of doing the same if it escapes.

The kids running away into a still infected area like five seconds after coming back.

The military cordon being porous enough to let them escape in the first place.

Number of guards on the woman carrying the infection that months earlier killed millions and has the potential to end human life? Zero.

The infection is out! Lets herd everyone together into a confined space instead of initiating a lockdown that keeps everyone isolated from everyone else so that we can easily identify and kill the infected.

This woman is the only asymptomatic carrier known. It is imperative that we get her off the isolated island and onto the European continent so that the virus can be spread across all of the Earth other than the Americas.

On the other hand, there were some good parts:

The aforementioned sniper duel. "Three shots and only one hit. He's lost his nerve. I need you to run in a zig zag to get his attention. He'll reveal his position. He's going to miss. I won't." Quick, calm thinking.

Using the threat of spreading the virus to spy on the personal lives of the civilian population, a clear metaphor for governments, both in the US and England, increasingly eroding the right to privacy in the name of national security. It's a shame they didn't do more with this.

[Tobias March]

On the other hand, there were some good parts:

I agree with your latter point, I really wish they'd done more on this. The director's previous film, Intacto, is bloody great, and I'd recommend it. Especially for a wonderful Max Von Sydow performance.

Danny Boyle says he's making another sequel and he'll direct this one. Looking forward to a return to the form of the first film. All out war on the Continent?

[hellokittykat]

"28 Weeks Later" and "Wickerman".

Two movies that almost got me kicked out of the theatre I was laughing so hard. :tongue:

[bert]

Wait wait... 'Happy' Ending? :eek:

It's been awhile since I saw the movie but Nothing really seemed happy about the ending at all to me. :confused:


I *could* be wrong, but I think Beast was talking about the first film (where in America, the 3 characters all survive the film).

[Charles RB]

Bringing a civilian population back into Britain so soon after the virus destroyed life on the island and carries the potential of doing the same if it escapes.

I can believe that one, because I can't see any nation wanting the refugees from a 60 million strong nation for too long.

Though I do wonder why the army guys are American. France and Ireland are nearer to Britain, surely they'd have loads of refugees and a strong military presence, possibly even (being EU states) being in charge?


Number of guards on the woman carrying the infection that months earlier killed millions and has the potential to end human life? Zero.

The infection is out! Lets herd everyone together into a confined space instead of initiating a lockdown that keeps everyone isolated from everyone else so that we can easily identify and kill the infected.

This woman is the only asymptomatic carrier known. It is imperative that we get her off the isolated island and onto the European continent so that the virus can be spread across all of the Earth other than the Americas.

...oy. I know the army is often dumb in these films but that's really dumb.

Though not as dumb as the kids getting flown out of Britain with latent infection. Why not just dump an Infected in Paris during rush hour and be done with it? Plus it alters the "Britain has been quarantined and everyone else is still fine" thing in the original film, which I really liked. I'd say that's more of a horror story than the Rage virus spreading everywhere else: the idea that, suddenly, we're the same as all those far-off places like Darfur, something horrible goes on and refugees flee but most of us ignore it and are unaffected.

I *could* be wrong, but I think Beast was talking about the first film (where in America, the 3 characters all survive the film).

They all survive in Britain too.

There's an alternate ending on the DVD