28 WEEKS LATER

What happens to the world after the zombies are killed? 28 Weeks Later, the sequel to the original and popular 28 Days Later, tackles the reconstruction of society after a devastating attack.

At the opening of 28 Weeks Later Don (Robery Carlyle), his wife Alice (Catherine McCormack) and a few other people are hiding out in a cottage when the infected (never called zombies, these are mindless rage-filled people who can infect others with a bite or blood) attack. During the slaughter Don flees, leaving Alice and a young boy behind.

Following this reminder of what happened in the last film, we jump ahead 28 weeks. The U.S. Army is now occupying most of Britain, and they've announced that the quarrantine has starved off the infected and it's time to start returning civilians and families to the Isle of Dogs. Don works as a caretaker at one of the mammoth buildings housing the civilians, and he's thrilled to see his teenage daughter Tammy (Imogen Poots) and young son Flynn (Harold Perrineau). On the military side, Scarlet (Rose Byrne) is an Army doctor concerned about a resurgence of the never-cured virus, and Doyle (Jeremy Renner) is one of the numerous snipers that guard, and spy on, the people there.

Tammy and Flynn sneak into London to retrieve a few things from their old home, including a picture of Alice. And wouldn't you know it, the infected haven't all been wiped out -- and soon there's a new zombie, er, infected uprising!

I appreciate 28 Weeks Later trying to expand on the world of the post-apocalyptic zombie massacre, but this movie falls flat in several areas. Numerous story elements have been seen before quite often in these stories, from an untrustworthy military to showing us the action through a night-vision scope, and the large number of protagonists don't give any one enough time to be developed. There's a lot of unneeded slow motion, some of the violence is gratituous and mean-spirited, and I wondered how the infection spread so quickly when this time military troops were everywhere and watching everything in case of this very event! Extras on the dvd are pretty standard: commentaries and behind-the-scenes features. 28 Weeks Later ultimately disappoints -- and I hope we won't see 28 Months Later at some future point.

Overall grade: D
Reviewed by James Lynch