Is 28 Years Later's ending bold, visionary, or absolutely outrageous?
In 28 Years Later Danny Boyle and Alex Garland return to the dystopian world they created back in 2002 with quite a splash, delivering gripping new chapter full of awe-inspiring action and touching melodrama. But there's another thing it has — a memorable ending.Since its release the thing that has stood out most about the movie amongst cinephile and film agnostics alike is the way in which 28 Years Later ends. That's because final scene does more than just set the stage for 2026 follow up The Bone Temple, it shakes audiences out of their comfortable reverie after two and a half hours of mayhem and declares itself triumphantly to the world.
How does it do that? You might be asking yourself. Well after leaving his secluded island home, losing his mother (Jodie Comer) and leaving the child of an infected with his father (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), 12-year-old Spike (Alfie Williams) decides to try going out on his own. The mainland may be crawling with infected but he needs the time to himself, and he's pretty sure he can kill anyone who come his way.
When he is beset upon by a group of infected a group of survivors led by Jack O'Connell's Sir Jimmy Crystal come to help. He asks if his flock can step in and kill the infected that are chasing Spike and the boy agrees, so Jimmy lets his followers loose and they lay waste to those consumed by the Rage virus in quick, brutal succession. But with the type of maniacal glee that completely changes the tone of the movie we just watched.
What makes it all a bit bonkers is how Jimmy and his cult — because that is what they are — are all dressed like Jimmy Savile. The group have matching blonde hair, wear gold jewellery and dress in colourful boiler suits, oh and they're all named Jimmy in some variation.
It's a pretty outrageous thing to do, to have your characters idolise someone like Savile, particularly given what the public now know about him and the years of predatory sexual abuse he inflicted on children and minors without consequence. It certainly is a bold move on Boyle's part, but it shows that The Bone Temple will be just as unexpected.
From a narrative perspective, it is something that could well have happened had the world ended in 2002, before Savile's abuse was revealed to the public and he was still a beloved figure of British TV. Someone like O'Connell's Jimmy, who was a child when the Rage virus broke out and watched his parents succumb to the disease, could well have turned to the only other person he knew of for guidance.
How The Bone Temple might address the Savile impersonators is to be seen, but it is one way to make your film memorable. And given the way the ending has got people talking online and off, it seems to have worked.
Then there's the way that the introduction of Jimmy and his cult shifts things up a gear. While the movie isn't devoid of violence or brutal action by any means the final scene is a real tonal shift from what came before. 28 Years Later is at its heart the story of a scared young boy, of a mother's love, and her son's determination to save her life in the face of overwhelming odds.
28 Years Later takes the story in some surprisingly moving and tender directions as a result, which is why it is such a stark contrast when Sir Jimmy and his crew come in. Their use of elaborate acrobatics and goofy martial arts to kill infected, as well as their unpredictable nature, feels strange in comparison to the stoicism of Spike and his family.
At the very least it means that The Bone Temple has declared its intentions as something completely different to what came before it, and promises a bold new vision for the franchise from Garland and Nia DaCosta — who took over directing from Boyle for the follow up, which was filmed back-to-back with 28 Years Later.
It's one of those scenes that you'll either love or hate, that you'll either think is genius or upends the movie completely. But one thing is for sure, regardless of which category you fall into, there is still one word that can be used to describe it: bold.
And if you're hoping to convince viewers to stick around for the next film in the franchise then it's better to do it with style than risk falling at the last hurdle.
28 Years Later is in UK cinemas now, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple will be released on 16 January, 2026.
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