Now, don’t get me or the movie wrong, it does a good job of casting some military men in positive roles.  Not all of the troops like their missions.  Some, in fact, discover that they can’t carry out a mission that requires them to kill innocents along with the hostiles.  Others work toward a solution by protecting those who would solve the problem.  These individuals struggle for this right, and some pay a high price for their willingness to stand for what is right.

By making the political commentary, 28 Weeks Later hasn’t forgotten what many consider one of the greatest attributes of horror, and especially the Zombie genre.  It is a shame that many can’t see beyond the gore of something like this to see the film for what it has to say—few movies bother to make the commentary and provide questions like this one does.  Now, some might say that because the commentary is political, it is not spiritual.  But we come to both a question of morality and a question of spirituality.  It is in addressing these questions that Fresnadillo and his writers do a brilliant job.

These questions challenge us beyond our political agendas.  Is society focused on solutions, or do we force our views and actions on others?  How often do we overlook solutions to our problems?  Is the fear in our lives more powerful than the love in our lives?  How far are we willing to go to show others love?  Are we willing to lay down our lives for others?  How do we bring about the greater good, as opposed to the popular thing? There are more questions offered, but these are a start.  I especially appreciated the film’s willingness to let viewers come to their own conclusions without offering too many answers—that is, outside of their obvious view of the United States when it comes to military action.  Even with that, though, people serving in the military will likely appreciate the film’s recognition of the moral integrity of many who serve.

Now, besides the political commentary, there is enough blood and guts to keep the Zombie and Horror fans quite happy.  There is one innovative massacre scene involving a rescue mission and a helicopter that is like nothing I have seen before.  There are certainly plenty of scares, head-turners, and thought-provoking commentary to keep one entertained, if you can call this entertainment (and some certainly will).  
 
Now on a technical perspective: I was certainly impressed with the dark tendencies of the film’s cinematography.  The direction and editing were also quite nice.  I was a little disappointed in the script and would have liked to see the story tie in together a little more than it did.  There were too many unanswered questions, and the ending is certainly confusing at best.  It is a good movie, one worth seeing, but not great.
 
On a scale of 1 – 10, while not better than the first film in the series, certainly as good as the original, I will give it a 7 for that, for the good time, and the price of an admission ticket, $7

Continue: 1 2