2008 Woodie Awards
The wold is ending... again... in "Doomsday"
Jon Thompson
Issue date: 4/8/08 Section: Entertainment
"Doomsday" is the latest outbreak apocalypse movie to tap into the public's ongoing fascination with the end of the world. The plot line is one most of us will recognize: a 20th century plague virus breaks out; the government tries to put up walls to quarantine the population; and in turn, society declines into anarchy. The walls can't hold the virus as it spreads to the rest of the world, so writer director Neil Marshall throws a few twists into an otherwise all to familiar scenario. The film's trailer boasts, "it was an epidemic unlike any other," but after about 30 seconds of watching "Doomsday," one could quickly conclude that this is an epidemic in cinema like far too many others.
With ground zero for chaos set in Glasgow, Scotland, this time it's the "dreaded virus Reaper" infecting the populous. The English waste no time in locking and barricading Scots behind a wall, following the Roman frontier's boundaries and surrounding Scotland. In a scenario moviegoers have seen before, the society collapses into anarchy. Left to die behind the wall, waiting for help that never came, the weak are killed and eaten, and soon all signs of life are gone from the quarantine zone.
The first of a very few original twists in this plot line comes three decades later in the plot with the return of the Reaper virus, and this time it's in London. As the virus suddenly returns on the opposite side of the wall, government officials see signs of life on streets of Scotland's cities. With the world's population in jeopardy, British officials assemble a team to go back into the initial quarantine zone and find the cure.
Enter British hottie Rhona Mitra's character: the anti-hero for the post-apocalyptic world, a refugee who escaped the initial outbreak three decades earlier as a child. Mitra leads the British insurgent team sent into Scotland.
The director must have been a big fan of "Mad Max: Beyond Thunder Dome" and "Escape from New York," as the survivors and scenarios encountered in the cities have far more similarities to these films than not-escaping what can only be described as cannibalistic, mohawk clad, apocalypse punks, in the city. In "Doomsday's" second and possibly the only other original plot twist in the film, the British team encounters a literal medieval society living outside the cities, in castles, complete with medieval armor, weapons and gladiators.
Then comes the typical chase scene as the Brits try to escape Scotland with the cure. (Again flashback to "Beyond Thunder Dome.") Although lacking Tina Turner's presence, the addition of Mitra driving a Bentley and a series of modern special effects makes the chase worth watching, if for nothing else as opposed to just going out and renting "Beyond Thunder Dome."
Doomsday's overall lack of originality plagued the film, ultimately adding up to a disappointment. The film had great visual effects throughout. Unfortunately, as moviegoers have come to see time and again, great special effects cannot save a poor, unoriginal plot, or a complete and utter lack of any dialogue of value. Aside from my personal favorite line in the film: "Hungry?" "Try a piece of your friend."
With ground zero for chaos set in Glasgow, Scotland, this time it's the "dreaded virus Reaper" infecting the populous. The English waste no time in locking and barricading Scots behind a wall, following the Roman frontier's boundaries and surrounding Scotland. In a scenario moviegoers have seen before, the society collapses into anarchy. Left to die behind the wall, waiting for help that never came, the weak are killed and eaten, and soon all signs of life are gone from the quarantine zone.
The first of a very few original twists in this plot line comes three decades later in the plot with the return of the Reaper virus, and this time it's in London. As the virus suddenly returns on the opposite side of the wall, government officials see signs of life on streets of Scotland's cities. With the world's population in jeopardy, British officials assemble a team to go back into the initial quarantine zone and find the cure.
Enter British hottie Rhona Mitra's character: the anti-hero for the post-apocalyptic world, a refugee who escaped the initial outbreak three decades earlier as a child. Mitra leads the British insurgent team sent into Scotland.
The director must have been a big fan of "Mad Max: Beyond Thunder Dome" and "Escape from New York," as the survivors and scenarios encountered in the cities have far more similarities to these films than not-escaping what can only be described as cannibalistic, mohawk clad, apocalypse punks, in the city. In "Doomsday's" second and possibly the only other original plot twist in the film, the British team encounters a literal medieval society living outside the cities, in castles, complete with medieval armor, weapons and gladiators.
Then comes the typical chase scene as the Brits try to escape Scotland with the cure. (Again flashback to "Beyond Thunder Dome.") Although lacking Tina Turner's presence, the addition of Mitra driving a Bentley and a series of modern special effects makes the chase worth watching, if for nothing else as opposed to just going out and renting "Beyond Thunder Dome."
Doomsday's overall lack of originality plagued the film, ultimately adding up to a disappointment. The film had great visual effects throughout. Unfortunately, as moviegoers have come to see time and again, great special effects cannot save a poor, unoriginal plot, or a complete and utter lack of any dialogue of value. Aside from my personal favorite line in the film: "Hungry?" "Try a piece of your friend."
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