I originally avoided watching these films as I felt that it would just result in me spouting my annoyance in another British director selling out to Hollywood. Needless to say I have enough annoyance factor in my life without needing to pay for the experience.
I eventually succumbed to watching them due to teaching a module on British Cinema and searching for a Hollywood influenced British film. This I found, but much, much more as well.
Clearly, Danny Boyle has made a conscious decision to produce a genre film with all the special effects, action, narrative points that would appease your general Box Office botherers. The film gained a lot of press for the amazingly grand scenes of a deserted London filmed using crane shots and featuring ruins and abandoned vehicles, which must have been a relatively expensive shoot. This seems to have been financed by a surprisingly high level of product placement - a number of shots of various Pepsi products are forced on the viewer at the beginning of the movie. The most hilarious of which sees Jim (Cillian Murphy) gulping down Pepsi when he emerges from a coma at the beginning of '28 days' giving the connotation that Pepsi will be there for you when you need it most. I believe, and hope, that this over the top advertising is Danny Boyle's way of mocking product placements while still running of with the money. This, I think, is a very important point as while both films are both financed in part by 20th Century Fox they feature a great deal of attributes associated with British film.
Both films feature naturalistic performances by British actors who all have history in making realist British films. The acting purposefully avoids being melodramatic, which mustn't have been easy when zombies start attacking on mass. Another major British realist element would be the documentary style camera work used to shoot many scenes - making the viewer a participant in the action taking place.
The major thing that makes this film stand out from your usual American horror genre flick though is the surprising depth of the films. The messages and values here being concerned with the dehumanisation of society in extreme situations; punctuated by the cold and calculated way characters are dispatched when they become infected. The juxtaposition is obvious in the films between those who are out for self preservation and those who will sacrifice all for others. The gripping points being the attempted rapes at the military base in '28 days' and the story surrounding Robert Carlyle's character Don in '28 weeks' - from the moment he makes his shocking decision in the opening scene to the tense and astounding interplay with his wife later on.
I would have to say that I made a mistake in not seeing these films at the cinema - 2 films that really draw together what you want from an entertainment film and a thought provoking drama. excellent stuff. now for the prequel - 28 seconds later.
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