Reviews

While I enjoyed this big-budget sequel very much, my inner-teenager who read The Amazing Spider-Man, Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man, Marvel Team-Ups, and the old Marvel Tales re-hashes wonders one thing: Where's the chatter?

That was the coolest thing about Spidey! He would get under his foes' skin with the constant wise-cracking. He was a joker, a motormouth. It was his relentless head games that made the action so sweet in the original comics! That's why I'm not digging the Tobey Maguire casting...the wide-eyed vulnerability should be giving way to the razor wit by now.

Then there was this little issue (SPOILER warning!): Spider-Man has the strength to stop a runaway locomotive. Why, then, did his half a dozen punches to Doc Ock's face do little or no damage? Aunt May at least broke his sunglasses with her umbrella handle!

Spider-Man pummels him to no effect? Huh? How's that work? Also, I cringed to see the web-slinger's "secret" identity thrown out to anyone who was ever curious. And that scene where he's lifted and passed overhead in the train car? Oh, brother.

Don't get me wrong; I had fun with this movie. Raimi did some excellent work (the "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" montage was classic!). But those of you who read the comics as a kid or have enjoyed the recent Ultimate Spider-Man series will understand what I'm saying. Tobey is a decent Parker, but a listless crime fighter. I'd have cast Topher Grace (Eric Foreman from That 70s Show) as the wall-crawler. Geekier build, quicker comic delivery. And I'd have hired that Brian Michael Bendis guy from the Ultimate series to do the screenplay.

Several comments posted here indicate that this is a "boring" film. Many accuse it of "sucking". I couldn't disagree more. This ain't a Hollywood monster movie. So if you are the type that has been de-sensitized away from classic thrillers via Freddy, Jason, and Mike Myers...you won't find much to like about 28 Days Later. It borrows just a bit from George Romero's early zombie films, but don't be fooled---this is NOT a zombie flic. Just as much as viewers want to conjure the "Living Dead" series, they should be equally conscious of Lord of the Flies and (Stephen King's) The Stand. 28 Days Later focuses more on human psychology than decapitations. Again, if you want mindless gore...well, this won't satisfy.

Maybe this might be a reliable litmus to tell if you'd like 28 Days Later: If you were creeped-out by Session 9, you should give this movie a chance. I suggest this because TDL puts you in a bizarre setting and lets your imagination unravel your nerves. It's not the sole responsibility of "zombies" to scare viewers; it's the loneliness...the bleakness...and the survival-mode itself that frightens.

A word about the direction (beware possible SPOILERS): The "infected" humans (aka "zombies" for a common, albeit off-target, reference) attack with full "Rage" (the actual disease they suffer), and the camera work is hard to follow. To my thinking, the scenes work better with this jittery approach. Why should we see clearly what damage a Rage-infected human can inflict? Don't we already know? Aren't their red eyes, boiling blood, and guttural growlings enough to clue us in to their danger? Should the Rage-afflicted be slowed down so audiences can see a Matrix-style wire act? And I'd argue that the origin of the Rage virus is no more or less incredible than Romero's "Hell is full, so the dead will walk the earth" scenario...

Let me paint one scene for you (definite SPOILER ahead), and you judge if it sounds like it's worth seeing:

The father character attempts to drive away a crow that's feasting on the flesh of an infected corpse. (Both are overhead, BTW) A drop of blood happens to land smack on his eyeball! It has been established that Rage will course thru the bloodstream in 20-30 seconds, and effects will be immediately visible. (It's a terrific vehicle for the actors! )The father character paws at his eye, knowing full well that he's screwed. He stumbles over to his daughter and takes his last few sane seconds to remind her he loves her. Then, nearly in the same breath, he's transformed into a snarling beast that can't resist the blood-borne urge to rend her to pieces! He was a very likable character to that point, and on a dime he turns and suddenly must be subdued (killed) by the others. Any hesitation would be tragic. It's a powerful scene.

THAT's why this film works. Low-budget horror movie directors should take note.