I think it's the Wes Anderson effect. Put a bunch of weird shit in a movie and white people call it brilliant because they're too scared to admit they didn't understand it.
Well I did understand. The stock footage was added because the story was way too boring on its own. The fan service was clumsy trash. The story universe defied its own rules several times.
After 28 Days Later I'd see a construction site and think "If the infected come down 105th I'll hop this fence, stab one in the heart with this rebar, take two out with a cinder block, climb the scaffolding and kick it over when they try to follow".
After 28 Years Later I'd almost forgotten it before I left the theater.