Like so many epidemics before, the loss of so many lives began with a single microscopic organism. It’s human nature to seek even the smallest comfort in reason, or logic for events as catastrophic as these. But a virus doesn’t choose a time or place. It doesn’t hate or even care. It just happens. -Kane
Review
Are costume designers rummaging around in the leftovers from Mad Max movies or are they so enamored by them that they continue to revamp the style and feel into their films in this new era? Doomsday may have looked like Mad Max but it was far more grotesque, vivid in it’s violence, startling in it’s fearsome theme. There were no allusions made to the brutality of the new world survivors. it was clear and present, in your face, no holds barred. Though this film does display influences from other movies, it is very much so it’s own creative force.
We’ve seen movies explore the zombie or “virus” situation, and the whole concept of what happens after, but Doomsday takes a different approach. A portion of the United Kingdom was quarantined and left alone for decades after final evacuation efforts. Twenty years later when the flu has showed itself again, but this time in downtown London. As fast as it spreads and as contagious as it is the Prime Minister reveals knowledge that aerial shots of the quarantined zone revealed that there are humans alive in at the very least Glasgow. A group of elite soldiers are the very first people to be sent into the zone in over twenty years in search of the cure. What they discover is far from anything anyone had anticipated, and the new world left from humanities worst display of fear has manifested itself in a most fearsome way.
I had no clue how smooth this movie would actually be. At first I started to feel Resident Evil: Apocalypse, but the tone changed quickly and became it’s own film. The angry super heroine played by Rhona Mitra shows someone other than Kate Beckinsale or Milla Jovovich can rock the big screen fighting big bads . She comes off as rough around the edges and her indifference to her surroundings gives the same reluctant hero feel that some of the greats have. In the most perilous of situations she is calm, and even facing her own possible demise lackadaisical, and rightfully so. It seems impossible for anyone to one up her, unless she gives in on her own accord.
The entirety of the plot is just as unpredictable as the brutal world it’s set in. There is no guarantees about who will make it to the end and who will die in the first five minutes. The world is chaotic and so is the films pacing. You are just as lost andtrepidatious as the characters, unknowing what will happen next. The aggressive nature of all the surviving humans, and somehow being stuck in a war that Major Eden (Mitra) knows nothing about, and frankly cares nothing about. She has a job to finish and that’s all she cares about. The perspective and knowledge the audience is given is the same that she is given. Getting to live vicariously through her and each of the choices she makes at each new contemplative event that turns the situation around makes for a pretty intense and suspenseful run.
The special FX are integrated flawlessly. The ruined city of Glasgow at night is terrifying in it’s abandonment. The silence mixed with absolute darkness and the overgrown vines and moss give it a freaky feel that seems like something out of a video game. The ominous feel of humanity gone wrong and emptiness the city emotes is more horrifying than any zombie, virus, or cannibal gang. The fear of nothingness seems far more frightening than the fear of something.
Doomsday was brutal from start to finish. It was suspenseful and had a compelling mix of new idea’s while still giving poignant reflections of the films that paved the way before it. The hardened characters and sadistic violence will not appeal to everyone, but for fans of this genre, it is an awesome depiction of a post-apocalyptic setting gone as bad as it can go. Films that do show humanity and it’s best and it’s worse is far more interesting than a predictable hero that you can count on to do what’s morally right. In real life people are complex and don’t always do what’s right. Doomsday was a wild and pleasant ride.
I love the build up and the first half an hour is great but I think it goes down hill when they find themselves on the run. I’d say this was the weakest Neil Marshall movie I’ve seen. You’ll find lots of film references in Marshall’s other films too Heather – he peppers them all with homage to horror movies of the past – some are more obvious to spot than others. I think for this one he borrowed heavily from Escape From New York and he never finds that comfort zone between playful homage and replaying old plots which he finds almost to perfection in Dog Soldiers and The Descent.
Dan recently posted..Top 50 Films of the 2000s
I did not enjoy this movie at all. Here is my review from 2008:
I hadn’t seen Escape From New York when I first saw it. Well, when I was a kid I had but didn’t remember any of the details. I mean I’m not claiming it was a masterpiece, it was certainly flawed, but it was a lot of fun amongst some of the more obvious points.
Heather recently posted..The A-Team Belated 2010
Good review, I only just watched this the other day and was pretty surprised when the credits rolled. Definitely worth seeing. My favourite part was the cast, so many rising Brit-stars from the time. My favourite piece of details (costume and set-wise) was the “Out of Fucking Service” sign on the bus.
Great film, will be giving it a solid 7/10
Paragraph Film Reviews recently posted..Sympathy for Mr Vengeance
It is definitely worth watching again. Rhona Mitra certainly gives the film a charisma it needs.
“this film does display influences from other movies” what you are trying to say is that it is happy to steel from every other movie that has gone before it.
I am a big fan of Neil Marshall and really love this movie as described here.
It does feel like an almost copy at times, but there are so many different influences, that it feels more like a love story to many different flicks.
nothing wrong with borrowing what’s been successful ahead of time.
FRCRuben recently posted..A Scanner Darkly
Sounds interesting. I really need to start branching out with genres.
PLEASE DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Heather recently posted..The A-Team Belated 2010
What are the chances that we can get Encore Entertainment out of the realm of prestige films and into the dark world of fantasy-sci fi-horror?
Tune to EWF&TV to find out….
FRCRuben recently posted..Local Locales- Vertigo
It’s not even deliberate, I don’t know I have a one-track mind it seems despite all the ostensible schizophrenic/bipolar weirdness.
The chances are as likely that I’ll shift to solely watching classic and horror films.
I like my Sci-Fi and Action. It’s not deliberate either.
I really enjoyed this movie, and I also found it far more akin to Escape from New York than Mad Max, for obvious reasons (the walled off world of scum, the one eyed hero(ine), the time limit, the corrupt government officials).
It might not have been Neil Marshall’s best, but it showed that the man really knows how to direct women, that’s for sure. And can the guy meld a bunch of genres together or what? A medieval style battle at a freakin’ castle in the middle of a post-apocalyptic spy-thriller? Well done!
Steve recently posted..Top 5 Fridays Time Travel Movies
It was good fun with brutal violence from beginning to end. I found a lot of enjoyment from it.
“It was good fun with brutal violence from beginning to end”
Er, okay you sadist you.
Encore Entertainment recently posted..TV Meme- Day 28- First TV Show Obsession
I’m all about getting me some post-apoc on.
FRCRuben recently posted..Local Locales- Vertigo
I absolutely loved the ridiculousness of Doomsday. I saw it with a group of friends back in 08 and we couldn’t stop laughing at the whole thing, much to the chagrin of everyone else in the theater.
The scene where one of the bad guys gets so frustrated he punches one of his gang members is one of the funniest things I have ever seen.
Jonathan Sullivan recently posted..The A-Team Belated 2010
It IS funny. It is entertaining and a good fun watch if one doesn’t take it too seriously.
And Rhona Mitra? MEOW.
Pretty fun if you have nothing else to watch, are drunk or are with a group and you can go all MST3K on it.
I like what it tried to be (even though the end results was cherry picked mash-up of pretty much every movie that ever inspired Neil Marshall) and who can dislike a movie with Bob Hoskins? Oh and Rhona isn’t bad either:P
Wait, Bob Hoskins is in it? I’m there, dood
FRC Ruben recently posted..Quote of the Day Happy Death Day Edition
Well don’t run right out to get it, Hoskins is a minor character but every scene he shows up in makes it worth it to see him.
Marc recently posted..Hold on Hollywood…There’s No Fool-Proof “Remake Formula”
I’m not at all opposed to drunken induced movie viewings. Sometimes being inebriated can make for a great experience.
That’s how I got through Tango & Cash a few months ago:P
Marc recently posted..Hold on Hollywood…There’s No Fool-Proof “Remake Formula”
Finally, I’ve read another review which sees this film in a positive light. While nowhere near Marshall’s best film, The Descent, Doomsday is an otherwise surreal and bloody cinematic experience. Rhona Mitra is the hottest thing to come out of Britain. Why is it she reminds me of a more natural Angelina Jolie??? Yummo!!!!
Rodney recently posted..2010 Mid Year Update
Rhona Mitra is easily one of the best female action stars out there. Shame she doesn’t get more visible work. Someday, I’d love to see a reunion between her and Marshal; they make a great team together here, and the result of their pairing is so great that I still don’t understand how Doomsday gets so little love these days.
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