I assumed the second movie was a "money-grabbing ripoff". It's nice to hear that it's good.
I really liked the first one, except for the disappointing last 15 minutes. I didn't like the idea that the viral infection is just quarantined on the UK and the rest of the world is just continuing as normal. I wanted it to be a worldwide epidemic.
Seriously, which would you prefer to do in life? Would you rather be fighting blood-spitting zombies for survival or working at a boring job, getting stuck in traffic jams and paying taxes? Personally, I'd go for the blood-spitting zombies any time.