"28 Years Later: The Bone Temple" Movie Review: Ralph Fiennes At His Finest
RT - 🍅 93%
METASCORE - 80
MY SCORE - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
But, they proved us all wrong.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is the 4th installment in the 28 Days Later film franchise, and honestly, might be it's best. Ralph Fiennes puts up what I believe to be an Oscar-worthy performance.
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
This film picks up where the first 28 Years Later left off. We find our hero, Spike (Alfie Williams), being initiated into the Fingers gang, led by the enigmatic and self-proclaimed son of Sir Nick, Jimmy Crystal (Jack 'Connell). Once Spike wins the fight to the death against one of the other Jimmies by stabbing him in the leg, he becomes the next member in the seven person cult.
On the other side of the island, we see the infected Alpha (Chi Lewis-Parry) eating his way through his latest victim. He then comes across Dr. Ian Kelson (Fiennes), who manages to sedate "Samson," as he calls him, enough to observe him and clean him up. Samson and Kelson form an unlikely bond throughout the film as Kelson starts to piece together something that no one else has thought of to this point: what if the infection affects more than just the body, but also the brain? If sedatives can calm the rage in the body, maybe some antipsychotics can calm the mind? Once the discovery is made, you begin to see Samson retreating back to his more human-like state pre-infection.
When The Fingers happen upon Kelson "convening with the monsters," they mistake him for Sir Nick himself, which puts Jimmy in an awkward bind because up to now, he has used the fear of Sir Nick to radicalize his followers. Jimmy convenes with Kelson and says that he must play along in convincing his followers that he is Sir Nick, Jimmy's father, and must continue their evil quest, or else he will kill him. Kelson, although skeptical, agrees to play along.
When they approach him on the second night, Kelson has already set the stage for a theatrical and spectacular show of Sir Nick, empowered by Iron Maiden's "Number of the Beast", and almost gets away with the deception, until Kelson recognizes Spike, whom he had met and befriended in the previous film. With Spike being so young, and remembering what he went through the last time they had met, he turns the tide around on Jimmy, convincing his followers that he Jimmy is, in fact, not the son of Satan. Jimmy mortally stabs Kelson for betraying him, only to be then mortally stabbed by Spike, who has been manipulated and mentally tortured by Jimmy the entire movie. They then crucify Jimmy upside down in front of the Memento Mori constructed by Kelson, run away, and Samson, upon hearing the commotion, returns to take Kelson's body away and leave Jimmy to die.
BIG TWIST: The film ends with a flash to a different part of the island, where we find a young girl studying for an exam, and a familiar voice offscreen. That voice belongs to Jim (played famously by Cillian Murphy from the original 28 Days Later), who we haven't seen since the end of the first 28 Days Later. The young girl, we assume, is the daughter of him and Selena (Naomie Harris). They both hear the sound of an infected herd heading their way. Upon investigation, they see they are chasing our heroes, and agree to help them.
Of course, as with all of these movies, kudos must go to the cinematographer. The shaky camera shots, the cool angles, and amazing establishing shots really add to a dynamic that has become synonymous with the 28 Days franchise, as a whole. The soundtrack is also really unique and fun.
The biggest props must go to the star of this movie, Ralph Fiennes, who delivers an unbelievable performance. From beginning to end, you can't wait to hear what he has to say next. He makes the film playful with his humorous scenes with Samson, his new zombified friend in the film. I think he deserves an Oscar nomination for this role. With the Academy FINALLY showing love to the horror genre as of late, my hope is that he at least get the nom. I don't expect him to win, but I believe he should be in contention.
Tell me what you think in the comments below.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is the 4th installment in the 28 Days Later film franchise, and honestly, might be it's best. Ralph Fiennes puts up what I believe to be an Oscar-worthy performance.
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
This film picks up where the first 28 Years Later left off. We find our hero, Spike (Alfie Williams), being initiated into the Fingers gang, led by the enigmatic and self-proclaimed son of Sir Nick, Jimmy Crystal (Jack 'Connell). Once Spike wins the fight to the death against one of the other Jimmies by stabbing him in the leg, he becomes the next member in the seven person cult.
On the other side of the island, we see the infected Alpha (Chi Lewis-Parry) eating his way through his latest victim. He then comes across Dr. Ian Kelson (Fiennes), who manages to sedate "Samson," as he calls him, enough to observe him and clean him up. Samson and Kelson form an unlikely bond throughout the film as Kelson starts to piece together something that no one else has thought of to this point: what if the infection affects more than just the body, but also the brain? If sedatives can calm the rage in the body, maybe some antipsychotics can calm the mind? Once the discovery is made, you begin to see Samson retreating back to his more human-like state pre-infection.
When The Fingers happen upon Kelson "convening with the monsters," they mistake him for Sir Nick himself, which puts Jimmy in an awkward bind because up to now, he has used the fear of Sir Nick to radicalize his followers. Jimmy convenes with Kelson and says that he must play along in convincing his followers that he is Sir Nick, Jimmy's father, and must continue their evil quest, or else he will kill him. Kelson, although skeptical, agrees to play along.
When they approach him on the second night, Kelson has already set the stage for a theatrical and spectacular show of Sir Nick, empowered by Iron Maiden's "Number of the Beast", and almost gets away with the deception, until Kelson recognizes Spike, whom he had met and befriended in the previous film. With Spike being so young, and remembering what he went through the last time they had met, he turns the tide around on Jimmy, convincing his followers that he Jimmy is, in fact, not the son of Satan. Jimmy mortally stabs Kelson for betraying him, only to be then mortally stabbed by Spike, who has been manipulated and mentally tortured by Jimmy the entire movie. They then crucify Jimmy upside down in front of the Memento Mori constructed by Kelson, run away, and Samson, upon hearing the commotion, returns to take Kelson's body away and leave Jimmy to die.
BIG TWIST: The film ends with a flash to a different part of the island, where we find a young girl studying for an exam, and a familiar voice offscreen. That voice belongs to Jim (played famously by Cillian Murphy from the original 28 Days Later), who we haven't seen since the end of the first 28 Days Later. The young girl, we assume, is the daughter of him and Selena (Naomie Harris). They both hear the sound of an infected herd heading their way. Upon investigation, they see they are chasing our heroes, and agree to help them.
Of course, as with all of these movies, kudos must go to the cinematographer. The shaky camera shots, the cool angles, and amazing establishing shots really add to a dynamic that has become synonymous with the 28 Days franchise, as a whole. The soundtrack is also really unique and fun.
The biggest props must go to the star of this movie, Ralph Fiennes, who delivers an unbelievable performance. From beginning to end, you can't wait to hear what he has to say next. He makes the film playful with his humorous scenes with Samson, his new zombified friend in the film. I think he deserves an Oscar nomination for this role. With the Academy FINALLY showing love to the horror genre as of late, my hope is that he at least get the nom. I don't expect him to win, but I believe he should be in contention.
Tell me what you think in the comments below.
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