So, now I've finally seen it -- Neil Marshall's Doomsday (2008). I have heard some quite different opinions about it so, in view of his relatively recent masterpieces Dog Soldiers and Descent (a lot more than decent, in every way ;-), I decided to keep an open mind, not having any high expectations whatsoever. But, lo and behold, how dreadful... Was it a volcano, some religious stuff with my former squeeze Amy Dolenz... or was I just fast forwarding too relentlessly to understand? But wait a minute; where's Marshall's credits? WTF -- this is the wrong movie!
It's plain Doomsday (minus 2012, however further in the future) and non-stop action from the start. I really like the way the English seal off Scotland the same way the old Romans did a couple of thousand years before, in order to keep away the wild tribes of Scots and Picts that used to plague the colony of Britannica. They did it, then, by building Hadrian's Wall (after the current ruler of Rome). So, in the future, they keep away the Scotsmen once again by creating a new, better high-tech wall with guns and surveillance; this time to protect themself from the new, completely lethal virus that started to spread up north with the speed of an avalanche. But there's an uninfected child that gets away and is raised in England where she finally becomes a highly professional, able-minded (as well as able-bodied) police officer, schooled in the arts of arms and combat.
Rhona Mitra plays this nice looking woman who gets the hazardous, top-secret mission to infiltrate the newly discovered survivors off the virus in Scotland in order to find a vaccin for the decease that is beginning to spread among the citizens of London, threatening to turn the complete UK into violent savagery. Bob Hoskins has a good part as Mitras superior, but my favourite actor in this flick is witout question the old Clockwork Orange delinquent, Malcolm McDowell.
As I said, it's non-stop action... and my favourite scene is when the tribe leader's fierce and nasty, punk-ass girlfiend is decapitated and subsequently put beside him in his car during the ultimate Mad Max high-speed chase towards the end of the film (then again, don't forget the sharp-shooting topless lady in the bath tub)... Ok, it's not a masterpiece, but there's a bit more to this film than just a vain and blasphemous attempt from Neil Marshall to further his career and wealth by trying to copy some shots from Mad Max, Escape from New York and other films that seem to have highly inspired him in creating Doomsday. I know many people may hate him for having the great audacity to try and create a new apocalyptical classic in this way, but I cannot help really enjoying this film for what it is -- a highly entertaining film, that is not great, but good; a film that is not a new Dog Soldiers or a new Descent ... but a film well above average in most ways. That's enough for me.
So true, so true. It´s a good movie but with Marshalls otherwise excellent standards a bit of a let down, at least for me. But better tan the average crap that comes out and still we get Rhona to mend our wounds ;D
ReplyDeleteYou're so on the spot, Bro! Rhona makes the day in this quite daring film from Mr Marshall. I especially like the way the plot could be seen as a final show-down between the historical rivals, English and Scots ;-)
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