Doomsday (2008)

Ultimately Offers Nothing Memorable

I wasn't expecting much when I rented Doomsday given all the mediocre reviews in comparison to Marshall's previous efforts, and my preconceived notions proved entirely correct. Every other reviewer hit the nail on the head in stating that this movie borrows from a slew of other post-apocalyptic films that did a much better job in contributing to the genre. There are no memorable characters nor are there any exceptionally cool scenes, which are the two main characteristics that draw me to these types of films. The action sequences are only so-so, and the concept of knights versus punks was poorly executed. Do yourself a favor and pick up Escape from New York (Special Edition), The Road Warrior, 28 Weeks Later / 28 Days Later (2 pack), or even A Boy & His Dog instead. October 30, 2008

Unbelievably derivative and silly...and also a pure BLAST!

By no stretch of the imagination is DOOMSDAY a good movie. It has a ridiculous plot, over-the-top gore, and virtually no discernible character development. Yet it is so juiced up with antic energy that most of it actually ends up being a complete blast.

The movie begins in the present day, where a horrific virus is spreading across Scotland like any horrific virus in any of a million previous sci-fi flicks. In an effort to stop the spread, England manages to construct an impenetrable concrete wall across the entire length of the Scottish/English border (apparently in about a week and a half). The isolated denizens of Scotland fall into chaos and eventually turn to cannibalism. This is an important point of the film, yet it is never explained. There is plenty of food in Scotland (in fact, some soldiers literally run into a gigantic herd of cattle)...so why start eating your neighbor?

The brutality of England's response to Scotland's plight alienates the rest of the world, and Great Britain is cut off from the rest of the world economically, and falls into poverty and chaos itself.

We leap ahead about 25 years, and now the virus has been discovered in the heart of London. The government calls on one of its top special forces agents (Rhona Mitra from NIP/TUCK fame) to lead a band of soldiers and scientists into Glasgow. You see, the English government has known for some time that there a lot of survivors in Scotland and now it is interested in finding out from them where they got their cure.

So the little band of heroes heads into Scotland. The vehicles they drive look much like the armored vehicles driven by Sigourney Weaver and HER band of ruffians in ALIENS. They arrive in the Scottish capitol, only to be brutally attacked by a large gang of young thugs, dressed in crazy clothes, all with amazingly punk-like haircuts and feral attitudes. Their appearance and weaponry reminded me of a low-rent THE ROAD WARRIOR.

Later, our heroes (those who still stand) escape and find another band of humans, mostly the parents of the young thugs. These folks were around when the original plague hit, and have cast out their youth and taken up life in an old castle, far from the prying eyes of the English satellites. Yet, for no good reason, they have also decided to start a medieval society! So they run around like knights in TIMELINE or even A KNIGHT'S TALE.

There are so MANY unanswerable questions, like "How did these thugs manage to get the absolutely coolest tattoos? One would assume all tattoo parlors are defunct." Or "Why again to they like to eat human flesh when crops and cattle abound?"

I hope you got from all this explanation that this movie is silly and it made up of random samplings from A LOT of other films (some much better, some not so good). It is a true mash-up that borders on feeling like a rip-off. I guess if I had to pitch this film, I'd say it's ALIENS meets 28 WEEKS LATER meets THE ROAD WARRIOR meets TIMELINE meets CHILDREN OF MEN.

It should be unwatchable (at least while sober). Yet it is somehow fairly entertaining.
Primary credit must go to Rhona Mitra, a most unusual actress. I'm not saying she's a great actress...not at all. But she has a striking presence...looking like Laura Kroft from TOMB RAIDER combined with, perhaps, Kate Beckinsale from UNDERWORLD and maybe a dash of Ripley from ALIEN, ALIENS, etc. She has a very unusual face (I remember her strange recurring role in NIP/TUCK where she came across both sensual and creepy at the same time) and a believable coldness. She doesn't exactly create a character, but she creates a charismatic action figure.

The movie also boasts some spectacular gore. If you like blood and brains flyin'...you'll get your fix. It has the gore aesthetic of a George Romero flick (ah yes, KNIGHTRIDERS is yet ANOTHER movie DOOMSDAY rips off). The action is fairly rip-roaring as well, particularly in some early sequences in Glasgow and in an overtly ROAD WARRIOR-esque finale.

This is a film to get the blood pumping while putting the brain to sleep. It moves very fast (except when it comes to those medieval scenes...the movie comes to a crashing halt in that 15 minute segment) and makes few demands on the viewer. Director Neil Marshall (the fun but murky werewolf movie DOG SOLDIERS and the excellent THE DESCENT) has essentially taken a pure shot of adrenalin and put it onto film. I guess there are worse things!
October 29, 2008

Rubbish

What a waste of money! I had a hard time thinking of a worst film, but still couldn't come up with anything. The plot is ridiculous, the acting is laughable and the directing is that of an 8-year old who just got a video camera for present. I was desperately looking for a comic relief that would turn this film into a parody of the action and epic genre but oh no, the (obviously) underage director of "doomsday" took his work all too seriously. "Mad Max" meets "28 Days Later", "The Lord Of The Rings" meets "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". Absolute garbage. October 21, 2008

Doomsday

I liked it. I'm not sure why more didn't considering it's another "Road Warrior" movie with a touch of "Resident Evil" thrown in. As for being upset because it seemed to borrow from other movies, any true movie buff will tell you lots of movies borrow from other movies or books and there aren't that many new stories seen lately. Decent acting, great action, and good music make this well worth at least a rental. I plan to get a copy myself. A top woman cop is sent to find how a group has survived a virus that has killed off most the population. She finds that the virus stricken just outside the walled city aren't the only people hostile towards those in the city, and none of the groups or the government have unselfish agendas. Good acting by Rhona Mitra, Bob Hoskins, and the rest the cast. Good quality DVD with features based on which edition you buy and good replayability. If you enjoyed this catch "28 Days Later".

CA Luster October 21, 2008

Weird and cool kickass movie

This movie was wierd and neat. there was a lot of action and a little bit of every different type of action movie, car chases, guns, explosions, fights....everything and then some. i really liked it but it did have some cheesy moments. I did buy it and decided to keep it after watching it. I have had the incling to watch it again, so that must mean that it wasn't too bad. October 19, 2008

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