Directed with lethal precision by Spanish filmmaker Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, "28 Weeks Later" is as viscerally compelling as smash-mouth filmmaking gets. As fans of the first film, 2002's "28 Days Later," will recall, a contagious "rage virus" turned much of the nation into feral killers - frothing at the mouth with blood and killing indiscriminately. As "28 Weeks Later" opens, the rabid ones are supposed to have died off.
The U.S. military has established a secure "green zone" in London, and all the returning Brits have to do is breed, keep talking in delightful accents and reopen those tourist attractions for their American handlers.
But all it takes is one rotten apple. . .
. Although Fresnadillo's movie is centered on memorable characters, including survivor Don (an affecting Robert Carlyle) and the reunion of his broken family, and a friendly American sniper called Doyle (Jeremy Renner), it's about staying alive. It's a B-movie along the lines of "Night of the Living Dead" that plays like a reality TV nightmare with no narrative beginning, middle or ending - just survival as an ongoing quest.
It's an experience for the smart part of your brain as well as its more reptilian corners. We can enjoy the aesthetic qualities, even as we cringe pleasurably from the shock-and-awe entertainment values. The tight, constricted camera angles - there's nary an establishing shot to orient us - make us feel cornered in the death zone with everyone else.
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