28 Years Later
Danny Boyle doesn’t miss! At 68 years of age, the man is still pioneering cinema; and he managed to do it again on the revisit of his and Alex Garland’s zombie universe. While the quick flash cut style of the original is difficult to watch now, it was absolutely the style of the time and Boyle managed to mimic the energy of that style in a new way with 28 Years Later. What that does to the action sequences is certainly not my preference, but it is certainly unique and gives the whole movie this kind of fever dream quality, which is certainly the intention. The pacing is all over the place; certainly, and a movie like this has a ceiling, but it was super fun. The ending is also quite strange unless you’re aware that a sequel is set to this is set to release in January, as Alex Garland wrote this and 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple as a pairing, and they were filmed back to back. Nia Dacosta, director of the Marvels directed the Bone Temple, though, and her disappointing run of the Marvels does give me pause. Nevertheless, 28 Years Later is well worth the watch, even if you’ve never seen the original two, as I would say they’re not strictly required.
-Z
I’m starting to think that this franchise, or maybe zombie movies in general are just not for me. I totally appreciate the effort to pay homage to the style of the originals, and I can't deny that this is a quality film, but to me, that style feels very dated for a 2025 release. Several areas here felt weirdly paced - there was a sense of rushing through, not really allowing the emotional weight of events to settle, but maybe that can be attributed to the reality of this world for the child who is our main focus. The world they are setting up here is undoubtedly interesting and I definitely want to learn more, but the fear of the zombies just doesn’t draw me in like other horror elements.
-E
I mean, this is what I wanted it to be. Looking online, reviews are all over the place, but I think this was the best of the trilogy so far, and I loved every second of it. I know the style isn't everyone's favorite, but I love that it was a great callback to the originals. I also just think the world-building was incredible; it's a toss-up between this, The Creator, and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes for my favorite worlds built in recent memory. Now, it's not perfect, sadly; there are some dialogue and pacing issues, in my opinion. Still, I bought into the story. I think it's believable where it went, and we got to see some exciting and brutal infected action. The ending confused me until Z informed me of the next one coming out, and it may be my most anticipated film now. Something about this really struck a chord, and if you can deal with gore, violence, and nudity, you need to get in and see this film!
-J
