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Rating: A
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We are back with another of Ray's Reviews. This time, we have a doozy for you. We were lucky enough to attend a special advance screening of 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. This film is a much awaited follow-up to 28 Years Later that had an ending that left many of us saying.... WTF? I am back to report that we finally have pulled this story back together, and it is an INSANE ride. So breaking this down, when 28 Years Later ende,d we saw our boy Spike (Played by Alfie Williams) having been picked up by the gang of Jimmy's. These guys stood out in an insane way compared to anyone we had seen in the entire film because they are all rocking various color track suits, long blonde hair, and all appear to call themselves Jimmy. The big Jimmy of the group is Sir Jimmy Crystal who is played by Sinners cast member Jack O'Connell. Now, after seeing them just mow down infected with gleeful precision at the end of the last film, you knew these guys were operating at a level of insanity that was going to bring something wild to the next movie, and I have to say they do indeed bring it. So lets get into what 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is bringing to the table, shall we?
This installment not only brings back the weird Jimmy's and our man Spike from the first film but we also get the return of Ralph Fiennes Dr. Kelson and the juggernaut who plays our infected Alpha Samson, Chi Lewis-Parry. The film starts out with Dr. Kelson just cleaning up the mess from the previous film by carrying the deceased body of the pregnant infected woman out of the car and bringing her back to his Bone Temple. Along the way, he meets a very enrages Samson who he once again blow darts into submission but we see Samson is definitely feeling the effects of an infected wound on his chest, which the god doctor decides to help him out by treating. Realizing just how docile Samson is under the drugs, he begins to form an idea. Is it possible to bring someone back from the rage virus? Samson who weirdly begins to understand that the Doctor is not a threat to him, begins to return to the Bone Temple daily to get treatment for his infected wounds, and the oddest "friendship" in film history begins between the two. Their interactions had me laughing way more than I thought I would be throughout this film because it is just nuts. The good thing is that you need this lighter story happening to give you a bit of a breather from the other half of the story that is unfolding with the Jimmy's and poor Spike.
Spike has had some serious bad luck getting roped in with this merry band of psychos. We pick up with his initiation into the Jimmy's gang, which is, of course, a fight to the death with one of the current members. If he wins, he joins them, and if he loses, he dies. Of course, Spike is the smallest member of this group, and he ends up having to fight their biggest man while Sir Jimmy Crystal watches from the sidelines. It goes without saying that Spike ends up on top here or else we wouldn't have much of a film otherwise. With Spike as a full-fledged member of the Jimmy's, we start to figure out what these guys are all about. Under the command of Sir Jimmy Crystal, who I am going to start calling Big Jimmy, the group travels around murdering anyone they come across as a sacrifice to Big Jimmy's old man.....Satan. Yeah, Big Jimmy is convinced that his Vicar father from the first film was actually leading the hordes of infected straight out of hell and has now made this psycho cult. The cult believes that Big Jimmy is the next in line to rule hell and is set on being one of his seven fingers to help follow his bidding. These guys are a lot to say the least. I am not a huge fan of gore, but watching these guys unleash their special brand of 'charity' is a lot. The only person who disliked watching it more had to be Spike. Thankfully for him, he finds an unlikely friend in one of the Jimmys who goes by Jimmy Ink. She is the only Jimmy who actually seems to think about things and even questions the motives behind Big Jimmy's ramblings and demands. Big Jimmy sends Jimmy Ink out to scout around the area, and she, lo and behold, comes upon a wild sight. A Temple made of bones, and a red/orange man who can clearly manipulate and control the infected. When she reports back to Big Jimmy about this is brings the entire film together to the culmination we have all been waiting for.
Okay, so I am not planning on spoiling the end of the film, but I need you to know that in the beginning, until about half way through the fil,m I thought this was just kinda meh. However, once you get on the crazy ride that is the last half of the movie, buckle up because it makes the whole journey worth it. Things that we get in this last half include being able to get a glimpse into what the infected see when they look at the uninfected, getting to see Ralph Fiennes deliver probably my favorite performance that he has ever done (take a look at that poster up there, you have no idea the level of awesome that is happening when that poster screen shot is taken) and finally something even more awesome that all of that, which I will not even give details about. Sorry, you will thank me later. Just know that the second half of this film pulled my rating from a B- all the way up to an A just because of the second half alone. Things that are noteable from the screening I attending: audience members clapping and cheering throughout parts of the second half, myself included. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is an absolute roller coaster of madness that pays off big in the end. If you are even a little bit of a fan of this series you should add this one to your must see list. I don't know about you guys but I was getting fed ads over Christmas break showing reactions from a very early screening of the film and now I understand why so many people were walking out and riding that high wave of excitement. Bring on the third installment of 28 Years Later because I AM READY!
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple hits theaters January 16th and you will not want to miss it!