A Gamin Review: Doomsday
I have to get this off my chest before I can even discuss Doomsday. I LOVE Rhona Mitra(pictured above). Her immaculate beauty matched only by her enormous talent, and thank the good lord above, she’s finally given the chance to play a lead. Throughout most of her career she’s been cast for roles that mainly focused on her physical attraction, and not so much on her acting chops. I can’t entirely complain about this since it’s how I was introduced to her, but thanks to shows like The Practice, Boston Legal, and movies like Doomsday and Skinwalkers. Ms. Mitra’s finally getting the chance to prove that there’s something behind that pretty face of hers; talent. There….I said it. I’ve confessed my love for Ms. Mitra, and now before I turn this into a fanboy blog, or spew forth some god awful poetry. I better get to the topic at hand.
One could compare Doomsday to a shepherd’s pie. It’s crammed full of genres with a thick layer of action spread over the top to cover and fill any holes. Not everyone likes shepherds pie though. All those ingredients can be too overwhelming for some, but for others the flavors blend together creating a giant mush of goodness. My guess is most people will find Doomsday to be the first case. The story begins with a voice over delievrying us the terrible news of the Reaper Virus. This virus sprang out of no where, and has recked havoc on Britian killing off a large chunk of it’s population. To keep the virus in check the British government erects a large wall around the central contaminated area, which they seal shut, in hopes that it will stop the virus from spreading. It plays out much like the wall scene in Resident Evil 2. The voice over says waaaaayyyyy too much. It ends up telling us exactly what’s already unfolding on the screen. If you can’t already tell, I don’t care for voice overs. I understand why they’re used, but they always feel like a cop out to me.
Thirty years pass. The remaining population stuck behind the wall have supposedly died off. Britain, now over populated, is a mess. To no one’s surprise the virus begins to rear it’s ugly head again. This time on the opposite side of the wall. Enter the Escape from New York/Alienselement. Satellite images of survivors on the sealed side of the wall prompt the government to put together a small task force to enter the “danger zone”, and bring back a cure. Eden(Rhona Mitra, did I mention she rocks?) leads the band. Her team is given 48 hours before the political leaders will turn to drastic measures to secure Britain again. Once Eden crosses the wall we get several homages to Mad Max, Aliens, The Road Warrior, Escape from New York/LA among others. This is where the shepherds pie analogy comes into play. I can completely understand why most people would not like this film. It’s over the top. It’s at times too gory even for it’s own good(we get a close up of a rabbit slaughtered by a sentry gun), and a lot of it feels like it’s all been done before. With that said, “I LOVE’S ME SOME APOCOLYPTIC PIE”, so I actually had a good time.
Director Neil Marshell’s previous film was The Descent. A widely popluar horror film, and to be honest, a better crafted film. Though despite all of The Descent’s craftsmanship I had more fun watching Doomsday. For starters you get a band of cannibalistic Mad Maxian anarchists lead by The Prodigyinspired, mohawked Sol(Craig Conway) who plans to break free from the wall with the unwilling help from Eden. The other “leader” on this side of the wall is Kane(Malcolm McDowell, over the top as always)who presides with his survivors in an old medieval castle previously used as a tourist attraction. There’s a great little touch where you see the Gift Shop sign above one of the door ways. Back on the other side of the wall a game of political mum-bo-jumbo ensues. Your standard vying for power/evil government cliques abound, but really if you’re expecting something deeper then perhaps you missed the title of the film, Doomsday. The action sequences roar to life with graphic close ups of blood and gore. Definitely not for the kiddies, but for action nuts there’s plenty to keep your eye entertained. Eden gets quite the workout bouncing between all theses opposing forces, but she holds her own like every action hero/heroine. Her fight between Viper(a super doper tattooed amazon type chick) is pretty slick. Of course if none of this sounds at all applying then I’d advise stopping now, and just watching an episode of Grey’s Anatomy. Which episode you ask? Does it…really…matter? While we’re on the subject, let’s talk about the bad.
There really isn’t anything “new” about this movie. It’s a shame that with so many genres thrown into the broth that Mr. Marshell didn’t try to put his own spin on any one of them. Instead he seems to just pay homage, but because I enjoy those movies I don’t mind so much, but it feels like a wasted opportunity. The timing in the movie can be a tad off which causes some things to seem a bit “convenient”. It doesn’t happen often, but worth mentioning. The last “bad” happens towards the end of the movie. A certain car is found, and from that point on the movie feels more like an ad for said car. The car chases are very Road Warrior inspired, but because they have that car ad feel to them the excitement feels forced. There is a saving grace during this part though. A fight breaks out inside said car which adds some tension to an otherwise obligitory car chase. On more of an odd note rather than bad. Sol’s gang is made out to be cannibalistic yet in an early scene after Eden’s gang arrives past the wall. They run into a large group of a certain animal which had me question the whole cannibal thing as I was driving home from the theater. Again, not bad, just a tad confusing.
Overall I would say 85% of the movie going populace will find this film either a waste of time, or just plain stupid. For the other 15%(myself included) you should find a good time to be had. My hope is the film will allow Ms. Mitra to get more leading roles. Her performance, and the style/feel of the movie are what did it for myself. It wont show up on AFI’s top 100 films anytime soon, but did I have fun? Yes. Would I watch it again? Yes. Will I buy the DVD(with Rhona Mitra commentary. hint hint. nudge nudge DVD production company)? YES!
80 out of 100
– Gamin
Fellow Procrastinators:
Kuna: D+
April 11th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
Yep I was one of the 85%. I didn’t think it was plain stupid, but I did think I could have waited till video. Some parts were funny (the car chase scene), Mitra was awesome simply because she’s a woman who kicks ass. The gore didn’t bug me, it was expected. The action though just seemed dry to me or maybe it was the story (random medieval knights… ATTACK!!) ? Good review though!