| Posted by: Nate6 at July 26, 2003, 11:54 pm | | Topic: Reviews: 28 Days Later Forum: JoBlo | | POSSIBLE SPOILERS THROUGHOUT When I think of 28 Days Later I think, what could have been? A movie that is a near-masterpiece in its first half goes a little off the rails in its second half. Blame it on the infected. I make it a habit not to do synopses in my reviews because it takes too much time and I know someone else has already written one. So, here's what I think. The performances are largely very good. Cillian Murphy is excellent in the film's principal role of Jim. He makes his character realistic and human, one who isn't always certain and is sometimes a little scared, sometimes very scared. Good stuff. I did not, however, need to see his federal endowment. Naomie Harris was powerfully good as Selena. Her character reminded me of so many people I know. Brendan Gleeson, who has never not been great, and Megan Burns are wonderful as a father and daughter whose only way to survive is by leaning on each other. Christopher Eccleston, a usually-excellent actor, was not quite so good. I saw very little life and expression in his performance, it was stunningly boring and wooden for such a superb actor. Ah well. The direction was good in most parts. The camerawork and cinematography were mostly superb. I like how the image was distorted when the people were confused, etc. However, the camerawork went absolutely ape-shit (pun intended) during any fighting/attack scenes. I had no fucking idea what the hell was going on, who was being killed, who was screaming. But other than that, good. The writing wasn't bad. The first half, maybe even two-thirds, of this film was brilliant. Alex Garland expertly explored characters and situations with realism and intelligence. He made the characters do what normal human beings would do, most of the time (except the taking Valium outside in the nighttime thing; who the hell would be crazy enough to do that?). They were scared, frustated and tense, but also able to elicit some happiness and joy from each other, a reminder that humans thrive on their dependence on other people. Plus, the thing got fuckin' scary and exciting at times, and tugged at the heartstrings a little. Then, they got to the military hideout, and after a while there, it all turned to shit. A promising character study turned into a confusing jumble of awkward action sequences and hypocritically-written, poorly-acted characters. I liked the exploration of what happens to people isolated together in one area but after a while it got a little too crazy for my liking. As for the endings, well, THIS IS WHERE THE SPOILERS COME IN. The original ending was a little too pat for my opinion. I thought it was nice to see them OK and get rescued, but for the kind of film it was, it was maybe too happy. The alternate ending is reams better. It's completely open and even a little sad. It was too bad to see Jim die, but it was cool that Selena and Hannah walked off, not knowing what was going to happen. It was a much better fit, and very cool. ENDING SPOILERS ENDED. Overall, a film that is brilliant during the first half/two-thirds and a letdown later. I loved the first part of it just enough to give it a... 7/10 |
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