why was 28 weeks later so bad? [spoilers]

[clawfoot]

I was looking forward to this from the first moment I found out about it. But I should have prepared myself for dissapointment.

I'm afraid my venting requires it's own thread.

I should have known it would suffer from the dreaded sequelitis. A different writer, a different director, no returning cast. Alarm bells should have started ringing.
The first film was so good. It adapted the zombie theme into something fresh, and the transformation of Jim through the film is spectacular to behold.

But 28 weeks felt like a money making amateur hour and they've lined it up nicely for a third. Woes!
Just what was wrong with it. Too many moody close ups? The annoyingly bad acting of the blonde girl, Tammy? The stinky bad story?
Two things really did it for me. The beginning of the film was fantastic, where Don leaves his wife to be eaten. I was hoping to see some brilliant development of Don's character. Instead I got a terrible moral message; if you leave your wife/loved ones/friends to be eaten then you'll turn into a speed zombie and try to eat your kids. How rubbish?
Then the scene where the helicopter blades chop up all the chasing zombies. How convenient, and done when the pilot had lost control. I didn't think I would be watching James Bond in action.
From that point on I just wanted the film to end quickly and painlessly.

I know loads of people loved it but I hated it. Maybe my expectations were too high.

Anyway, let the flinging of rotten tomatoes commence :)

[Rayne]

I was really disappointed with it, too...In fact, I fastforwarded through parts, and didn't even finish it because apparently, it wasn't even good enough to keep me AWAKE (yes, I fell asleep)...I attempted to watch it months ago, and still haven't had the urge to finish it as of this time.

It was absolutely nothing like 28 Days Later (which I REALLY liked) and I think that has a lot to do with it...I was truly hoping for a continuation of the first one, or at least something along similar lines...That didn't happen...In fact, not much of ANYTHING really happened...I think another reason it was so disappointing was that I was REALLY looking forward to it, and I was seriously let down...

[wufongtan.]

. I heard hollywood had taken over so to speak and thought Great another good movie fucked up by hollywood. with their predictable hollywood shit. But it wasn't, it was still a good movie. I liked it and so should you.
Thats all that i have to say on this subject.

[urgeok2]

28 weeks later was a great movie.

never understood why people crapped on it and the 1st one (although most people liked either 1 or the other - i loved both of them)

you see most horror fans happy with the most mediochre pathetic shit - then someone puts a lot of effort into a couple of great films - and the fans jump all over it.

cant figure it out.

[clawfoot]

Rayne My thoughts exactly

wufongtan If it was a film in its own right I would probably have enjoyed it more.

It became predictable and boring. I love cheesy films but this took itself way too seriously, which is not a good combination with amateur acting and directing.

[Phalanx]

No problem with the second one at all here - I felt it managed to capture the frantic feeling and eerie atmosphere of the original quite well, and gave us not a sequel, but an alternative storyline.
I personally liked it, and disagree with anyone who does not.
I'm not about to argue their/my tastes though.

[clawfoot]

urgeok2 two different teams = two different films.

Phalanx very true, everybody has different tastes, and I'm not here to argue. I just had to tell somebody!

I think that my expectations were too high since my love for the first.

[_____V_____]

To each their own but, I LOVED 28 Weeks.

It was fast, it was gritty...and it had plenty of rapid atmosphere. There was a lot of healthy character and script-buildup, and I thought it had a great ending to compliment an already good movie.

Days gets 8, Weeks gets 7.5 from me. No complaints whatsoever.

[jenna26]

I loved 28 Days Later, and I really liked 28 Weeks Later. I wasn't expecting it to be better than the first film, and I WAS expecting it to be different (it just had to be). But really, I was surprised I liked it much as I did, sure there some weak plot points (maybe, just maybe, it was a little soon for them to be letting people back in, then the kids being able to sneak past so much security to get to a place they knew damn well was dangerous for them to be, etc), but I actually liked the character development when it came to Robert Carlyle's character, there was some good gore, and a few very well done scenes. I was definitely entertained, so I wasn't disappointed.

[clawfoot]

jenna26: Those kids sneaking past all that security ... ugh

_V_: It was definitely fast, it was definitely gritty and I'm glad you enjoyed it
p.s. I've gotta steal your sig pic ... awesome

My mates took me to see 28 days without me knowing the first thing about it, which is probably why I enjoyed it so much. I didn't even know it would be a horror. I tried the same approach with 28 weeks but there would always be that first great film in the back of my mind with which I'd be making comparisons. And I am, of course, hard to please. All I ask for is a bit of originality. Jim (Robert Carlyle) could've killed his wife in an equally gruesome way without resorting to the trademark thumbs in the eyes from the first film.

I've only watched 28 weeks once, so maybe it will grow on me.

But 28 days will always be my number 1 film.

[_____V_____]

_V_: It was definitely fast, it was definitely gritty and I'm glad you enjoyed it
p.s. I've gotta steal your sig pic ... awesome

My mates took me to see 28 days without me knowing the first thing about it, which is probably why I enjoyed it so much. I didn't even know it would be a horror. I tried the same approach with 28 weeks but there would always be that first great film in the back of my mind with which I'd be making comparisons. And I am, of course, hard to please. All I ask for is a bit of originality. Jim (Robert Carlyle) could've killed his wife in an equally gruesome way without resorting to the trademark thumbs in the eyes from the first film.

I've only watched 28 weeks once, so maybe it will grow on me.

But 28 days will always be my number 1 film.


Haha...only if I change it. ;)

But I see where you are coming from...usually a mind-boggling original can stay and linger in the thoughts, and often when a sequel comes about, its only but natural to draw comparisons between the two. And usually the sequel pales in comparison to the original.

There were scenes which did make one feel "yeah, sure...like THAT could happen...", but overall, Weeks was almost on par with Days. By the first 25-30 minutes I felt as if I was right into the action, a PART of things going on...that made me enjoy it a bit more than others who keep themselves separated from the essence of the movie.

I think you have to regard both movies as separate entities. You did mention about the fact that both were made by different teams...so just go one step further than that, and watch Weeks separate from Days, as a movie in its own right.

I can gurantee you will enjoy it more than you did the first time around. Happy viewing! :)

[Posher778]

I think they're equal, for different reasons.

[illdojo]

I liked 28 Days more, but 28 Weeks is also good. They're killer Zombie flix.

[Unaboner3000]

The arguments people have over 28 Days and 28 Weeks remind of the arguments people have over Alien and Aliens. Two different directors, two different styles of movie, and most people seem to really love one or the other...not both. I think people should keep an open mind about these things though. I appreciate the differences in all of these films. I actually am glad we got 28 Weeks and Aliens....and NOT Another 28 Days and Alien 2.

[jenna26]

jenna26: Those kids sneaking past all that security ... ugh



This bugged the hell out of me too (or I wouldn't have mentioned it) and actually took me out of the movie for a minute, BUT, so many movies have problems like this one, many of the movies I LOVE have problems like this....:p so I just try not to pick them apart. It did help to move the plot along.

[BloodRedFlower]

I liked both of them. For me, 28 Days was your typical zombie movie, where people start acting like monsters (worse than the zombies) when faced with extreme situations. 28 Weeks had more action and a cooler story, in my opinion. I'd compare it to a good Resident Evil ^^

[clawfoot]

ok so I'll give it another go. I'm just going to wait for the bad taste in my mouth to dissappear.
Must admit that the first 30 minutes were so cool, especially when he's running from the house and they come pouring over the hills.

I loved Alien and Aliens, the sequel continued the story perfectly (just don't ever get me started on the others). 28 weeks does the same, but it was missing something. I just wanted the brother and sister to die really REALLY horribly.

Then again the people you want to die never do.

_V_: looks like I'll have to keep searching :(

[wufongtan.]

.
Must admit that the first 30 minutes were so cool, especially when he's running from the house and they come pouring over the hills

that was one of the best scenes from any movie i have seen for a long time.

[Vodstok]

The arguments people have over 28 Days and 28 Weeks remind of the arguments people have over Alien and Aliens. Two different directors, two different styles of movie, and most people seem to really love one or the other...not both. I think people should keep an open mind about these things though. I appreciate the differences in all of these films. I actually am glad we got 28 Weeks and Aliens....and NOT Another 28 Days and Alien 2.

Wow, nice point, and comparison. I liked 28 weeks. I loved 28 Days later, for its own merits. The character developement, the uplifting ending, Jim going absolutely apeshit on the soldier at the end.

28 Weeks was beautifully dark. You cant get too attached to anyone, because as soon as you think they are going to be around a while, they die. :) I thought it was brilliant.

[Vodstok]

I loved Alien and Aliens, the sequel continued the story perfectly (just don't ever get me started on the others). 28 weeks does the same, but it was missing something. I just wanted the brother and sister to die really REALLY horribly.

I cant resist, the aliens movies are my favorites.

1 and 2 were masterpieces done by 2 of the best directors ever.

3 was good, on its own. I wish things hadnt progressed the way they did with the overall story, but the direction was beautiful, the mood was very atmospheric (interestingly, and coincidentally enough, my 3 favorite directors are Ridley Scott, Jim Cameron and David Fincher)


Charles S Dutton gives one of the most kickass speaches ever. It plays with your feelings well too. The characters are almost all criminals, but you end up seeing them as people insted.


Ressurection.... Well, it was a decent action movie. A piece of shit alien movie though.

[_____V_____]

I cant resist, the aliens movies are my favorites.

1 and 2 were masterpieces done by 2 of the best directors ever.

3 was good, on its own. I wish things hadnt progressed the way they did with the overall story, but the direction was beautiful, the mood was very atmospheric (interestingly, and coincidentally enough, my 3 favorite directors are Ridley Scott, Jim Cameron and David Fincher)


Charles S Dutton gives one of the most kickass speaches ever. It plays with your feelings well too. The characters are almost all criminals, but you end up seeing them as people insted.


Ressurection.... Well, it was a decent action movie. A piece of shit alien movie though.

Admit it Vod, you were in favor of Scott and Cameron's Alien 5, before Fox scrapped it in favor of AvP. ;)

[urgeok2]

Admit it Vod, you were in favor of Scott and Cameron's Alien 5, before Fox scrapped it in favor of AvP. ;)

yeah but what does he know ?


i mean, come on - Dungeons and Dragons is his favorite film of all time ..

[_____V_____]

yeah but what does he know ?

i mean, come on - Dungeons and Dragons is his favorite film of all time ..

:eek:

Well...it was humorous in parts, I must admit. :D

[clawfoot]

it made me laugh

Vodstok: I think that's the nicest way anyone could possibly sum up the Aliens series

[Dark_soul]

I think the movie is good not perfect but good for watching :p

[siorai]

My main problem with 28 Weeks is that the plot is so filled with holes and blatant plot manipulation that it becomes pretty much an insult to the viewer. There were so many instances in the movie where I thought, "OK. There's no way in hell that would be allowed to happen." (Like the father just walking into the completely unguarded, unwatched room where his infected wife was. Nope. Can't believe he would be able to do that no matter what security clearance he had.) But if those instances didn't happen that way, the movie couldn't have progressed without a drastically different plot. Pretty much everything that happens in 28 Days is believable as far as the setting of the movie goes. 28 Weeks felt like it was written by a twelve year-old who had no clue about how to properly and believably progress a story.

[Son of Sam]

as soon as they bring the armed forces into a movie it looses it for me, there nothing more boring than a group of mainly guys running around, being macho, wheres the challenge in that?

[The STE]

I didn't even notice much of a shift in focus to the army guys. It showed them some, yes, and a couple were pretty significant characters, but to me the movie always felt like it was about the two kids.


And chalk me up as another one who liked both.

[the_real_linda]

i love both films, but the kids in the second one piss me off.... if it wasnt for them... :mad:

[Vodstok]

Admit it Vod, you were in favor of Scott and Cameron's Alien 5, before Fox scrapped it in favor of AvP. ;)

of course i would have been for that. if scott can make a good Bruckheimer movie (blackhawk down), he would make one o fthe greatest movies of all time with cameron.

As far as the D&D movie....

Search on posts by me about it and you may stumble over some masterful ranting ;)

[CopperShark]

My biggest gripe about 28 Weeks is the helicopter scene. After seeing the same scene in Planet Terror I felt they were just ripping it off. It was alright in PT because PT is partly a comedy but it was just stupid for 20 Weeks, something I thought should be a bit more serious and realistic. But if thats the only major compliant I have about it then I guess that makes it a pretty good movie.