Reviewed by Carol Sullivan
Genre: Horror
Released: March 14th, 2008
Rating: Unrated
Director: Neil Marshall
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Starring: Rhona Mitra, Bob Hoskins, Alexander Siddig, Adrian Lester, Sean Pertwee, Darren Morfitt, Emma Cleasby, Chris Robson, MyAnna Buring, Nora-Jane Noone, Leslie Simpson, Craig Conway, Malcolm McDowell
Studio: Rogue Pictures
On DVD: July 29th, 2008
Features
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Anatomy of Catastrophe: Civilization On the Brink
The Visual Effects and Wizardry of Doomsday
Devices of Death: Guns, Gadgets and Vehicles of Destruction
Feature Commentary with Director Neil Marshall and Cast Members Sean Pertwee, Darren Morfitt, Rick Warden and Les Simpson
Devices of Death: Guns, Gadgets and Vehicles of Destruction
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"In the land of the infected, the immune man is king." - Dr. Kane (Malcolm McDowell)
Mankind Has An Expiration Date
If you are looking for a futuristic, full-throttle action thriller where movies like "Mad Max" and "Escape from New York" collide, then Writer/Director Neil Marshal has the movie for you.
Doomsday begins in Glasgow, Scotland, with all mankind's worst nightmare: the outbreak of a deadly epidemic. Having no vaccine or cure, the government seals off the country to keep the virus contained and shoots anyone that tries to escape. After 30 years have passed, satellite photos show there are survivors in Glasgow. Chief Nelson (Bob Hoskins, Stay) is asked to put a team together for a covert operation; they are to infiltrate the contaminated zone and bring out some survivors. In theory, the survivors blood holds the key to the cure and the government wants it.
But, as you can imagine, the rescue mission is not going to be as easy as they had hoped. Most of the epidemic survivors are now primal mad-men, lunatics and murderers. Worse yet, they have become cannibals. When Sinclair (Rhona Mitra, Skinwalkers) and her team are captured, the savage citizens of Glasgow b-b-q and eat one of her team members in a Mad-Max-Style death-arena party. Sinclair must figure out how to escape her vicious captors, grab a survivor and escape Scotland before it's too late.
I really enjoyed watching this movie, because once Doomsday gets going, it never lets up and the result is a fast paced, heart-pounding, adrenaline rush that pulls no punches. It shows us a glimpse into a frightening and very possible future for mankind; a deadly one of our own making. And like most sci-fi movies, it has some basis in fact.
The entire cast does a fabulous job, especially the crazed, mo-hawked savages. Another nice touch was the fabulous special effects shots of an abandoned and decayed Glasgow; they were downright creepy.
But, I did have one small question: How does the country still have electricity after 30 years? I mean with no oil or gas imports from the outside world, how do this group of murderous savages manage to run a generator plant? Let's just say they knew how to keep it up and running, doesn't gasoline have a shelf life? Not a deal breaker, but I found it a bit odd.
And for all you Dystopia fans out there, watch for the scene where the bad guy, Sol, takes off his shirt: tattooed on his back is a giant red Dystopia symbol!
All in all, Doomsday is a great guilty pleasure movie and I definitely recommend it as a rental and/or purchase.
Overall Rating : 3 1/2 |
