Doomsday (2008)

Mad Maxine Escapes from Glasgow 27 Years Later

DOOMSDAY is a conglomeration of so many films that came before it, that I lost track after counting the first seven or eight. Escape from New York (Special Edition), Mad Max (Special Edition), and 28 Days Later (Full Screen Edition) certainly figure prominently in the plot. That doesn't make it a bad film, just fairly derivative of earlier works without much new to add.

A few reviewers have stated that this is a post-apocalyptic tale, which is untrue. Only Scotland is originally devastated by the killer virus in 2008, and the country gets walled off with a no-fly zone to prevent further transmittal of the epidemic. Twenty-seven years later in 2035, the virus spreads to London when a few Scots are smuggled out. It is then found that there are survivors left in Scotland. One would think that satellite surveillance would have detected life, but that is evidentally not thought about in the future.

A one-eyed heroine is dispatched behind the walls (ala Escape From NY with Kurt Russell) to find the cure. She discovers a tribe of mutant-type humans, similar to the denizens of the Mad Max movies, who have become cannibals. She escapes from their clutches into a Medieval camp set in the Highlands which has the cure. She then uses a pristine, cherry Bentley, which seems none the worse for being in storage for twenty-seven years, and races for the border with mutants at her tail.

All in all, this is not a terrible film, but it's clearly B-grade. Even so, it has its fun moments which almost redeem it. It kind of makes me miss Jake the Snake Plissken, though.

The DVD contains both an unrated version and the theatrical release, which is a nice option. I only watched the unrated version, so I don't know what changes were made to the film.

Charlie
August 7, 2008 August 7, 2008

Eh...well it is fun I guess

Doomsday...this is not an original movie. This is more like a slapped together homage to other, better movies, if not a complete ripoff of them. If that is your thing, then go for it. Personally, I enjoyed parts of this B movie but admit that it is unoriginal trash as well. Fun to watch when you want mindless action - but remember to check your brain at the door as most of it makes no sense at all. August 6, 2008

As dumb as they come: a total waste of time.

The first 10 minutes of this film are the best.

Then it becomes a HUGE, loud, moronic and overblown ripoff of several other movies.

Synopsis: ok, there is this hot bimbo who's also a top soldier who's sent into Scotland to rescue someone you don't care to know in order for the corrupt government to find the cure for the plague-like disease that wiped the UK as we know it. But upon arrival in Scotland the bimbo's team finds an army of "elite" street punks (looking like it they were in 1979) who manage to wipe them out using just improvised axes, knives and etc.

THEN... after some usual torture, the bimbo-soldier and her friends manage to escape while the punks from 1978 party the night away at the sound of Fine Young Cannibals (the band) and some vaudeville acts. Oh, did I mention that the punks are also cannibals? How symbolically subtle!!

THEN... after running though the woods, our binbo-soldier and her friends are captured by some sort of horse-riding post-apocalyptic-medieval knights wearing plate armour and swords, who live in a big castle whose stained glass windows show Biohazard symbols. In order to escape, our bimbo-soldier has to fight the biggest, meanest man. She wins and the group escapes.

THEN... while being pursued, SURPRISE!!!! ...the bump into a underground facility where the find a BEAUTIFUL, new, shiny Bentley Continental GT begging to be used. What happens next is the obvious: the film transforms itself into a Bentley TV commercial and a The Road Warrior ripoff as the post-apocalyptic-punks from 1978 go after the binbo, her friends and her Bentley. But there's something very strange I could not understand: a Bentley Continental GT has a top speed of 195mph... but here it can barely go over 65mph and escape from the old 1970's Vauxhalls and Bedfords the punks drive.

But it's ok... the bimbo saves the day and her beautiful Bentley when they fly in the air among flames after a head-collision with a bus. The bus gets blown as the Bentley rides away in the sunset. Beautiful!

And then it ends: the cure is found, the corrupt government is exposed by some means we see on the first scene of the film... and the bimbo soldier goes to the punks and gets hailed as the new queen.

So... if this is not ridiculous, then it must be a great comedy because I laughed the entire film. Thank God I did not have to pay to see this. August 6, 2008

I don't care if it's original or not it's ENTERTAINING AS HELL!

Yea yea yea this movie rips off other movies so what?? It's FUN and obviously some people can't have fun with movies with nitpicking little crap, must suck to be uptight huh? Anyways this is well worth purchasing as the movie is a thrill ride from beginning to end that doesn't let up much anywhere in the movie. Tons of blood, violence and amazing action! August 5, 2008

Doom, Gloom, and Zoom!

The Good Things
*Quite a few fun action scenes (I loved the ending car chase).
*Some good special effects.
*Loads of gnarly violence for those who like blood and guts.
*Good filming style. Lots of good camera angles. Interesting colors, textures, and lighting.
*Characters are not bad; pretty fun to watch.
*Music score was great. Soundtrack is not bad.

The Bad Things
*Not for the sqeamish.
*Not very original. The whole storyline is almost exactly like "Escape from New York," what with the wall surrounding Scotland, the one-eyed main character, and her quest to venture into an uncivilized place to get something out. The beginning reminded me a little bit of "Resident Evil Apocalypse." Parts in the middle and the end resembled the "Mad Max" movies a lot.

The Questionable Things
*Fast-cut filming for the action scenes can be seen as either intense or annoying.
*It started off pretty good and serious, but became quite absurd as it went on (what with cars exploding for no real good reason, among other things).
*Some weird ending.

As I said above, this is what you get if you take "Escape from New York" and mash it up with "Mad Max," "Resident Evil," and perhaps the "28 Days Later" saga. Even though "Doomsday" is not very original, it is still a great deal of fun to watch, for it does have some great excitement, fun characters, and interesting photography. You can either sit back and enjoy, or become disgusted by the unoriginality, absurdity, and the gross violence. Personally, I would almost prefer this over "Escape from NY."

The DVD has good video and sound quality, and includes both the rated and unrated versions of the film. I forget what special features are included, but there ought to be a few good tidbits.

If this review has not been helpful, feel free to leave a comment and tell me how I can improve. August 4, 2008

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