Uneven but Engaging
Summary
There are few infected attacks in this version, but the Jimmys are so evil, you’ll be rooting for them to die, and Ralph Fiennes is terrific as the hero.
Plot: While Spike (Alfie Williams) tries to escape the Jimmy gang, Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) attempts to cure Samson’s (Chi-Lewis Parry) infection.
Review: I heard 28 Years Later was a very divisive movie, and I understand why; the ending was clearly setting up a sequel. This sequel, in fact. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple may as well start mere moments from when the last film ended. They really are one movie, so you can look at it that way, and maybe show 28 Years Later more love. Frankly, it wasn’t as bad as everyone thought.
Is this one better than its predecessor, though? I think it’s about the same. I know some people think this is a far superior movie, and to those folks I will say this: the Dr. Kelson/Samson scenes are too long and too numerous. There are few infected attacks; hardly any, in fact. I missed Aaron Taylor-Johnson from the last film. So, I’m not going to hand this movie its flowers and declare it the better of the two. In fact, I don’t think there is a weak entry in this franchise so far. All four are pretty damned good.
What does make this movie so well is, frankly, the Jimmys. They are pieces of shit, and you see that immediately. First scene, they’re picking on Spike, making him do some crazy initiation, and what’s his reward? Joining the bunch of crazies. Like, seriously, that’s a reward? Then, they find a random family and string them up, flaying them and torturing them. Seriously, they’re so evil, you just want to see them all die. Like, where is a gang of infected humans when you need them? Well, they do get their comeuppance. Some people will think they get what they deserve, and some will think it was not enough. I was satisfied with it.
The true great character in this entry, other than Jack O’Connell’s absolutely insane Jimmy leader, Jimmy Chrystal, is Ralph Fiennes. This guy is awesome and seems to be the only person actually trying to do something about the disease. Actually trying to help out and do something. Plus, he dances to and sings along with Iron Maiden’s Number of the Beast. How can you not like this guy? And Erin Kellyman, believe it or not, is not annoying as hell in this movie. Which is saying something, considering I hated her guts on Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Unfortunately, because there aren’t many infected attacks, this movie is lacking a little in the excitement department. Oh, the barn scene is great. And there is a decent infected scene. There’s also a lot of Samson staring off into space, drugged out of his mind. They keep returning to that, over and over again. Because seeing a giant, naked, infected man drugged out of his skull is something I want to stare at over and over again, right? Most of the movie’s interest lies in seeing what the Jimmys will do next and how Spike will escape them. That’s great, but not really what I come to see in a 28 hours/day/years/decades/millennia movie.
The movie looks fine, but lacks the cinematography from the first film. That underwater pathway between the island and mainland from the first film? Genius. This doesn’t have that. It’s competent, but I found the most impressive piece (the actual Bone Temple) was already established in the last film. The soundtrack has a couple of old favourites (including the aforementioned Iron Maiden tune), so it gets points for that.
Overall, a solid movie. Was this story so engaging that it needed to be two films? Not really. But it is what it is, and neither film sucks, so what we essentially got, with both runtimes, was a three-and-a-half-hour 28 Years Later movie. Not that I needed it, and the first three films didn’t need two parts and told their stories fine. That seems to be how it goes these days, though. Overall, watch both 28 Years Later movies back-to-back, and you’ll get a cohesive, if overlong story.