15 Films That Hated London

London, the British capital, truly is one of the most iconic cities in the world, thriving as a financial and international business centre, a tourist hotspot, an art and fashion capital and a home to one of the most diverse populations on the planet. As a result of this, the city is highly in demand as a filming location, and is not uncommon for the entirety of a film's British-set scenes to take place within it. Indeed, it pops up on screen disproportionately in comparison to other cities and towns, as no American tourists ever seem to want to visit the likes of Doncaster or Scunthorpe, and the master plan of aliens, terrorists or other villainous individuals is never seemingly to invade or blow up Melton Mowbray to deny the world of its source of premium pork pies. Because of this, a countless array of films have seen fit to destroy elements of the capital (Big Ben in particular) over and over again. This article seeks to outline fifteen such releases, both good and bad, in alphabetical order, though it is by no means exhaustive, and the discussion of other occasions on which London has taken a beating in is encouraged in the comments section.

15. 28 Days/Weeks Later

The Synopsis - 'Zombie' films have been a dime a dozen over the last few years, though few can top the excellence of Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later, which sees bicycle courier Jim (Cillian Murphy) awaken from a coma to find that British civilisation has collapsed as a result of widespread infection. Rescued by fellow survivors and brought up to speed on the situation, he then joins his new companion and acquires others on the way to a supposed safe zone in Manchester. A sequel, 28 Weeks Later, followed, where Britain is deemed safe once more as a result of the infected dying from starvation. An area of London is repopulated and overseen by the American military, and Don (Robert Carlyle) is appointed as the caretaker. An encounter with his presumed-dead wife results in him being infected, however, and a maniacal rampage ensues. The Destruction - In the first film, the city remains largely intact from a structural perspective, though there are scattered instances of destruction such as the blowing up of a petrol station on the Isle Of Dogs. More eerie and impactful, however, is the sight of an empty and desolate capital. The Isle Of Dogs takes a much bigger hit in 28 Weeks Later, where it is heavily firebombed by the American military after Don's transformation makes the plan to repopulate it go awry.