Cut off from the rest of the world, the UK has being the roaming ground for the infected, with a few isolated communities of non-infected.
On a small island, young boy Spike (Alfie Williams) is trying to learn his father’s (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) survival skills, while caring for his mother (Jodie Comer), who has been stricken with a mysterious illness.
When Spike learns there is a doctor on the mainland, he comes up with a plan to get the care his mother needs.
I seriously considered not watching this movie.
I have not been in the best shape, physically or mentally, and a post-apocalyptic thriller did not feel that appetising.
On top of that, I was just not that inspired by what I have not been feeling that inspired by what I have been watching.
This movie was just what the muse ordered.
I rewatched 28 Days Later the day before I watched this. I do not think I have watched it in a decade.
I have never had that strong feelings about it.
On this rewatch the scene that stood out - and which I was reminded of when watching this sequel - was the scene when Brendan Gleeson’s single father is infected.
The character has just had an argument with his daughter, and as soon as he realises how little time he has left, his focus shifts.
He quickly apologises to his daughter, tells her he loves her, and charges in the opposite direction.
It is a beautifully human moment, in a movie about finding humanity amidst the worst of circumstances - the fight between individual survival and shared empathy.
I enjoyed this movie, but I cannot remember how I felt about the opening because the third act is so profoundly moving.
The first part of the film is a ruse - a coming-of-age story in which our protagonist goes through a traumatic, violent experience that he learns a completely different lesson from the one he is meant to.
Instead of becoming a man through combat, he becomes a faux legend.
This section is solid: There are a few scenes that you could call action or horror-adjacent, but it is fairly familiar stuff.
Once the film shifts into its main action, in which our hero takes his mother to find a doctor, it becomes something more original - and profound.
We get an intriguing injection of the outside world through a lost soldier, Erik (Edvin Ryding), who has been trapped in England - it appears the rest of the world has carried on, creating an intriguing premise that I hope the series will build on. Having the UK stuck in a post-apocalyptic version of 2002, with a character from the 2020s, feels like the stage setting for something more overtly satirical. We get one great joke - Spike’s bafflement at something in a photo of Erik’s girlfriend - that feels like a tease of something more.
Once Spike and his mother Isla (Jodie Comer) reach the bone temple, the movie elevates into the stratosphere.
It speaks to the power of the final scenes that I had to really concentrate to remember what came before.
Ralph Fiennes is moving as Dr Kelson, a deeply compassionate man who has found a way to navigate this new world. He acts as a guide for Spike and his mother , giving them the anchor they need for their painful final choice.
What ends the film is a beautiful meditation of loss, transition and memory.
I want to watch it again, just to delve deeper into that finale.
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