I saw this on DVD the other day. I had sort of a mixed reaction to it.
I loved the early scenes in London; all the empty, deserted streets, nihilistic graffiti, frozen esculators and all that. Very powerful sense of entropy (okay, you’d expect to see a few more cars around the place, on the whole, but films don’t always have to be logical).
The plot was rather cliched and predictable. Handful of survivors go on a road-trip to a bastion of safety where All Is Not As It Seems. The romantic subplot also seemed forced; Selena even points out early on how utterly inane something like that being supposed to happen would be.
Something weird happens to Jim’s character; he goes from being wimpy, inexperienced bicycle courier guy to stealthy combat ninja guy three quarters of the way through the movie. It isn’t just learning the ropes of the post apocalypse existence, it is becoming a fucking stealthy combat ninja.
And wtf was with all the product placement? Explicit references to a dozen name brands, not to mention an actual argument over what fizzy drink to have.
I watched the alternative ending on the DVD; I thought it was kinda interesting, and tied in better with the beginning that the real ending (seems to make sense that Jim started in a hospital, so his story finishes in one).
That’s what I thought at first anyway. Although, in all fairness, I did like 28 Days for some reason. Managed to avoid most of the pitfalls of other rehab-movies, IMHO.
I haven’t seen 28 Days later, but, as reflected in the OP, I’v heard mixed things about it.
Howaya Mr Tambo. Just to let you know that it is expected to put Spolier in the title so people who don’t what to know about the movie will not have it ruined on them. I’ve alerted the MODs to change the title
Anyway SPOILERS on the way
While he did seem to suddenly become more skilled I actually liked the way they showed him moving from a person who didn’t want to hurt anybody to a ruthless bastard who will do almost anything to protect himself and those he cares about.
While the movie is patchy I really liked it and felt it created the right sort of atmosphere. Like you I also liked the alternative ending story board but agree with Boyle that it was unworkable due to the replacing blood problem.
BTW, for any Americans who are interested in a preview, you can watch the first 6 minutes of the movie on the Fox site. In addition, there are sneak previews of the movie tonight in various cities. For DC Dopers, it’s at the Georgetown 14 tonight at 10:00.
I cannot wait for this to come out. I was a huge fan of trainspotting, and I have all (read: 2) of Alex Garlands books. Ive been counting the days, and then I have to go and pick up a British FHM and see that its already on DVD. Ive been sitting around all day pondering whether my credit can handle another charge today (yes I have my DVD player region cracked).
