ResilientBanana
Member
This movie was a solid 75. Not sure how RT gave it 91.
28 Years Later | Reviews
- Thread starter M.W.
- Start date
scoobidoo112
Member
The RT score represents the percentage of critics who gave it a positive score, it's not an average rating.
Nemesisuuu
Member
Movie summary
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this movie has nothing to do with 28 Weeks Later
Trilobit
Absolutely Cozy
I've heard some claims that there's some wokeism as some could interpret the shift in the story as a commentary against (toxic) masculinity. I wouldn't really go that far. It's true that the best part of the movie is the first part with the father and the son. That was unrelentingly exciting and while I would have preferred a whole movie with just them two I can still see what the director was going for.
As we see later on, what the boy was taught came to great use later on as he was forced into taking the traditional masculine protector role. But as many of us men have seen growing up, we need the nurture/idealism from our mothers and the discipline/pragmatism from our fathers. I'm generalizing quite a lot here, but that's just how it is when you don't want to write a whole novel length commentary. I can see how some balk at the parts with toxic masculinity as we've seen too much of that from woke creatives who can't bear to show healthy masculinity even at gunpoint. I don't deny that toxic masculinity exists, as I grew up with an alcoholic father who should have dealt with his problems in a more constructuive way, but I too am so tired of any masculine expression getting lumped together with the bad ones. But I don't see that from Boyle here.
The boy was quite a mommy's boy which might have led the father (knowing that the mother would eventually die due to cancer) to bring him on to the mainland already as a 12-year old. He knew that being too soft in this new life of theirs would lead a person to certain death. Had the boy been 14-15 during the events then he might have had a better time understanding the bravado of his dad, but as I think back to my prepubescent years I can relate to his fear of all that, combined with the boy being more like his grandfather who was possibly a more sensitive silly goose.
Thinking back there's a lot of interesting layers to peel back from this movie and I really liked it overall. But I knew what I was getting into thanks to the plethora of opinions I've read beforehand. Had I expected a "traditional" horror movie akin to 28 Days Later I would have been very disappointed, but now I was prepared for the more philosophical portions of it.
So I'll give it a 3/5 with possibly a 4/5 after a future rewatch.
As we see later on, what the boy was taught came to great use later on as he was forced into taking the traditional masculine protector role. But as many of us men have seen growing up, we need the nurture/idealism from our mothers and the discipline/pragmatism from our fathers. I'm generalizing quite a lot here, but that's just how it is when you don't want to write a whole novel length commentary. I can see how some balk at the parts with toxic masculinity as we've seen too much of that from woke creatives who can't bear to show healthy masculinity even at gunpoint. I don't deny that toxic masculinity exists, as I grew up with an alcoholic father who should have dealt with his problems in a more constructuive way, but I too am so tired of any masculine expression getting lumped together with the bad ones. But I don't see that from Boyle here.
The boy was quite a mommy's boy which might have led the father (knowing that the mother would eventually die due to cancer) to bring him on to the mainland already as a 12-year old. He knew that being too soft in this new life of theirs would lead a person to certain death. Had the boy been 14-15 during the events then he might have had a better time understanding the bravado of his dad, but as I think back to my prepubescent years I can relate to his fear of all that, combined with the boy being more like his grandfather who was possibly a more sensitive silly goose.
Thinking back there's a lot of interesting layers to peel back from this movie and I really liked it overall. But I knew what I was getting into thanks to the plethora of opinions I've read beforehand. Had I expected a "traditional" horror movie akin to 28 Days Later I would have been very disappointed, but now I was prepared for the more philosophical portions of it.
So I'll give it a 3/5 with possibly a 4/5 after a future rewatch.
analog_future
Resident Crybaby
The new film is it's own unique beast, but it's much, much closer to 28 Days Later than 28 Weeks Later (which was not a good film).
28 Days Later and 28 Years Later were written by Alex Garland and directed by Danny Boyle. 28 Weeks Later was not.
(and to answer your question, no)
Windle Poons
Made a crappy phPBB forum once ... once.
About what? The alphas giant cock or the film?
j0hnnix
Member
It's at 91 due to the extra 16" those reviewers enjoyed seeing in the train.
Sounds like your mark of quality is which names you see in the credits.
analog_future
Resident Crybaby
alright
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I've seen it twice now - I Wasnt able to rate it after a first viewing. Its the hardest time I've had rating a film maybe ever lmao.
After all that hype and anticipation (28 DaysLater is one of my top films ever), I had to actually pinch myself that I was watching 28 Years Fucking Later after more than 2 decades. For me, this is one of those Holy shit I'm playing Half Life 3 moments, but in film.
On my first viewing, for the first.. I'd say.. 45 minutes, this was legitimately an 11/10. Cinematography was fucking mind boggling, it looked different than any other film, there was crazy stop motion kill shots, the iPhone look was awesome. The soundtrack, the quick cuts to old War footage and .. That awesome fucking chase scene. If the whole movie was that .. Straight up 11/10.
But then the tone slowly, but surely started to change to something less .. Bleak and cold - Which to me is what made the first film so memorable. That world was dark as hell. terrifying.
In this, the community they had made it feel more Walking Deadish - everyone was safe behind those walls. That to me right away puts this at a disadvantage because the tone of the film is right away going to be less bleak. I felt the doctor having a tranquilizer dart he spits at the Alpha was kind of cartoonish. On my first viewing.. All of these thoughts came into my mind while watching, and I was distracted.
I didn't know whether I thought it was 7/10 or 12/10. It was legitimately both.
Then.. On my second viewing.. I got none of that. Everything made sense, the tonal shift didn't bother me, because i felt it went along with the story this time.
Cinematography, chase scene, editing, acting (another great child actor) went up to a 12 - The other stuff now made sense.
So with that said
... 9/10.
Thats where I land finally.
Especially knowing theres a sequel dropping in January. That weird ending will make much more sense come January
After all that hype and anticipation (28 DaysLater is one of my top films ever), I had to actually pinch myself that I was watching 28 Years Fucking Later after more than 2 decades. For me, this is one of those Holy shit I'm playing Half Life 3 moments, but in film.
On my first viewing, for the first.. I'd say.. 45 minutes, this was legitimately an 11/10. Cinematography was fucking mind boggling, it looked different than any other film, there was crazy stop motion kill shots, the iPhone look was awesome. The soundtrack, the quick cuts to old War footage and .. That awesome fucking chase scene. If the whole movie was that .. Straight up 11/10.
But then the tone slowly, but surely started to change to something less .. Bleak and cold - Which to me is what made the first film so memorable. That world was dark as hell. terrifying.
In this, the community they had made it feel more Walking Deadish - everyone was safe behind those walls. That to me right away puts this at a disadvantage because the tone of the film is right away going to be less bleak. I felt the doctor having a tranquilizer dart he spits at the Alpha was kind of cartoonish. On my first viewing.. All of these thoughts came into my mind while watching, and I was distracted.
I didn't know whether I thought it was 7/10 or 12/10. It was legitimately both.
Then.. On my second viewing.. I got none of that. Everything made sense, the tonal shift didn't bother me, because i felt it went along with the story this time.
Cinematography, chase scene, editing, acting (another great child actor) went up to a 12 - The other stuff now made sense.
So with that said
... 9/10.
Thats where I land finally.
Especially knowing theres a sequel dropping in January. That weird ending will make much more sense come January
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Zombie9ers
Member
Watched it last night in the theater. Absolute dogshit! They killed the franchise with this one.
Days like these...
Have a Blessed Day
If you had to watch it twice to convince yourself you liked it you didn't like it.
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Represent(ative) of bad opinions
I liked it, I didn't know what to score it.
Windle Poons
Made a crappy phPBB forum once ... once.
Give it a 10 (inches)
EverydayBeast
ChatGPT 0.001
Movie happens fast, I remember never getting bored with it start to finish, movie theater was cold, popcorn, social distanced.
Hugare
Member
Just came back from the cinema
I have strong feelings for this franchise. Despite being very different, 1st and 2nd movies were great, and imo the 28 movies were easily some of the best zombie movies ever made.
And this one didnt disappoint. It might be my favorite.
Boyle is such a genius. All of his movies have this distinctive sense of style, and here's no different. You just know this and 28 Days Later share the same director despite having their own tone, look and feel.
Loved the setpieces, acting, characters, pacing ...
... But yeah, that ending. Oof.
I doubt the sequel will be better, or as good as this without Boyle. He is 90% of the reason why this movie works. But we will see.
I have strong feelings for this franchise. Despite being very different, 1st and 2nd movies were great, and imo the 28 movies were easily some of the best zombie movies ever made.
And this one didnt disappoint. It might be my favorite.
Boyle is such a genius. All of his movies have this distinctive sense of style, and here's no different. You just know this and 28 Days Later share the same director despite having their own tone, look and feel.
Loved the setpieces, acting, characters, pacing ...
... But yeah, that ending. Oof.
I doubt the sequel will be better, or as good as this without Boyle. He is 90% of the reason why this movie works. But we will see.
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Represent.
Represent(ative) of bad opinions
I have big faith in Nia (As does Boyle) She studied the shit out of 28 Days Later and gets it
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Hugare
Member
She has the weight of the franchise on her shoulders rn
If her movie fails, there will be no sequel (at least Boyle said so, if im not mistaken)
I hope its good. But I'm not too hopeful about the Teletubies ninja squad.
I just got out of the theater and came here to see if anyone liked it. Looking at the reviews, I am wondering if I watched the same movie. I thought it started pretty good then I felt like it just became boring and dumb.ut was almost like they said we have a cool idea....and then couldn't figure out what to do with it. As I sit here thinking, did this movie need to be made? The answer is pretty much no. Did it add anything? Not really. They had quite a bit they could have done in my opinion but I am guessing the second part of the movie was written with AI and tweaked to give it a human feel.
They made an alpha, cool! What do they do with it? Nothing. Seriously....he says it is stronger and smarter than the others. I'll just keep charging the dude shooting arrows at me with no way to dodge.
They have the opportunity to kill the Alpha who was powerless. They leave it.
The dude who should be watching the gate for infected never sees anyone come up to the door, drop off a baby, and leave. An extremely hungry baby.who would be screaming its head off.
They make a big deal about no one can go look for you and they actually stick with it? If that was my kid, I would go look for them. I think they extremely loosely tried to make the audience sympathize with the Alpha trying to get his kid under the threat of death. It would have been better if the noninfected dad, hell, I honestly don't remember his name, went looking for Spike.
The more I think about it, the more irritated I am becoming.
They have the opportunity to kill the Alpha who was powerless. They leave it.
The dude who should be watching the gate for infected never sees anyone come up to the door, drop off a baby, and leave. An extremely hungry baby.who would be screaming its head off.
They make a big deal about no one can go look for you and they actually stick with it? If that was my kid, I would go look for them. I think they extremely loosely tried to make the audience sympathize with the Alpha trying to get his kid under the threat of death. It would have been better if the noninfected dad, hell, I honestly don't remember his name, went looking for Spike.
The more I think about it, the more irritated I am becoming.
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SpearHea.:D
Member
Watched it, first half was superb, the alpha was menacing and second half was a let down. I didnt want all that, i wanted what was shown in trailers till the end.
Disappointed as it could have been much better but i also enjoyed what i saw lol. Dont know how to put it, its like i walked away with both sort of satisfied and a bitter feeling. Like i was trolled
Disappointed as it could have been much better but i also enjoyed what i saw lol. Dont know how to put it, its like i walked away with both sort of satisfied and a bitter feeling. Like i was trolled
Exactly.
Nocty
Member
finished my second viewing on sunday night. I have to say the ending really made me want to punch my own throat after a second time... like Jimmy Saville? really what was boyle thinking?
Something worth noting, the cast for part two kind of confirms that all of the gang are called Jimmy, lmao. What
Something worth noting, the cast for part two kind of confirms that all of the gang are called Jimmy, lmao. What
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Ulysses 31
Member
Also worth noting that The Bone Temple is directed by the one who did The Marvels (2023).finished my second viewing on sunday night. I have to say the ending really made me want to punch my own throat after a second time... like Jimmy Saville? really what was boyle thinking?
Something worth noting, the cast for part two kind of confirms that all of the gang are called Jimmy, lmao. What
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Giallo Corsa
Member
Just finished watching it and…fucking yikes, easily one of the most uneven films I've seen in a while.
- SPOILERS obviously -
Regarding the ending and "that" scene - you know the one - It's just... baffling.
At this point, I honestly can't tell if Boyle gave up halfway through, if the whole thing is some elaborate trolling or if he's just creatively burnt out (à la Ridley Scott).
Some people are saying it's a hallucination or symbolic (especially from the kid's POV), but to me? Nah, it felt like a straight-up misfire on Boyle's part.
And then there's the Jimmy Saville-coded characters. LMAO... Ballsy, sure but more likely just crude and far too on-the-nose. Feels like a clumsy attempt at replicating the "military creeps" from the first film (28 days) only without the nuance.Also : Watch them being evil in the sequel just like -bagain - the army dudes.
Also, retcons :
At the end of 28 Weeks Later, the virus had clearly spread to Europe - France specifically. But here ? The UK is under total quarantine and apparently patrolled by... other European forces? NATO, maybe? Meanwhile, Sweden is apparently totally fine? What? Maybe they're saving explanations for the sequel, but it just doesn't line up.
Honestly? I'm really disappointed in Boyle. And yet... I still kind of enjoyed it for what it was: a shlocky, 6.5/10 at best film.
It felt more like an episode from a Walking Dead spin-off - NOTHING stood out. Acting, effects, locations... all felt subpar. And the cliffhanger ending? It totally felt like the pilot to a limited series rather than a standalone film.
In short: one of the most bizarrely inconsistent movies I've ever sat through.
- SPOILERS obviously -
- The tone is all over the place, as is the direction. Some jump cuts and camera angles feel borderline amateur - like something out of a film school project.
- The music choices? Completely tone-deaf. With the exception of the boots poem and that final post-rock track, nothing fits. It's like they picked tracks from a random Spotify Brit playlist and hoped for the best.
- CGI is pretty bad and especially the blood splatters - they look like early 2000s Syfy channel material.
- Acting-wise, Ralph Fiennes carries the entire thing on his back. Honestly, the man could win an Oscar for starring in a porno. The rest of the cast is wildly inconsistent, especially the kid - he was so unconvincing it kept pulling me out of the film.
The opening scene with the kids watching TV? awful, laughably bad, felt like a skit. And the church scene...woof. That was full-on amateur hour. It genuinely made me question if Boyle actually directed this.
Regarding the ending and "that" scene - you know the one - It's just... baffling.
At this point, I honestly can't tell if Boyle gave up halfway through, if the whole thing is some elaborate trolling or if he's just creatively burnt out (à la Ridley Scott).
Some people are saying it's a hallucination or symbolic (especially from the kid's POV), but to me? Nah, it felt like a straight-up misfire on Boyle's part.
And then there's the Jimmy Saville-coded characters. LMAO... Ballsy, sure but more likely just crude and far too on-the-nose. Feels like a clumsy attempt at replicating the "military creeps" from the first film (28 days) only without the nuance.Also : Watch them being evil in the sequel just like -bagain - the army dudes.
Also, retcons :
At the end of 28 Weeks Later, the virus had clearly spread to Europe - France specifically. But here ? The UK is under total quarantine and apparently patrolled by... other European forces? NATO, maybe? Meanwhile, Sweden is apparently totally fine? What? Maybe they're saving explanations for the sequel, but it just doesn't line up.
Honestly? I'm really disappointed in Boyle. And yet... I still kind of enjoyed it for what it was: a shlocky, 6.5/10 at best film.
It felt more like an episode from a Walking Dead spin-off - NOTHING stood out. Acting, effects, locations... all felt subpar. And the cliffhanger ending? It totally felt like the pilot to a limited series rather than a standalone film.
In short: one of the most bizarrely inconsistent movies I've ever sat through.
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SirKicksalot
Member
Story is about the end of childhood and that sudden realisation that adults are not that great and powerful. On the verge of adulthood, he's drawn into a group which clings to childhood. The scene references both Teletubbies and the Power Rangers toy. Next part: who will win the battle for his soul (spoiler: the middle way, as seen in his mom switching between adult and child personas). Movie's as subtle as a brick in the face.
AJUMP23
Parody of actual AJUMP23
I don't really get the point or the ending of this movie. I just finished it and While the journey of the main character is interesting, and Ralph Fiens character is interesting, I do not know what the point of the film is. Overall unsatisfactory. It just needs to do something with everything it sets up. It never does.
Hugare
Member
Wdym?
It's a coming of age story. It's the boy first day outside at the start of the movie, and by the end of it, he has developed himself enough to live outside by himself. He even learns to accept death.
Not to mention its a 3 parts story. Many of the stuff here will have resolution in the sequels.
AJUMP23
Parody of actual AJUMP23
There is more coming? I guess that is good.
I don't think he accepts death or can live on his own by the final sequence.
Hugare
Member
I meant accepting his mother's death. He did all that to save her, but he accepted her fate later on.
And yeah, I dont think he can live by his own in the wild. But he feels confident enough to think he can.
DVDRick
Neo Member
hated the boy, not a good child actor
hated some really old horror tropes...actor going endlessly backwards...what will happen
hated the mother character
hated the so random and nonsense use of different movie making techniques
hated the "collapsing" scene
hated the army characters (28 years, and still dumb)
hated that train scene
hated the skulls climbing scene the most
loved the gore effects
loved some cinematography, some really REALLY good shots
loved the atmosphere
begins really strong, ends pretty bad,
if you start thinking about it, everything about the virus falls apart
the boots poem will stick to your head
hated some really old horror tropes...actor going endlessly backwards...what will happen
hated the mother character
hated the so random and nonsense use of different movie making techniques
hated the "collapsing" scene
hated the army characters (28 years, and still dumb)
hated that train scene
hated the skulls climbing scene the most
loved the gore effects
loved some cinematography, some really REALLY good shots
loved the atmosphere
begins really strong, ends pretty bad,
if you start thinking about it, everything about the virus falls apart
the boots poem will stick to your head
Werewolf Jones
Member
Alex Garland and Danny Boyle had nothing to do with 28 Weeks and that movie is complete garbage. Retconning it and keeping it with the British feel was for the best.
Laughing at the praise for Ralph Fiennes utterly queer performance of the cartoony Doctor with an infinite iodine supply though.
Giallo Corsa
Member
Also : 28 weeks was still better than...whatever this shitty coming of age story was
DragoonKain
Neighbours from Hell
Ok, I finally saw it. This is a movie I anticipated for years. Since Weeks Later. The 28 franchise is one of my favorites. I've watched Days and Weeks once a year since they came out. I think they are peak zombie/infected genre offerings. I had literal dreams about a 28 Months/Years movie being released. Every handful of years I'll have a dream where a sequel I really want of a favorite movie of mine gets released and I wake up super bummed. When this was finally announced I was super excited. But I was also nervous coming into seeing this because I knew almost 20 years of anticipation would make a movie very hard to live up to the hype.
So my verdict. I liked the movie. But I can't say it was what I envisioned when I anticipated a new 28 movie. I was hoping they'd pick up where Weeks left off(not retcon it) or at the very least, do a movie focused around how fast the spread is. That is partly what makes the 28 movies so unique to me. The nature of the virus in itself. It spreads so fast and makes every moment terrifying where you know in seconds everyone in the scene could be turned if they are attacked. This movie didn't really have a whole lot about the spread of the virus to me. It was a coming of age journey story. Evaluating it for what it is and not factoring in what I was hoping a sequel would be, I thought it was quite good. It still had some of the 28 movie goodness. The infected were terrifying. Though I wasn't a fan of the new species of them, I think that made it less grounded and I always liked how in the 28 movies I was always able to put myself in the shoes of the characters and the more fantastical it gets, the less I can do that and it takes me out of it a little bit. I also hated the double takes on the bow kills early in the movie, which they d stopped doing about halfway through the movie thankfully, but no idea why they did it in the first place. But the journey of Spike was a very interesting journey and I enjoyed it.
It definitely felt far more like 28 Days than Weeks and that makes sense given Boyle's return. And to be fair, even though I adore the 28 franchise, both Days and Weeks have ridiculous moments in them too. The end of Days is out of control. Not to mention early in the movie a fully stocked grocery store during an end of days outbreak, which is laughable. In 28 weeks later several scenes with helicopters that was so ridiculously over the top. Plus the napalm scene which was laughable. So this movie's ridiculous moments weren't necessarily out of step.
Also. I missed John Murphy's amazing music. It was so vital in the original two movies. But credit to them. One of the first tracks from Days plays at the end of this movie. So they did reuse one of his original works. That felt like home.
So I guess TLDR: Enjoyed it a lot, but not the route I was desiring when I anticipated this movie for years. Maybe the other sequels will scratch the itch of that angle for me. We'll see.
So my verdict. I liked the movie. But I can't say it was what I envisioned when I anticipated a new 28 movie. I was hoping they'd pick up where Weeks left off(not retcon it) or at the very least, do a movie focused around how fast the spread is. That is partly what makes the 28 movies so unique to me. The nature of the virus in itself. It spreads so fast and makes every moment terrifying where you know in seconds everyone in the scene could be turned if they are attacked. This movie didn't really have a whole lot about the spread of the virus to me. It was a coming of age journey story. Evaluating it for what it is and not factoring in what I was hoping a sequel would be, I thought it was quite good. It still had some of the 28 movie goodness. The infected were terrifying. Though I wasn't a fan of the new species of them, I think that made it less grounded and I always liked how in the 28 movies I was always able to put myself in the shoes of the characters and the more fantastical it gets, the less I can do that and it takes me out of it a little bit. I also hated the double takes on the bow kills early in the movie, which they d stopped doing about halfway through the movie thankfully, but no idea why they did it in the first place. But the journey of Spike was a very interesting journey and I enjoyed it.
It definitely felt far more like 28 Days than Weeks and that makes sense given Boyle's return. And to be fair, even though I adore the 28 franchise, both Days and Weeks have ridiculous moments in them too. The end of Days is out of control. Not to mention early in the movie a fully stocked grocery store during an end of days outbreak, which is laughable. In 28 weeks later several scenes with helicopters that was so ridiculously over the top. Plus the napalm scene which was laughable. So this movie's ridiculous moments weren't necessarily out of step.
Also. I missed John Murphy's amazing music. It was so vital in the original two movies. But credit to them. One of the first tracks from Days plays at the end of this movie. So they did reuse one of his original works. That felt like home.
So I guess TLDR: Enjoyed it a lot, but not the route I was desiring when I anticipated this movie for years. Maybe the other sequels will scratch the itch of that angle for me. We'll see.
The ending was ridiculous. Kinda took me out of it. Totally unnecessary.
The alphas were also over the top. Making them intelligent was dumb. The whole point of the virus is it makes you super scary and mindless. I didn't like that addition either. And then ripping heads off was a little lame.
Was hoping they'd show more of the village. Even though this was Spike's story. I wanted to know more about the people. And know why ATJ was so cold toward Isla. I wonder if Spike wasn't her son at all. Or if he just wanted her to die so he could be with that other girl Rosey.
A pretty big stretch that a woman in the state Isla was in could make that journey the way she did. And not only that, but kill the one infected on her own with brute physical force. Wtf was that about?
The birth scene was ridiculous. I was like c'mon.
But overall I thought it was a sweet story that still had plenty of tense infected moments and scares.
The alphas were also over the top. Making them intelligent was dumb. The whole point of the virus is it makes you super scary and mindless. I didn't like that addition either. And then ripping heads off was a little lame.
Was hoping they'd show more of the village. Even though this was Spike's story. I wanted to know more about the people. And know why ATJ was so cold toward Isla. I wonder if Spike wasn't her son at all. Or if he just wanted her to die so he could be with that other girl Rosey.
A pretty big stretch that a woman in the state Isla was in could make that journey the way she did. And not only that, but kill the one infected on her own with brute physical force. Wtf was that about?
The birth scene was ridiculous. I was like c'mon.
But overall I thought it was a sweet story that still had plenty of tense infected moments and scares.
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8bitpill
Member
Just watched it last night and this was hands down CONTEMPORARY GARBAGE.
It started out like a 28... movie but ended like a modern day sitcom that is targeting a younger generation. This is the short of dribble people cheer for today but comes off like a glossy low budget film with hollow characters you could care less about.
This didn't have to be made and the fact this is a three part trilogy is a joke.
It started out like a 28... movie but ended like a modern day sitcom that is targeting a younger generation. This is the short of dribble people cheer for today but comes off like a glossy low budget film with hollow characters you could care less about.
This didn't have to be made and the fact this is a three part trilogy is a joke.