Almost Heroes: Doyle (28 Weeks Later)

 As a farewell (at least until The Bone Temple gets covered) to the 28 Series, let me honor a man who almost made it.

In 28 Weeks Later, the small British Colony is watched by a series of US Snipers.
Notably, we meet Doyle...

His name is 'D' for Danny and 'oyle' for Boyle.

Renner's Soldier turns out to be nicer than the rest, refusing to shoot at the crowd when ordered to.

Instead, he breaks ranks to help the survivors.

He manages to get the shrinking group out of the military compound and into the nearby City.

He gets them inside a car when the military releases dangerous gas (apparently trying everything).

However, they still have to escape.

As such, he helps push the car into gear, knowing that the military and their flamethrowers are nearby.
He gets the car to make an exit...but doesn't get out himself.

We salute you, Doyle.
You *almost* saved the day.

In his defense, the kids do make it out thanks to him...only to be ignored entirely in 28 Years Later.
Not your fault, buddy.

2025 Catch Up: 28 Years Later (2025)

 A Zombie Franchise that refuses to die?  Yeah- that tracks.

Danny Boyle is back after years of rights issues and rewrites.

This is...

A Cold Open introduces us to Jimmy, who has to flee from his town and family when the Infected strike.

Who is this kid?
Well...wait and see...for a while.

In 2030, the infection is somehow only in Britain (just pretend that Paris nuked itself like Boyle has suggested, I guess) and the Islands are locked off.

A family man (Quicksilver Meets Kraven) is raising his kid in a Village on one of those Islands.

They cross a small land bridge to hunt.

Their trip doesn't go too well, as the kid- Spike- doesn't like the killing of Infected.

They are also chased by a new Infected- an Alpha!

They already did this in Zombieland: Double Tap and the whole Alpha thing is not...a thing, but intensity.

Spike is unhappy that his Mom is getting worse health-wise and there's no Doctor.

He decides to break out of the Village with her to find a Doctor...that he was only told might be out there...from a story 15 years ago.

Kids r smart.

They eventually meet the strange Doctor, after being chased by more Infected and meeting a random Soldier.

Will this end well?

Speaking of ending well, this...is a bit divisive.

To find out how this all goes, stream it now.

A tale of two Films...or is it 3...or 4?

The first half of this Film works pretty darn well.
We get immersed in Island life, see the family and get the gist of things.

When they go Hunting, some interesting stuff happens.  It builds nicely.

...then we get a strange turn where the Film becomes all about Spike being, if I'm honest, kind of a jerk.  He's a kid, yes, but I can still judge his action, since they were written by smart adults.

His plan is not great.  His attitude is terrible.  His life skills...are lacking.

Ralph Fiennes is thankfully quite good in this, bringing some life and nuance to the 2nd half.  Does he also bring many not fully explained Plot Points and possible Plot Holes?  Also, yes.

Without full SPOILERS, the Movie is a blatant setup for The Bone Temple (and possibly more).  It just kind...of...stops.

Like the heads of random people in this Film, I'm torn.
I liked part of it.  I didn't really 'vibe' with the rest of it.

I'm a bit annoyed that they just ignored all of 28 Weeks Later, but, again, I'm not mad.

A Film with so much promise and lots of time 'in the oven.'  That said, it is all over the place in Pacing, Tone and Story.

Shudder Day: 28 Weeks Later (2007)

 As a Film Monster Connoisseur, I've always preferred Zombies to Infected.

That said, I should pay more attention to this Series, since it suddenly revived for 2 Films in the last Year.

Let's jump back to 2007 for...

As a refresher, a strange infection started to show up in England- specifically around London.

People would get bit, get red eyes and become dangerous infected.

They would chase you down, tear you apart and snarl the whole time.

That brings us to know as our Hero- Robert Carlyle- is hiding out in the Countryside with his Wife and other survivors.

They help a child and then immediately get attacked.

When his wife is cornered near him, he chooses Flight over Fight.

Later, we are introduced to the new situation.

The US Army has moved in and has locked down the area.

Led by the top brass (including a waste of a role for Idris Elba), they have the Isle of Dogs as a Safe Zone...for now.

Enter these two kids.

They are the Children of Carlyle and his Wife.

After he's not exactly honest about how he lost their Mom, they break the quarantine and go home to get a picture of her.

Things go wrong.
They go very wrong.

Can they get out when the infection is revived and people start to die?

Let's avoid 18 year old SPOILERS and say 'To find out, watch the Film now.'

A tense Film that will hinge upon how much you care about Children.

This Film seems to inspire two vastly different reactions- 'Those poor kids' or 'Those damn kids!'

Simply put, the crux of the Plot is them breaking quarantine and discovering Mom.  Granted.

That said, the point here is that this tenuous barrier was NOT going to hold it.  If they didn't do it, some lady might go back for her hair dryer, some guy might want his skateboard or some other kids may wander over just for fun.

Also, let's be clear- the Dad is at fault here.  If he stayed, these people wouldn't die.

For many, the real villain is the shaky cam.

It can be good in small doses.  It can create a look of frantic chaos.

If you actually want to see what is happening and avoid taking Dramamine though, this is a problem.

It is also funny to wonder if this Film is the origin of Jeremy Renner being cast as a Soldier (The Hurt Locker) and the 'guy on the roof' (The Avengers).

Regardless of how you feel about kids, this one has impact and kept the Series running...in about 2 Decades.

A Film that delivers what you want from the Infected in Films.  That said, it is full of that damn Shaky Cam!