Customer Reviews

Doomsday [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(35)
3 star:		(32)
2 star:		(22)
1 star:		(25)

 

 

You've seen all the pieces before. The country has fallen into lawlessness, where warlords with bad haircuts rule their fiefdoms (as in Mad Max, to name just one of many). There are the government officials trying desperately to save his bu... I mean, career (My Fellow Americans). There's the insanely contagious and deadly virus (28 Days Later). And there's the way-cool babe with a gun and an attitude (Resident Evil) leading her small but brave band through it all. Oh, and a little comedic banter (any Bond film), but not enough to change the tone of the film. If you want novelty, or even plausibility, you probably ended up in the wrong theater by mistake.

So just take it for what it is: commodity entertainment, a bit bloodier than some but not off the charts, and where people keep their clothes on. Some days, I just want an adventure flick with nothing much to think about, except maybe how good Maj. Sinclair looks in that tight outfit. If that's what you're after, then "mission accomplished."

--wiredweird

Yes, this writer/director has been responsible for two of the best low budget horror movies of recent years. In Dog Soldiers, he melded the combat film with the werewolf movie and came out with something startlingly good. In The Descent, he crafted what was quite simply one of the scariest films of all time. So what then are we to make of Doomsday? This futuristic shocker features an amalgam of scenes lifted wholesale from other (frankly better) films -to be specific, 28 Days Later, Aliens, Escape From New York, Army of Darkness and Mad Max 2;The Road Warrior. They're all here and all of them are instantly recognizable, so much so that you cannot pass it off as coincidence. Some viewers will utter the word 'homage,' but the less charitable among us will prefer to say 'rip-off.'

As you watch Doomsday unfold, you can't stop asking yourself what Marshall hoped to accomplish here. The film must have had a decent budget and it looks great. Furthermore, he has an undeniable flair for action sequences. But though the film can never be accused of being dull, neither does it feature anything that is remotely surprising, largely because you've seen it all before. In the case of the climactic car chase, it is quite simply, Mad Max 2, down to the last detail. It's as though Marshall decided to recreate key scenes from all his favorite movies and while you grudgingly admit, he's done a fair job of copying them, you can't help yearning for a bit of originality, something that his last two films had in abundance.

The star of the movie Rhona Mitra plays it straight as tough as nails warrior who leads the charge from segment to segment. I have never seen a woman take so much pain and only have few scratches. A few more positive reviews and big American star (like Will Smith) could have push the movie over the top. Unfortunately we won't see a sequel and this is one that could have spawned one if it could have topped $40 million mark. After all they have made four SAW movies.

This feels like a serious hiccup in his career - and some murmurings about a planned sequel to The Descent don't bode well for his next offering either. The suspicion is that he's mirroring John Carpenter's career, a director who was brilliant when he had no money, but whose output became increasingly dismal as his budgets grew in size. It's a shame because few British directors get the autonomy to make films on this scale. My fingers are crossed for his future career, but on the strength of Doomsday, my expectations are not high right now.

What a gloriously stupidly great film. Yes it stitches up bits from Escape From New York, The Mad Max trilogy, a number of Zombie flicks and throws in a bit of medieval nonsense, but it's entertaining, silly, bloody, ridiculous FUN. It's one of those movies that if you `'get it'' and are willing to forgive it a multitude of sins, not least some woeful acting from Bob Hoskins and Darren Morfitt you'll have a whole lot of old fashioned exploitation fun.

I mean in what other movie do you have a gleaming black Bently Coupe being chased by a rag tag band of evil punks in the cars from The Road Warrior all set to Frankie Goes To Hollywood's Two Tribes. Great.

Americans have not taken to Doomsday for some reason, maybe the audiences where expecting something serious and in the vein of Marshall's last film, The Descent, but Europeans who appreciate that Neil Marshall's tongue is firmly planted in his cheek are lapping it up. Enjoy

A great debut with Dog Soldiers, then the even better second film The Descent, and now the cherry on top called Doomsday. I just got back from seeing this film and it was a wild and crazy ride from start to finish. Sure it borrows quite a bit from Escape from New York and Road Warrior, but it is still unique enough to seperate itself from those movies. Rhona Mitra makes one sexy, tough and believable action chick. I didn't know if she could pull this kind of role off, but it worked for me.

Doomsday isn't going to win any awards and it's not better than The Descent or Dog Soldiers, but if you like your movies with plenty of action and gore, check it out and prepare to have a blast.

3 and 1/2 out of 5 stars

This is just a terrible letdown of a movie. We watched it after learning it was the director's follow up to The Descent, but were very disappointed. Plot is frustratingly non-existent and there isn't enough style to carry your attention through.
Also, the obligatory car chase scene is the worst sports car commercial ever. Whoever licensed their car to this movie should have to explain to it's shareholders why their insanely good looking sports car can't outrun broken down post-apocalyptic rust bucket trucks and buses at speeds approaching an apparent 40 MPH!!! In this entire post-apocalyptic Scottish cannibal deadly virus movie, the car chase was the still the most unbelievable part. Unbelievably poor film-making.

*1/2

If you combined "Camelot" with "Road Warrior" and "Robin Hood" with "I Am Legend," you might come up with something like "Doomsday," a jaw-dropping concoction whose sole claim to fame is that it proves that British filmmakers are every bit as capable of producing a really bad action flick as their American counterparts.

In terms of plot, "Doomsday" is yet another futuristic action picture designed to turn the general populace into a bunch of paranoid hypochondriacs. The movie begins in 2008, just as a mysterious killer virus has broken out in Scotland, forcing the citizens of that country to be quarantined behind reinforced metal barriers (constructed on the site of Hadrian's Wall) and coastal blockades. Twenty-seven years later, a new strain of the disease has emerged in London, forcing a team of military operatives, led by the take-no-prisoners, ass-kicking Major Eden Sinclair (Rhona Mitra), to be sent into the quarantined area (where evidence suggests there may be some healthy survivors) to find out if there is indeed a cure for the disease and to bring it back to England with them when they return. But the team gets more than it bargained for when it enters the famed "hot zone" of Glascow - namely an out-of-control society where any semblance of morality and law-and-order has long since broken down, the inhabitants have turned into insatiable cannibals, and one sector of the population at least - in an act of supreme screenwriting idiocy - has donned Medieval attire and retreated to a castle deep in the nation`s interior to begin the process of building their world anew amidst jousting tournaments and fight-to-the-death gladiatorial contests.

Written and directed by Neil Marshall, the appropriately titled "Doomsday" comes replete with stilted dialogue, wooden acting, laughable action sequences, a corny hail-to-Dorothy-the-wicked-witch-is-dead conclusion, and the kind of grunge-chic that has become the standard-issue look for any and all post-apocalyptic tales since the "Mad Max" movies of the 1980s. Even the likes of once A-list players like Malcolm McDowell and Bob Hoskins get mired in the muck. The art direction and production design are decent, but a single additional word of praise lavished on this cheapjack, gory - I lost track of the beheadings - and vilely sadistic "28 Days Later" knockoff would be excessive indeed. It is good for a few laughs, though.

As is apparent by the previous reviews, "Doomsday" leaves alot to be desired if one is looking for substance. It is derivative of just about every single "pre-apocalyptic", "post-apocalyptic", "we don't care if you die", "pass me another knife, bullet, pistol, subgun, bow and arrow, sharp stick" film out there. What many didn't get is that this film pokes fun not only at itself, but all those previously mentioned films as well, without actually trying.

I haven't seen Rhona Mitra in very many films (maybe I'm not looking in the right genres), but it takes quite a bit to act badly in a film such as this, so she can be excused this time. Bob Hoskins, Malcolm McDowell and a VERY raspy sounding, older looking David O'Hara put in their trademark best considering the type of film this is. The sets couldn't have been very difficult to build, and the pyrotechnics were in excess, as usual.

There has been a glut of these types of films lately, as each tries to out do each other, but action buffs shouldn't be put off by all the negative reviews. Just pop some popcorn, go to the local Seven-11 and get a big mug of soda, put this film in the DVD player and sit back. You may just laugh yourself silly. I did.

If you've never seen Doomsday, it's great. Extremely violent, gory, post apocalypse movie packed with amazing action sequences that combine elements of other better known films such as Escape from New York, and The Road Warrior. Throw in graphic cannabalism, awesome 80's music, a strong female hero and Malcolm McDowell, and you've got pure mindless entertainment! A quick jab at all the critics of this movie - What did you expect out of a movie called 'Doomsday', anyways?

Aside from my opinion of the movie itself, this is a shining example of what blu-ray should be! The picture is consistently sharp, colors are vivid, and I did not see a SINGLE artifact or bit of digital noise. The audio is perfect - one of the better examples of dynamic surround sound I have experienced. And no matter how loud the background sound is, the speech is perfectly balanced. The only area lacking are the extras - they are ok, but it doesn't really matter when the picture and sound are this great.

This level of quality is what I expect from blu-ray. If you are looking for a disc to show off your tv and system, this is it. Kudos to Universal for setting the standard.

Good actors cant save a terrible script. I liked the actors in this film. The movie itself however was horrible. If you've seen any of the Mad Max films and Escape from New York, then you have seen this. If the United States is where all the aliens land then the United Kingdom is where all the deadly plagues start.

The movie starts with a deadly fast spreading virus that kills almost everyone in Scotland so the government instantly builds a 30' wall around the country and leaves the survivors to die. 35 years later, instead of NO survivors, there are a couple hundred 20-something men and women who are directly out of Mad Max films.

The Prime Minister sends in their top agent to recover the cure for the deadly virus that is presumably in the enclosed area and she gets immediately captured. The rest of the movie is strange mix of fights, exploding heads, hacked off limbs and even an exploding bunny with way way over the top gore so common in Rogue Pictures' films.

If you are a fan of exploding heads, guts, hacked off limbs etc. and dont mind that the plot makes no sense, this is the film for you. If you hate to see good actors and what could have been intriguing characters ( the two main villians ) wasted on a terrible movie, then dont waste your time.

What can one say about a film that is a blatant rip-off of so many other films? My recommendation is that instead of wasting your time and money on this film, go out and purchase a hollow point round and try wedging it firmly into your brain(without a gun). That is more entertaining than this film.
Seriously though, i tried to get through this movie on 2 separate occasions, desperately searching for SOME redeeming quality and not only could i not do that, but i couldn't finish watching either. They took 28 days later, land of the dead, escape from new york, mad max, underworld and camelot, splashed in a touch of riverdance(?) and tried to string it all together, rather unsuccessfully i might add. PLEASE, save your time and money and just go watch any of the previous mentioned films instead. If you choose to watch this @$$ fest instead, don't say you weren't warned!