Is 28 Weeks Later just another sequel designed to cash in on the success of its predecessor, 28 Days Later?

Is is just a bunch of bloody action, or is there something meaningful going on here?

As a big fan of the first film — an extremely violent film by Danny Boyle (director of Millions) that was thought-provoking and haunting — I’m eager to see if this sets the bar even higher for zombie movies, or if it’s just recklessly indulgent.

I’m encouraged by the review at Crosswalk. Christian Hamaker (Crosswalk) writes:

… [B]y giving us a compromised father figure who pays for the abandonment of his wife in her time of greatest need, then subsequently lies about it to his children and is found out, 28 Weeks Later suggests that some form of justice is inescapable. The Old Testament reminds us, ‘Behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out’ (Numbers 32:23).

Wow. He took it very seriously. And he’s not done yet:

Although God is not part of the characters’ consciousness in 28 Weeks Later, the unusual picture of a broken family trying to reconcile makes this terrifying film much more than just the latest cinematic scare-fest. It wants us to recognize how families are threatened by outside forces, as well as by personal betrayals. … Its broken-family tragedy and lack of jingoistic militarism make 28 Weeks Later a more cerebral experience than the typical summer sequel.

According to Nick Curtis, the movie’s every bit as good as its predecessor.

Peter Suderman is also totally stoked, because of the reviews he’s sharing at his blog.

But it’s not a sure thing. I can usually trust reviews written by Adam Walter, and he comes out of the movie far less than stoked.

It’s really just your typical zombie bloodbath without anything terribly unusual about it. Ho hum.

And Kurt Jensen (CNS) says:

Despite some decent special effects and cinematography, director and co-writer Juan Carlos Fresnadillo has mostly served up 101 minutes of mind-numbing, nearly plotless butchery. … There’s little in the way of logic, and no attempt to even explain why the virus acts the way it does. The preview audience could only yell at the screen in disbelief.

Don’t go into Bob Hoose‘s Focus on the Family review looking for anything like Christian Hamaker’s interpretation. Hoose dismisses it as a waste:

28 Weeks Later starts bloody, runs bloody and ends bloody. … What was the scariest moment for me? It was during the closing credits when I realized that the weak, open-ended finish probably meant there’d be another sequel.