jakepassolt
Joined Feb 2021
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Ratings757
jakepassolt's rating
Reviews22
jakepassolt's rating
TLDR: Everything about the world-building is amazingly well done but the story is tonally inconsistent and incomplete.
I really like the idea of 28 days later. I thought that 28 weeks later was a letdown and a disappointment. 28 years later is not without flaws but overall I thought it was a great follow-up for the franchise.
I loved the contrast that we saw between the peaceful island and the desolate mainland. We see that humanity endures and adapts to threats without losing itself, all done in a realistic way.
The infected are generally treated very well. They are shown to be a real threat and dealing with them is not an idle task.
This movie delivers on almost every aspect except when it comes to the story.
The first half of the movie is great, it's what the trailers promised and it delivers a "Last of Us" vibe that is very satisfying. Then the story does a front flip and goes in a completely different direction that is tonally inconsistent with what we saw in the beginning. I don't hate the second half of the movie but I also didn't think that Spike's actions and motivations made sense after his first experience on the mainland.
Also that ending sequence was actually so insane I started laughing. I wasn't even mad, that was just crazy. I'm curious if they'll follow this up with another sequel.
Either way this is a very good movie. 7.5/10
P. S. The only thing I really hated in the movie was that a group of well armed and armored soldiers couldn't take down 20 infected even though they had assault rifles. Same issue that 28 Weeks Later had. The military should be able to make short work of zombies that are just regular humans.
I really like the idea of 28 days later. I thought that 28 weeks later was a letdown and a disappointment. 28 years later is not without flaws but overall I thought it was a great follow-up for the franchise.
I loved the contrast that we saw between the peaceful island and the desolate mainland. We see that humanity endures and adapts to threats without losing itself, all done in a realistic way.
The infected are generally treated very well. They are shown to be a real threat and dealing with them is not an idle task.
This movie delivers on almost every aspect except when it comes to the story.
The first half of the movie is great, it's what the trailers promised and it delivers a "Last of Us" vibe that is very satisfying. Then the story does a front flip and goes in a completely different direction that is tonally inconsistent with what we saw in the beginning. I don't hate the second half of the movie but I also didn't think that Spike's actions and motivations made sense after his first experience on the mainland.
Also that ending sequence was actually so insane I started laughing. I wasn't even mad, that was just crazy. I'm curious if they'll follow this up with another sequel.
Either way this is a very good movie. 7.5/10
P. S. The only thing I really hated in the movie was that a group of well armed and armored soldiers couldn't take down 20 infected even though they had assault rifles. Same issue that 28 Weeks Later had. The military should be able to make short work of zombies that are just regular humans.
This movie is a mixed bag of good and bad elements that overall create a decently enjoyable movie-going experience.
The movie itself is technically impressive. Considering that every racing sequence is essentially just shots of cars on a track, they do a lot to keep you engaged with the races themselves. They also do a decent job at adding both of our deuteragonists' emotions and personalities into how they race. Brad Pitt's character obviously steals the show and he's the main reason this movie works but I also really appreciated how they treated Damson Idris' character.
The real issue is that the story is essentially a paint by numbers plotline. I'm not kidding when I say this is literally just a live-action adaptation of Cars 3, because in a lot of ways they have the same story. After the opening sequence at Daytona I knew exactly how this movie was going to end. Nothing was surprising, everything was predictable. It really felt like the writers were actively trying to fit every cliche and trope that they could into this movie. I honestly feel like they should've cut out the forced romance sub-plot and the surprise twist villain and this would be a stronger and more concise film because of it. A racing movie doesn't need to be 2.5 hours long.
That being said, the acting and directing are strong enough to stand on their own and I think that the technical aspects of the movie turn a dull story into an enjoyable viewing experience.
Story: 5/10 Acting: 7.5/10 Cinematography: 8/10 Score: 7/10 Overall: 6.8/10.
The movie itself is technically impressive. Considering that every racing sequence is essentially just shots of cars on a track, they do a lot to keep you engaged with the races themselves. They also do a decent job at adding both of our deuteragonists' emotions and personalities into how they race. Brad Pitt's character obviously steals the show and he's the main reason this movie works but I also really appreciated how they treated Damson Idris' character.
The real issue is that the story is essentially a paint by numbers plotline. I'm not kidding when I say this is literally just a live-action adaptation of Cars 3, because in a lot of ways they have the same story. After the opening sequence at Daytona I knew exactly how this movie was going to end. Nothing was surprising, everything was predictable. It really felt like the writers were actively trying to fit every cliche and trope that they could into this movie. I honestly feel like they should've cut out the forced romance sub-plot and the surprise twist villain and this would be a stronger and more concise film because of it. A racing movie doesn't need to be 2.5 hours long.
That being said, the acting and directing are strong enough to stand on their own and I think that the technical aspects of the movie turn a dull story into an enjoyable viewing experience.
Story: 5/10 Acting: 7.5/10 Cinematography: 8/10 Score: 7/10 Overall: 6.8/10.
TLDR: An overreliance on shaky cam, weak doors, and incompetent characters turned this sequel into a generic zombie thriller.
I liked 28 Days Later. It's limited budget and strong writing, acting, and directing made it an interesting take on the zombie genre. This movie does not follow suit.
28 Weeks Later starts off with an interesting premise of a post-zombie society in London. We get to see the fallout of the outbreak and we get to see people starting to rebuild. This is probably the only good and unique decision the writers made.
The writing in this movie is the weakest link. The infected can seemingly break through any door, no matter how strongly it's barricaded(even though they are regular people). The main characters make really dumb decisions for no other reason than to move the plot forward. The military is shown as being completely incompetent and they also make terrible decisions that make no sense other than an easy way for the writers to push the plot forward as well(putting the civilians in an unguarded basement?).
Overall, the movie is a stark reminder of all the cliché slop that was produced in the 2000s. The over-reliance on shaky cam was a cheap way to try to increase tension when really it just made every action scene feel jumbled together and disconnected. The can zombies really only succeed due to every characters' incompetence. The effects are pretty basic and don't even get much screen time due to the rapid shaky cam cuts. The movie feels like a cash grab.
Interesting premise, bad execution: 5.5/10.
I liked 28 Days Later. It's limited budget and strong writing, acting, and directing made it an interesting take on the zombie genre. This movie does not follow suit.
28 Weeks Later starts off with an interesting premise of a post-zombie society in London. We get to see the fallout of the outbreak and we get to see people starting to rebuild. This is probably the only good and unique decision the writers made.
The writing in this movie is the weakest link. The infected can seemingly break through any door, no matter how strongly it's barricaded(even though they are regular people). The main characters make really dumb decisions for no other reason than to move the plot forward. The military is shown as being completely incompetent and they also make terrible decisions that make no sense other than an easy way for the writers to push the plot forward as well(putting the civilians in an unguarded basement?).
Overall, the movie is a stark reminder of all the cliché slop that was produced in the 2000s. The over-reliance on shaky cam was a cheap way to try to increase tension when really it just made every action scene feel jumbled together and disconnected. The can zombies really only succeed due to every characters' incompetence. The effects are pretty basic and don't even get much screen time due to the rapid shaky cam cuts. The movie feels like a cash grab.
Interesting premise, bad execution: 5.5/10.