British filmmaker Neil Marshall earned a legion of new fans with 2005's The Descent, a genuinely scary flick that put me, for one, off spelunking forever. And for his next act? An energetic but derivative apocalyptic adventure that Rogue Pictures has unceremoniously dumped into theaters without press screenings or even much promotion.
Being one of Hollywood's Shameful Secrets™ (movies not screened for critics before they open) gives a film a certain stench, and it's too bad that Doomsday is stuck with it. It's not great -- I'm not even sure I'd call it "good" -- but the studios have certainly screened films that were worse. Heck, the studios have screened films that were worse this week (including one whose name rhymes with Mever Mack Mown). Doomsday is perfectly acceptable as a C+ movie, the kind that you don't see on purpose but that will certainly amuse you if you happen to stumble into the theater accidentally.
It begins with florid narration by Malcolm McDowell, who tells us that a horrific virus -- subtly called the Reaper Virus -- wiped out much of England. Then a wall was built to divide the infected northern half of Britain from the clean southern half, and all the sick people up north were left to die in chaos. "Social order decayed along with the corpses," McDowell says.
Now it's 2035 and the virus has resurfaced in London. What's more, the British government -- led by a weaselly Scotsman named Canaris (David O'Hara) -- spotted signs of life in the quarantine zone a few years ago, decades after the last remaining virus victims should have died. If there are survivors, that means they must have discovered a cure. And if they have a cure, we can break into the quarantine zone, take their cure, and bring it back to London.
It's a huge leap in logic to say that if there are survivors up north then those people MUST have found a cure, but on such leaps are government policies determined. Canaris and his non-evil associate, Nelson (Bob Hoskins), decide to send a team in to bring back this alleged cure. (The government has a prime minister, too, but he doesn't do anything.) The team is led by Eden Sinclair (Rhona Mitra), a cop/doctor/scientist (I was never really clear on what her job was) who lost her mom to the quarantine zone when Eden was a little girl and who now has a magical glass eye that can record video. That's how you know it's The Future!
Eden assembles a group of anonymous fellow cop/doctor/scientists, and off they go. The quarantine zone proves to have some society after all, but it's the savage kind you see in Road Warrior and movies like it, the kind where people are cannibals and put on wild gladiator-style shows and wear bones in their hair. A character played by McDowell is there, and so is a crazy demigod leader named Sol (Craig Conway). Eden and her crew do battle with the locals; people are shot, stabbed, run over, and exploded; caches of weapons, vehicles, and cell phones are discovered (what luck!); and so it goes.
Marshall tends to film the fight scenes more confusingly than necessary, but his refusal to skimp on the blood and gore should make genre fans happy. He also stages a fantastic car chase sequence near the end (yes, even in wasteland of the future they can still have car chases), and he puts forth Rhona Mitra as a legitimately tough action heroine. Its occasional tense moments notwithstanding, it's an action flick more than a horror movie. And as far as that goes, it's not bad. Rogue Pictures might be ashamed of it, but there's no need to be.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-15-2008 @ 10:16AM
seraphflux said...
It's enourmously fun, and way more sophisticated than people give it credit for, in its references.
I can't understand why Rogue refused to screen it for critics either. Anyone who loved Grindhouse, should get a kick out of this.
And may I be so bold to take a stand for Rhona Mitra as the new cool action heroine? She's way better than the Millas and the Kates, IMO, in the sense that you actually feel, that behind all the hotness, she can indeed kick ass.
I wonder why her name was never even as a possible Wonder Woman.
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3-15-2008 @ 11:27AM
Max said...
It sounds/looks like Mad Max with a chick in the lead role. Who cares?
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3-15-2008 @ 12:39PM
Rufus said...
Shaun Pertwee has been in a couple of Marshall's movies and he's in this one too. Good actor, never gets the best roles, but why didn't you mention him in he review?
It's not a jab at the review, but I'm just curious how small his role is in this flick?
Oh, and I loved Dog Soldiers, hated Descent. Was never sure about this one and I still think the Doomsday icon is the best looking thing about it.
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3-15-2008 @ 5:31PM
madgamer said...
This movie was goofy, but I found it enjoyable. If you like action and gore, and don't mind it taking pieces from stuff like road warrior or zombie movies, then you will like it. It reminded me a bit of resident evil.
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3-16-2008 @ 10:35PM
Snake Plissken said...
You can't be serious with this review!
Every genuine critic in the country would tear this movie apart for what it is. A ripoff of so many other movies. Let's start with Escape from New York, right down to the eye patch worn by the heroine. Road Warrior. Aliens. Resident Evil. And so many others.
Don't get me wrong, I did not hate this movie. Why? It was so bad and such a rip off that I couldn't stop laughing through the whole movie. Very entertaining. I advise anyone who wants to see this to go with a bunch of friends and make sure to consume massive amounts of alcohol before hand. You will have a fun time tearing this movie apart.
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3-17-2008 @ 8:53AM
DAVID F said...
Is it a rip-off or homage? I'm gonna go with homage. Marshall likes all the similar movies that have come before and he's combining them into this. Is it a fresh take? Not really but who cares? What action/horror movie is out right now that you can park your brain and just go for a ride? I saw it a screening last Thursday at Midnight and I had fun. Mitra was fantastic in an action role and all the other actors ranged from silly to fine, no major standouts (and I wasn't expecting any). This is a movie that's all about action and it delivers. I likes all the previous movies that it's inspired from so I hadf a good time watchin' this. Just cuz critics don't like it doesn't mean fans of the genre can't.
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3-17-2008 @ 8:17PM
Monika P. said...
Ok, I'm sorry but this movie kicks better ass than any, and I mean ANY action or horror movies that have been put forth since Indiana Jones, Sleepy Hollow, etc. I don't understand people here. This movie was better than even other movies in other genres. I can safely say Doomsday is the best movie I have seen in years. It's entertaining, it's smart, it's anthropologically interesting, it's fun, and it's fresh. You might say it's a rip-off, but I think it's more like a mosaic masterpiece. Sure it has its flaws, but considering it's 100 times better than any Hollywood movie, I would rather watch it again than "I am Legend" or "300" or even "Titanic" any day. That there is actual humour within an action film doesn't always make it corny, though most hollywood films do. The reason why the critics would bash it is because they are jaded by Hollywood or bribed by Hollywood or blackmailed by Hollywood. I think Americans/Canadians should check out the European reviews on Doomsday.
P.S. I never imagined that an action flick could actually have really good acting. Well, I was wrong.
P.S.2 I am never ever gonna see another american action movie again, British/Scottish ones seem to be better.
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3-20-2008 @ 11:57AM
aliasderwood said...
I thought this movie was very entertaining. Yes, it's not original, but as a goofy mashup of The Road Warrior, Aliens, Escape from New York, 28 days later, and about a dozen other sci-fi flicks, it's a real fun ride. Clearly Neil Marshall loves these films as much as the rest of us do and he has the good taste to steal from the very best. And any film that has the bad guys dancing around to "Good Thing" by the Fine Young Cannibals as they literally barbecue and devour some poor red shirt, well that's my kind of movie.
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3-24-2008 @ 11:35AM
ariane said...
Oh yeah! I agree with you! Rhona Mitra is now my new favorite ass kicking bad ass girl. She rocks, so cool & way cool! I love the movie! It really moved me in the sense that it's full of action & fun! :) 5 star for Doomsday!
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5-13-2008 @ 3:43PM
robert martin said...
Utter and total crap. I love British virus and horror movies (28 Weeks later is my favourite movie of all time, and i absolutely love the Descent) but this botched, horrific, mutant frankenstein of a movei should never have been allowed to see the light of day.
Totally uninspired, boring and uninteresting. Not a single character you actually care about, and the plot and set peices make absolutely no sense.
If you're the kind of idiot who will type "ZOMG best moovay evar111" at anything with an exploding rabbit and more than one decapitation, then by all means go and see this movie. Otherwise, steer well clear.
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