Doomsday [Blu-ray]
Loud, violent, and proudly derivative, the post-apocalyptic action-thriller Doomsday is the latest from UK cult director Neil Marshall, who impressed horror fans with his previous efforts, Dog Soldiers and The Descent. Both pictures established Marshall as a director with a knack for reinventing well-worn genre pictures, but here, he seems more interested in stitching together favorite scenes and elements from established horror and science-fiction films. Escape from New York is the main source for Doomsday, though there are plenty of nods to The Road Warrior and its multitude of Italian-made carbon copies, as well as the zombie/plague subgenre; the lovely but impassive Rhona Mitra is the Snake Plissken-esque loner sent by police (represented by Bob Hoskins) to infiltrate Scotland, which has descended into anarchy following a viral outbreak. The disease has surfaced in London (now a walled city), and Mitra is dispatched to find a scientist who may possess a cure. Marshall’s vision of Scotland in ruins brings together the punk/modern primitive costume design of George Miller’s Mad Max trilogy with some eclectic homegrown elements (knights on horseback defending a gang leader’s castle), and while these touches are novel, the picture as a whole should ring overly familiar to any viewer who’s spent time in the exploitation trenches during the past 25 years. Younger and less discerning audience members will undoubtedly enjoy the plentiful violence and gore, as well as the unbridled performances of the supporting cast, especially stuntwoman/actress Lee-Ann Liebenberg as the heavily tattooed Viper. –Paul Gaita
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From the director of The Descent comes an action-packed thrill-ride through the beating heart of hell! To save humanity from an epidemic, an elite fighting unit must battle to find a cure in a post-apocalyptic zone controlled by a society of murderous renegades. Loaded with ferocious fights and high-octane chases, Doomsday grabs you right from the start, and doesn’t let go till its explosive end!
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars Dvd arrived and it works fine
Dvd arrived on time and it works just fine! Rhona Mitra is hot! Thats why I bought the dvd in the first place!
4 Stars Wicked Fun
I’ve long been a fan of grim, macabre and/or darkly humorous post-apocalyptic science fictions films: 28 DAYS LATER, CHILDREN OF MEN, FIREFLY and SERENITY, the Terminator and Alien franchises. As a feminist, I also enjoy stories which are driven by strong women. Naturally, I loved DOOMSDAY.
The movie opens in Scotland, which has been thrown into chaos by a deadly and unstoppable viral outbreak (called - what else? - the Reaper Virus). Whereas science has failed to find a cure, the corrupt and panicked government’s only solution is to wall of the city in hopes of containing the outbreak. Infected and healthy citizens alike are left for dead.
Fast-forward thirty years to present-day England. Scandalized by the unethical quarantine imposed on Scotland during the initial Reaper Virus outbreak, England’s former global allies have ostracized the country. With England’s economy in ruins and corruption running rampant, citizens are only slightly better off than their Scottish counterparts. That is, until the Reaper Virus resurfaces on the other side of the wall - in England. Having failed to develop a cure in the interim, the British government’s only hope is to locate a survivor in the quarantine zone, and perhaps construct a vaccine using her DNA. But who might volunteer for what is, in essence, a suicide mission?
Enter Eden Sinclair (Rhona Mitra), the perfect (wo)man for the job. Eden was born in Scotland not long before the viral outbreak. Her mother managed to smuggle the young child out of the quarantine zone as the country descended into panic and anarchy. Equipped with a creepyawesome cybernetic fake eye and a team of military specialists, Eden infiltrates the quarantine zone in search of survivors.
DOOMSDAY is a loud, violent, highly stylized and deliciously over-the-top film. The story sports a few plot holes, sure; and the action sequences, while beautifully executed, defy real-world logic. If you can manage to suspend your disbelief, though, DOOMSDAY is a wicked fun ride. Rhona Mitra kicks some serious arse, and stuntwoman Lee-Ann Liebenberg is hella fun as a tattoeed punk named Viper.
From a feminist perspective, the two parallel societies which have arisen in Scotland since the outbreak are fascinating studies in sociopolitics (and probably more realistic than the action sequences, to boot). One segment of the population, led by the scientist formerly known as “Dr. Kane” (who became stranded in Scotland whist studying the virus during the height of the pandemic), has reverted to a medieval state of existence; retreating into the mountains, Kane’s society now lives in the ruins of old castles and get about town on horseback. Meanwhile, Kane’s son Sol commands the urban dwellers, an anarchistic society made up of undisciplined, spiky-haired, tattooed-n-pierced punks. The two communities are more alike than they are different: both are violent, misogynist patriarchies, ruled by ruthless male dictators. Perhaps unintentionally, the filmmakers offer a peripheral look at the nature of hierarchy, dominance and oppression: thrown into chaos, yet given the opportunity for reinvention, Scottish citizens revert to a patriarchal existence, marked by obedience, subjugation and male ego.
In this vein, the film’s ending (which I won’t spoil here) offers an intriguing new direction for a sequel. IBTM, anyone?
3 Stars Seriously don’t buy doomsday
I thought it would be cool despite all the negative reviews, and it was to a point, but when all was said and done I was dissapointed that I spent money this.
5 Stars Rhona Mitra!
Doomsday is a fast paced movie that never becomes boring.
An added bonus is the leading role for the very talented actress Rhona Mitra.
She has been on Boston Legal and Nip Tuck.
Skinwalkers (as Rachel Talbot) is another role that she performes very well.
In Doomsday, her character, Major Eden Sinclair, is chosen to retrieve a possible cure for a virus that has wiped out a large part of the population in Scotland.
Eden Sinclair has a cybernetic eye which has replaced her lost eye during her childhood.
Great special effects, an impressive supporting cast, and a strong stage presence by Mitra make this a five star movie.
Rhona Mitra has projects due for release in 2009 which include:
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans-Sonja
The Boy in the Box (2009) as Barbara
The Truth About Men (2009) as Katrien
5 Stars Reasonably realistic portrayal
This was a fairly believable enactment of things in the future seems to me. Actors were true to the
characters represented. As bad as the world may come to be, a good chance things will eventually
be the way this film lays it out for humanity and the lack of it. The lead actress was quite attractive and
her physical agility lent a very view worthy and believable edge to this movie. I will watch it again.
Most of this type genre film seems “Mad Max” over and over however this one was much classier and
Bos Hoskins is a great actor in all his films and a very diverse person. I recommend this Doomsday
movie over the Christian Oriented film of the same name.
Filed under: Blue Ray Movie Reviews