28 Weeks Later

I went to see 28 Weeks Later last night. Having thoroughly enjoyed the franchise's initial installment 28 Days Later, I was very much looking forward to seeing this sequel. However, leading up to the actual viewing, it seemed every review I read of the film talked about how the movie was well done, but a bit overwrought with political undertones. Watching with those notions in mind, I was definitely able to identify what these reviews were speaking of. Unlike the first film, which had subtle, if any, political insinuations, the sequel played out as an allegory for the US occupation of Iraq, painting the US Military as ignorant, arrogant would-be do-gooder's, who end up getting in a little over their head while rebuilding a post-Rage Virus Great Britain. Now, whether you're for or against US involvement in Iraq, that is a whole other conversation, one which I won't begin to get into in this forum. The point is, on a metaphorical level, the film worked to some degree. The problem is that the political backdrop gets overshadowed by the intensity of the chase-and-attack scenes after the virus has broken out again. New director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo's cinematography stays wonderfully consistent with this sequel's predecessor in capturing the same sense of raw, frenetic guerilla-carnage that captivates audiences far more effectively than most movies in the horror/thriller genre. Overall all, it was a good watch. Not as good as the first, but good in its own right, nonetheless.

P.S. Please don't talk to your friends and relatives while you're in a movie theater and the movie you just payed $10 to see is playing. You people know who you are. And also, try not to laugh loudly and obnoxiously at moments that aren't meant to be funny. That's just annoying. You're like school in summertime: no class. That's right, that was a Fat Albert insult. You earned it.