28 Years Later (2025) Dir: Danny Boyle
- Ridley Coote
- Jul 6
- 3 min read
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If I were to draw up a list of the films I was looking forward to most in 2025, this long-awaited sequel would be right near the top of the list. Acclaimed filmmaker Danny Boyle returned to the world of one of his most iconic films; '28 Days Later', in what looked like it would be one of the biggest films of the year. I knew I had to see it in the cinema - it felt like a big cinematic event for me. I couldn't wait.
As one can expect from a Danny Boyle film, this was extremely visually engaging, unique, and interesting to look at. There were some very creative shots, particularly as it pertains to big blockbuster level films like this one. The accompanying soundtrack was brilliant, and captured the intensity, the horror, and the adventure of the story perfectly. The film captured the British countryside in stunning fashion, creating a beautiful, yet undeniably haunted, vision of a post-apocalyptic UK landscape.
The narrative was as exhilarating as it was emotional. Perhaps oddly, it had the feel of British social realism, but within the established world of an infected Britain. I found the family dynamics to be particularly poignant, with the vastly different relationships between each parent and their child being very intriguing and thought provoking. Like the majority of post-apocalyptic films, the story involved a significant literal journey, along with the metaphorical one. Although it wasn't necessarily an original way to tell the story, it was still very effective. With that said, the final scene was utterly bizarre, even if the way it was subtly foreshadowed throughout the film was clever.
The main cast's performances were all very strong, for the most part, with the young Alfie Williams absolutely blowing me away with his frankly incredible coming-of-age leading display. I thought he showed an incredibly degree of personality, development, vulnerability, and variety in his acting - it was a pleasure to watch him perform. It certainly felt like I was watching a much more experienced actor - the maturity and diversity of Williams' acting was way beyond his years. I think he's an actor to keep an eye on in the future.
The supporting cast all have significant roles at different points of the film, with the performance of Jodie Comer standing out the most to me. She was marvellous, and was able to make herself incredibly endearing and believable in a challenging role. Aaron Taylor-Johnson was very good on the whole, but there were definitely a few times where his accent slipped a little bit. He felt like a genuine father figure though, and his mannerisms all felt legitimate. I would also like to give praise to Ralph Fiennes for his odd, yet extremely touching, performance. I really hope he features more in the sequel. Additionally, although he barely appeared in this film, I fully expect Jack O'Connell to provide a very memorable character in the next film as well.
Overall, I was so happy with how this film turned out - I had moderately high expectations coming into it, but I had worried a little about if it would live up to the hype or not. For my money, I think it definitely did. Furthermore, I think it was very successful in its aim of establishing a compelling protagonist, as well as an engaging story, for the rest of the proposed trilogy. I cannot wait to see what wild and likely horrifying direction Danny Boyle takes this franchise in.
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