28 Years Later: This is the third in the series that I have stumbled upon and from a positive word of mouth. 28 Days Later was 2002. 28 Weeks Later was released in 2007. This series is from writer Alex Garland and directed by Danny Boyle. Alex Garland has been involved in some very interesting projects, like Annihilation, Civil War and Ex Machina. All of these are memorable for me, because they are good stories with good writing and interesting premises. This sequel was released in 2025. Each of the 28 films has an impressive cast. This is no exception with Jodie Comer (Killing Eve) and Ralph Fiennes (English Patient, Conclave) as the best known cast members. The premise continues with England having been quarantied because of a simian-based blood virus that gives people quickly a rage. They become the Infected. Much like the HBO series The Last of Us, this is a series of movies about a dystopian situation and observing how the humans react. The stories each work because rather than a constant barrage of zombie attacks and associated dismemberment, it is a story focused on the humans who are left behind. How are they to one another, how do they survive and how are they looking to move forward. 28 years later, the UK island has been fully quarantined, with naval patrols to ensure that anyone who sets foot on UK soil will not leave. They are truly on their own. The viewers come upon an isolated human community which like St Michel in France, has a single elevated road which is submerged each high tide with a deadly current to exposed in a low tide. Within the community is family where Mom (Comer) is bed-ridden and ill, and her husband (played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson) have a young son, 12yo (played by Alfie Williams) who is about to undergo a right of passage by going to the mainland and then making his first kill of an Infected. The community looks to this as progress towards contributing more fully to everyone.
While on the hunt, Dad and son meet up with some slow and fat Infected who forrage on their hands and needs in the forest eating worms and generally looking disgusting. They move further inland and run across what they regard as “Fast Ones” versus the “Slow Ones” who they killed earlier. The two use a bow an quiver of arrows to slay the Infected. The Fast Ones make their lives a challenge. As they look to go back across the waterway, they are pursued by a very large, powerful Mega-Infected. This is unlike any Infected that this series has shown before. There is a celebration that takes space with Spike’s return to the community. He sees something that changes his outlook. He hears about the perpetrator of a fire that he saw in the distance while on the mainland, and is told that it is a Dr Kelson, whose Dad later confirms is regarded as a lunatic fringe element who has lost his mind. Young Spike takes it upon himself to seek out this doctor and save his ailing Mom. They venture off together onto the mainland. They cross into the mainland and have some adventures where they meet up with a Swedish military soldier who had been shipwrecked onto the mainland with some fellow seamen. They meet up with the Doctor (Fiennes). More things happen.
I like this sequel. This works because it focuses on the people and what is happening to them. We care about young Spike, and how he is looking to take on more to help his immediate family. There is an emotional weight as the story moves forward in ways that are not always anticipated. We explore the idea that “life is life” and that it is precious and should be protected. We learn much more about living and dying than was expected. We further learn that this story doesn’t have to resort to cliches and caricatures but provides deeper, more complete characters who do things with reason. We further explore the idea of evolution, as the Infected seem to be evolving rather than just being a mob that will eat anything until the food source is depleted and they die off. We see that this just isn’t the case anymore. This elevates the genre and the series. Of course there are gory, graphic images with the attacks of the Infected, and this is not for the squeamish. One more time, despite the quality of the story, this isn’t for my Mom. I turn my head from time to time as I don’t always think that the graphic parts are necessary. But they form part of it, so it is tolerated as I can look away. I note that in 2026, there was another installment of this series just released. I haven’t seen it yet. But so far the quality and story telling are still first rate for this genre.
Wicked: For Good: This is the second part to the well received original movie Wicked, released back in 2024. Little time was wasted in bringing in this sequel of course. It stars Cynthia Erivo, and Ariana Grande in the primary roles of green witch Elphaba and white witch Glinda. Jeff Goldblum plays the Wizard and Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh a school master who identifies those who have some magic potential. This is a pre-cursor to the landing of Dorothy in her house from the Wizard of Oz. I have seen the stage performance of this play numerous times both on Broadway and also in Toronto. It is a joyous and fun show. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing it with my then 16yo daughter in NYC. Fabulous. A story of two strong female characters. When I first saw it, I was anxious to see the book written by Gregory Maguire in 1995. It was a dark story and I never in fact finished it. When I heard about the movie(s) being made I was disappointed that they were elongating the story, adding songs that weren’t there originally and basically trying to make more money out of the movie-going public.
But here we are with the sequel and it begins with Elphaba being promoted as the Wicked Witch in Oz. She is, in fact, looking to expose the Wizard for all his lies and deceit with the people, importantly not revealing what is happening with the talking animals among the people. But much is added here, with Jeff Goldblum working in tandem with Michelle Yeoh to secure their power. This flies in the face of the original Oz who was an absent-minded, awkward charlatan from Kansas who is a poor magician as part of a mobile circus. Instead of being falsely put up by the people as a man of tremendous wisdom in the original, this Goldblum character is more conniving and deceitful. Perhaps this is more a reflection of the times. I would also add in the story with Elphaba’s sister, Nessa, and her being in the wheelchair, this was the case from the play. In fact, her portrayal is by actress Marissa Bode, who is in a wheelchair in real life. Nessa is attracted to Boq, a munchkin who had eyes for Glinda, and which makes Nessa very bitter and controlling of Boq’s situation. I further note that the choice on how to introduce the main characters that asisst with Dorothy on her journey are also very different from the original. I cannot agree with the choices made. It all adds up to extra scenes which either contradict what we know about the original Oz, or don’t add value to the play. I believed that the play was the appropriate amount of time, in the same way I feel that The Hobbit in the Lord of the Rings world was also a self-contained smaller story that didn’t require multiple films. I will say that I like the song For Good because it shows that these two strong women, with different strengths were able to become the best of friends despite their circumstance. It is the emotional crux of the second film. Despite the flaws of the film, I still enjoyed this song. Although Glinda was played by the Wizard and Yeoh, and she seemed to go along with the plan against Elphaba for a time, it seems that she recognizes in time what can really matter. The first Wicked was nominated for 10 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actress (Erivo). It won two awards for Costumes and Production Design. This movie justifiably received no Oscar consideration. It still looks terrific, with the costumes, make up and production quality. But sadly the story as constructed doesn’t hold up to how good that it looks. So many people love The Wizard of Oz, and this mellowed out version of the Maguire book is a Broadway hit musical in every sense of the word. I wished that the choice was made to keep the movie as a single release. It would be stronger throughout and not lose momentum with times where it lags. I cannot recommend this. If you really want to enjoy the story as a musical, go see the stage performance in Broadway or at a local theatre if it plays there.
Mondays With Robbie 