Warnings:
Brief Nudity, many violent scenes, rape is hinted at. Might not be appropriate for some younger children
SUMMARY:
Animal rights activists, in their desires to free test animals, unwittingly release a virus. 28 days later bicycle courier Jim awakens from a coma to find the city of London apparently deserted. He manages to join up with other uninfected people and they set out to survive the virus and other dangers present in this new environment.
My Opinion:
I first saw this movie in the theater, and having heard a lot of good about it went in with fairly high expectations. I was not disappointed. This movie takes the best parts of The Omega Man and the original Night of the Living Dead and manages to combine them very effectively. The script writer himself acknowledges being influenced by those movies as well as Day of the Triffids and the rest of Romero’s Dead movies. The use of digital cameras in filming this movie made it less grainy and more real in looks then most movies I have seen. There is also a strong female character, Selena, who grows through the movie, as do the other leads. The characters are very real, and it is easy to either like or hate them. Rather then try to stick in batches of “Zombie fodder” they stick to a small group of people, allowing a better chance for character growth and attachment. My only nitpick was the end, and that was only after seeing the other options they gave, I personally liked the alternate endings offered better.
EXTRAS:
Audio commentary by Director Danny Boyle and Writer Alex Garland
3 Alternate endings: I thoroughly enjoyed the alternate endings provided, though I can’t say too much about them without spoiling them. I will say one is only in storyboard format, and what was supposed to happen is told in a voice over while the storyboard goes frame by frame on the screen. This would have been an interesting thing to see even if only in a rough cut shot.
Deleted scenes with optional commentary:
“Pure Rage: The Making of 28 Days Later” featurette: This featurette makes watching the movie spookier. They have experts there pointing out how easy it is for a virus to rage unchecked within human populations. Definitely something to watch though.
Jacknife Lee music video
Animated storyboards
Still photo gallery
Theatrical teaser and trailer
Overall view of the DVD:
This DVD is a good watch. Between the movie itself and the extras it offers, while this isn’t the fanciest DVD, it is a very good one. The movie is an excellent one, and while it doesn't have fancy special extras, the ones they have are well done.
