Director – Neil Marshall
Starring – Rhona Mitra, Adrian Lester, Bob Hoskins
With Scottish independence and the Ebola virus being two of the biggest stories in the news today, Doomsday
could be seen as a very contemporary film despite being 6 years old. At
the same time, it's also a throwback to the action movies of the late
1970s and early 1980s with George Miller and John Carpenter heavily
influencing the look of the picture.
The film opens with a typical monologue over images of
people dying of some unknown disease which is just an excuse to
illustrate some of the gruesome visuals that will become a signature of
the movie. Blood and guts splatter all over the screen; this film is not
for the squeamish.
Doomsday wears its influences on its gore soaked sleeve. Think of it as Escape from Scotland
where Snake Plisskin is now a woman with a robotic eye instead of a
patch. It's nice to have a female led action film and Rhona Mitra plays a
convincing heroine.
Mitra's Eden Sinclair has to lead a small military
group into the quarantine zone (a.k.a Scotland) to find a cure for the
deadly virus which suddenly appears in London. The squad includes Sean
Pertwee's scientist and Adrian Lester's sergeant (yes, the roles are in
the correct order).
As soon as the action crosses over the border we move
into Mad Max territory. Tribe leader Sol is a maniacal rock god figure
who is a replica of Mad Max 2 character Wez. Craig Conway, a virtual unknown, plays Sol in a way that makes him mad, bad but charming in a demented way.
After a while the film moves from post apocalyptic
punk to medieval kingdom but it's not as implausible as you might think.
And throughout all the scene changes, the John Carpenter effect
remains; even the synthesised beats of the soundtrack evokes memories of
the classic Escape from New York music.
Neil Marshall has a flair for writing and directing
dark films, both in story and picture, and this is certainly a great
example of his style. It poses some interesting questions about the
direction of his upcoming King Kong feature.
Doomsday is
far fetched for sure, there was never a danger that this might bother
the Oscar committee. It is, however, an enjoyable 113 minutes (for the
uncut version). Just make sure you let your food go down first or have a
very strong stomach.
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