28 Months Later

[Michael E Johnson]

Spoilers Ahead


This is based on my viewing of 28 weeks later and this article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/28_weeks_later



In 2003,7 months after the Rage virus outbreak in the UK, an American lead NATO force attempts to re-populate a section of London. Apparently the population of the UK that wasnt decimated by the Rage virus was evacuated to huge (and according to a character very dirty) refugee camps in Europe. There is a new outbreak and what was reported on TV in 28 days later actually happens-the virus spreads to France.


I really enjoyed the movie despite the fact that ending felt really rushed-there should have been another 30 minutes at least. There is a scene-similar to what Mark described in the 1st movie,where you finally see how fast the virus could spead in a crowd-very effective.

For our purposes here though this movie makes the case for a really interesting ATL in the early 2000's.What are the differences for the US, Europe and the world ? How far does the virus go into Europe ? Assuming that 9/11 happened in this TL ,any attack on Iraq was probably delayed or stopped by the American deployment in the UK and France and who knows where else.


Someone should start a timeline.

There is a section at the beginning of the movie that lists how many weeks later certain developments happen-I will see if I can scare this up and post it.

 

[nemo1986]

I can tell you what happens the Americas and All island nations are going to issue a shoot on site to any ship trying to evacuate and get to safty. They will be some attempt to rescue people in the path of the virus but no one will be allowed to leave the old world. It will be decades before it will ever be rage free.

 

[Sockpuppet]

My movie review:

I thought it was a very plausible begining (i.e. the American led NATO force occupying London and sanitizing the countryside - wish they'd shown some NATO troops tho, looked like an all-American force from the uniforms). Where was the British government, tho? Surely someone survived in authority? Did the Queen or Royal Family succumb or did they get evacuated? Ditto for the Prime Minister etc. I think showing British troops as the garrison would have lent a more authentic air.

What the hell was up with herding all the civilians into the basement and locking them in with a chain & lock? And then TURN OUT THE LIGHTS ?!?!That was the most unbelievable part of the movie for me. Oh, and then to FORGET about the fire escape - wtf? The intelligent thing would have been to divide the civilians into small groups and secure them and I mean SECURE. Huge bank-vault like doors seperating the floors would have done the trick very nicely. "Everyone, please remain in your room until contacted by military personnel." Then press a button sealing every floor off INCLUDING FIRE ESCAPES!

SWAT team goes in, clears floor by floor any infected, keeps civilians out of line of fire. Problem solved.

Okay, so they went with plan A instead. The order to shoot ALL targets I found very unbelievable. I seriously doubt soldiers would just fire willy-nilly into a crowd of civilians they KNEW weren't infected. Infected don't, for example, drive a car, so why was the helicopter shooting at them?

My nit picks for the movie aside, I really enjoyed it and look forward to seeing it on DVD. I do hope they don't try for a 3rd movie, just let it go unsaid what happens to France/Europe.

So, did anyone else see the trailer for Resident Evil: Extinction? :}

Movie review ends here.

 

[Michael E Johnson]

Here is that timeframe listing I was referring to.

source was this thread
https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=62926&highlight=weeks+timeline

Thanks Darkest

15 days later - Mainland Britain is quarantined. Evacuation begins.
28 days later - The Rage virus has destroyed the mainland population.
11 weeks later - An U.S.-led NATO force enters London.
18 weeks later - Britain is declared infection-free.
24 weeks later - Reconstruction begins. 15,000 refugees are repatriated.

 

[CalBear]

Spoiler herein

Spoiler likelyhood HIGH!!!


You have been WARNED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




No, I mean it!!!











The unbelivable elements in the movie just sort of pile up as the film continues, starting with the TL. How do you CLEAR an entire Island the size of Britain in 28 WEEKS??? THis especially true when ONE person can turn everything to #$%@. How do you put potentially infected people INTO a CLEAN ZONE? Didn't ruin the movie, not quite, but at some point you start asking yourself if ANYBODY has a brain in their head. (Anybody else notice that the director apparently has no idea what the effect of a couple of .50's would have on an advancing mob?)

BTW: Does France have ANY fighter planes??????

For our purposes here though this movie makes the case for a really interesting ATL in the early 2000's.What are the differences for the US, Europe and the world ? How far does the virus go into Europe ? Assuming that 9/11 happened in this TL ,any attack on Iraq was probably delayed or stopped by the American deployment in the UK and France and who knows where else.

Well, for one thing, based on the movie, the old world is simply GONE. Some parts of Siberia might make it, along with a few islands, but that is just about it. The rest of the Eurasian landmass, and probably Africa, is toast. With the introduction of Typhoid Carrier concept (infected, contagious, but personally immune) there is no way to stop the virus short of absolute isolation of the infected regions. Parts of Siberia are pretty isolated, even with all the services working at 100% and with the intense cold that winter brings, the Infected would die of exposure. Outside of there, game over.

There is the one good thing about the Infected, they are as fragile, if not more fragile, as regular humans. Chemical weapons will kill them, at least in the movie, so you can keep an area defended. You could, slowly, kill off areas and do some sort of reclamation, but we are talking 28 YEARS, just for the island of Britain since you need to kill everyone & then search every space where a person could hide to be sure you made a clean sweep.

The Americas & Australia, along with the scattered islands of the world, including Ireland, should survive, unless they start bringing Infected to the MAINLAND for examination.

 

[Darkest]

CalBear, the infected cannot eat. They die of starvation pretty quickly. It is shown at Days that the infected are at the end of their cycle. Furthermore, no one is 'potentially infected'. If you are infected, you turn into a rager within ten and twenty seconds. All the military needs to do is to give survivors a hard scrubbing, chemical washing, and they should be fine. (Unless you are a carrier as seen in the movie.)

You guys, go to my thread, I'm trying to start a timeline. If anyone sees this movie soon, please get the EXACT wording of the captions. It would be hugely helpful. I'd go see the movie again... but... seven dollars man.

 

[CalBear]

CalBear, the infected cannot eat. They die of starvation pretty quickly. It is shown at Days that the infected are at the end of their cycle. Furthermore, no one is 'potentially infected'. If you are infected, you turn into a rager within ten and twenty seconds. All the military needs to do is to give survivors a hard scrubbing, chemical washing, and they should be fine. (Unless you are a carrier as seen in the movie.)

You guys, go to my thread, I'm trying to start a timeline. If anyone sees this movie soon, please get the EXACT wording of the captions. It would be hugely helpful. I'd go see the movie again... but... seven dollars man.

Actually, when I said potentially infected I was referring to the immune. You would never know if a survivor was actually just a REALLY lucky bastard or if they were as deadly as a supernova. The only safe way to work would be to kill everybody or handle every survivor as a Level Five bio-hazard. Since the latter would be effectively impossible...

 

[Darkest]

Well, I don't think they found many of those immune. Of the survivors they located, she had to be one of very few. In fact, perhaps it is a trait only carried by her line. You would think it would have showed up earlier, eh? Since I predict a survivor population across the island of say, 300,000 or a little more, that's around 0.0003%.

What they could do is treat survivors with utmost caution, wearing biohazard suits, and force them to give an immediate blood sample. It shouldn't be hard to discover the presence of a dormant Rage virus or maybe the genetic anomaly itself. From there on, kill or quarantine those that are carriers. Give the majority a hard scrubbing.

I don't know, I'm of the theory that whatever genetic thing the woman and her kids had... it wouldn't show up again.

 

[Fleetlord]

Just saw the movie.....I gave it an A for storytelling, but a D for plot.

:: spoliers, but if you've read the thread this far I'm sure you don't care ::

First of all, why the hell does a civilian contractor have access to the military medical center? And why wasn't a guard posted outside the room where the potential infected was kept? Notice the two kids were in a locked room with a guard, and they knew they weren't infected.

I agree with sockpuppet on the implausibility of the "basement" scene -- if you're going to evacuate the civilians to a secure location, that location should have one point of egress. This point should be guarded. For that matter, it makes a lot more sense to just have all the civvies hide out in their rooms, like sockpuppet suggested, and post a guard to each building -- there shouldn't be too many ways for an infected to get into a high-rise.

Also, if the decision was made to abandon the island, why didn't they blow up the bridges?

Finally, the last scene, while predictable, was unbelievable. As soon as that helicopter showed up on radar, it would be ordered to divert to base immediately. If it didn't reply, we'd shoot it down, and if we didn't, the French would. They do have an airforce, you know.

I hope there's no threequel, my suspension of disbelief probably can't take it.

 

[Beauhooligan]

Just saw the movie.....I gave it an A for storytelling, but a D for plot.

:: spoliers, but if you've read the thread this far I'm sure you don't care ::

First of all, why the hell does a civilian contractor have access to the military medical center? And why wasn't a guard posted outside the room where the potential infected was kept? Notice the two kids were in a locked room with a guard, and they knew they weren't infected.

I agree with sockpuppet on the implausibility of the "basement" scene -- if you're going to evacuate the civilians to a secure location, that location should have one point of egress. This point should be guarded. For that matter, it makes a lot more sense to just have all the civvies hide out in their rooms, like sockpuppet suggested, and post a guard to each building -- there shouldn't be too many ways for an infected to get into a high-rise.

Also, if the decision was made to abandon the island, why didn't they blow up the bridges?

Finally, the last scene, while predictable, was unbelievable. As soon as that helicopter showed up on radar, it would be ordered to divert to base immediately. If it didn't reply, we'd shoot it down, and if we didn't, the French would. They do have an airforce, you know.

I hope there's no threequel, my suspension of disbelief probably can't take it.

Howdy,

I have several questions:

1. Why didn't the snipers shoot the kids when they escaped from the island? Standing orders would have been to do so.

2. Why didn't they shoot the kids and mother when they were located? Again: standing orders.

3. Why did Don have a magic "all access" card?

4. After the massacre of civilians from the basement shelter, why were there no gunships persueing them across the heath?

5. When did Volvo start building MOPP 4 automobiles?

6. If it was a NATO force, why were ALL of the troops American?

7. If they had Andy, and he was immune, why did the disease spread to the Continent?

8. Did anyone ever tell the Director how fragile the rotor blades of a helicoptor really are when contacting solid objects?

9. Will we have to sit through any more of this poorly thought out shite?

I saw the film friday at a matinee. I was alone in a 250 seat theatre. After seeing the film, I can understand why.

 

[Ivan Druzhkov]

I was actually a little curious why the American reconstruction force decided that resettling the Isle of Dogs, right smack in the middle of a corpse-filled city that would require an army of people just to maintain the basic utilities, was the best plan for repopulating Britain, as opposed to, say, starting on some out-of the way mid-sized town that still has some farmland left. Of course, if they’d done that then the movie would’ve been set in Berwick-Upon-Tweed, and who wants to see that movie?

I still haven’t figured out why the Americans brought tanks, or why they used a nerve gas that can easily be nullified with a dry handkerchief. Right now, I'll assume it's alternate-universe-Rumsfeld's fault.

 

[Yossarian]

I still haven’t figured out why the Americans brought tanks, or why they used a nerve gas that can easily be nullified with a dry handkerchief. Right now, I'll assume it's alternate-universe-Rumsfeld's fault.

A tank is pretty useful when the other side's only weapon is its fists and vomitting on you, and if you are trying to kill crazy monsters you don't have to worry about countermeasures.

 

[Ivan Druzhkov]

A tank is pretty useful when the other side's only weapon is its fists and vomitting on you, and if you are trying to kill crazy monsters you don't have to worry about countermeasures.

Still, it's a bit much, isn't it? Couldn't you do the same thing with an APC of some sort?

 

[CalBear]

I was actually a little curious why the American reconstruction force decided that resettling the Isle of Dogs, right smack in the middle of a corpse-filled city that would require an army of people just to maintain the basic utilities, was the best plan for repopulating Britain, as opposed to, say, starting on some out-of the way mid-sized town that still has some farmland left. Of course, if they’d done that then the movie would’ve been set in Berwick-Upon-Tweed, and who wants to see that movie?

I still haven’t figured out why the Americans brought tanks, or why they used a nerve gas that can easily be nullified with a dry handkerchief. Right now, I'll assume it's alternate-universe-Rumsfeld's fault.

Be rather a boring movie if the reality was shown & everyone who didn't obey an order to get on the ground was torn to shreds by .50 cal slugs and beehive rounds from the tanks.

BTW: Tanks would be just the ticket. Company of armor would have been all that was actually needed. Shoot what you can, run over what's left. Not going to have a bunch of zombies flipping over a 68 ton MBT.

 

[CalBear]

Still, it's a bit much, isn't it? Couldn't you do the same thing with an APC of some sort?

Yes & no. MBT's have 120mm gun that can be used to fire bee-hive rounds (imagine a shotgun shell five inches across and about a foot long filled with flechette darts).

Lovely way to control crowds, albeit a bit of a dry cleaning problem.

 

[CalBear]

Howdy,

I have several questions:

1. Why didn't the snipers shoot the kids when they escaped from the island? Standing orders would have been to do so.

2. Why didn't they shoot the kids and mother when they were located? Again: standing orders.

3. Why did Don have a magic "all access" card?

4. After the massacre of civilians from the basement shelter, why were there no gunships persueing them across the heath?

5. When did Volvo start building MOPP 4 automobiles?

6. If it was a NATO force, why were ALL of the troops American?

7. If they had Andy, and he was immune, why did the disease spread to the Continent?

8. Did anyone ever tell the Director how fragile the rotor blades of a helicoptor really are when contacting solid objects?

9. Will we have to sit through any more of this poorly thought out shite?

I saw the film friday at a matinee. I was alone in a 250 seat theatre. After seeing the film, I can understand why.

1. Ruin the plot.
2. Make too much sense.
3. Director's vision would have been interfered with.
4. What & ruin a lovely crane shot?
5. You mean you DIDN'T chose the CBN Warfare package???
6. Got a deal on U.S. military props.
7. He was a carrier, not immune. ONLY part of the whole plot that made even a BIT of sense.
8. That vision thing again. What better way to spray blood and body parts about?
9. I fear that a part three 28 Months Later is already on tap. Be afraid, be very afraid.

 

[Mysterius]

Nothing new here. Just another Zombie flick where no one has a clue how to militarily handle the situation. (*rolls-eyes*)

 

[Darkest]

I don't think they would have shot the kids. They are kids! Hell, if they were adults the snipers wouldn't kill them. 1) The snipers are human. 2) The Infected have died out six months ago, and it looks like they won't be coming back. What stringent policies there are are just for precaution, and to keep the politicians and populace satisfied that there will not be another outbreak. 3) I take that back. The Rage virus was not fully understood, and they would take more precaution than less, but I mean... shooting children? 4) I think it was perfectly plausible that they just send someone to go pick them up and then give them a suitable punishment.

 

[Damar1]

For me, the noticable thing was the blockade, or lack therof. When the kids are trying to escape the safe area, they came to what looks like a border post/area with sandbags. I figured there would be some troops there to keep anyone from coming in or out. At least I expected some vehicles and/or soldiers to come block the kids' path after Doyle (sniper) saw them.

On that topic, the idea of letting children back into the UK was strange in itself, at least judging by the chief medical officer's reaction. I realize that the kids' father was a bigwig of sorts, but I was under the impression that they were only letting adults back into the country.