Attention, apocalypse-hungry filmgoers: Doomsday may be the blue-light special you're looking for.
Doomsday (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:63
Fresh:30
Rotten:33
Average Rating:5/10
Consensus: Doomsday is a pale imitation of previous futuristic thrillers, minus the cohesive narrative and charismatic leads.
Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
US Box Office: $10,955,425
Synopsis: Writer/director Neil Marshall earned the respect of horror devotees with his first two features, DOG SOLDIERS and THE DESCENT, refreshing and scary twists on the werewolf and expedition-gone-wrong... Writer/director Neil Marshall earned the respect of horror devotees with his first two features, DOG SOLDIERS and THE DESCENT, refreshing and scary twists on the werewolf and expedition-gone-wrong genres. Where those works exemplified a respect for pure horror, devoid of the tension-spoiling comedy that infects most fright films, DOOMSDAY is Marshall's love letter to the post-apocalyptic action-exploitation films of the 1980s. Bubbling over with action, gore, and dark humor, his third film has all the bases covered for a fun, knowingly corny viewing experience. After a deadly plague results in the quarantine of the entire country of Scotland (in a scene reminiscent of I AM LEGEND), a wall is built around the country preventing anyone from going in or out. Thirty years later, the British government believes everyone within the wall to be dead, but when they find signs of life and learn of the possibility of a cure, a team of specially trained agents led by Eden Sinclair (Rhona Mitra) become the first outsiders to venture inside the country since the epidemic. They discover that there are plenty of survivors who have splintered into fierce, warlike tribes, living in a lawless society where cannibalism and murder are the order of the day. Astute viewers will have a blast playing "spot the influence," with loving, obvious nods to ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, ALIENS, 28 DAYS LATER, and the MAD MAX films. At the film's halfway point, Marshall switches gears, transforming the film from a punk-informed futuristic action film into a medieval-style chase film, utilizing Scotland's castles and sumptuous green landscapes to the fullest. Mitra is an exciting physical presence as Eden, a female version of NEW YORK's Snake Plissken, and the great supporting cast includes Bob Hoskins and Malcolm McDowell. [More]
Starring: Rhona Mitra, Bob Hoskins, Adrian Lester, Alexander Siddig
Starring: Rhona Mitra, Bob Hoskins, Adrian Lester, Alexander Siddig, David O'Hara, Malcolm McDowell, Sean Pertwee, MyAnna Buring, Nora-Jane Noone
Director: Neil Marshall
Director: Neil Marshall
Screenwriter: Neil Marshall
Producer: Steven Paul, Benedict Carver
Composer: Tyler Bates
Studio: Rogue Pictures
Reviews for Doomsday
I can't support or defend Doomsday in the slightest. But it's also the most fun I've had at the movies in weeks. If you're in the mood for sheer sensation without the slightest bit of intelligence, this is the flick for you.
Brimming with exploitation antics, grindhouse sensibilities and, heh heh, exploding bunnies, Doomsday conjures a future thrown back to the dead-end styles and amoral excesses of the eighties - and no future could be bleaker than that.
The movie doesn't disguise the fact that this is a loving homage to early 80's science fiction cult classics.
When the film's unspooling and we're watching Rhona Mitra drive a sports car through an exploding bus, we find ourselves in movie geek heaven.
Most fantasy-action films blow their budgets in the first half-hour, and limp home with their makeup smeared. Doomsday is unusually patient, smartly saving most of its fireworks for the later innings.
Those with a taste for revved-up, splattery fantasy thrills won't be complaining.
A tongue in cheek action bonanza that I cheered on with fists in the air...
The sort of rough-and-tumble B-movie Hollywood just doesn't know how to deal with.
Doomsday possède définitivement toutes les caractéristiques d'un film culte en devenir, même si celles-ci nous laissent toujours en tête une curieuse impression de déjà vu.
After they blow a bunny to smithereens (aiming straight through a plot hole), I knew all bets were off.
Marshall delivers what he promises and Mitri makes for a cool, kick-arse heroine in the Ellen Ripley mold.
When people complain that Doomsday moves from one 'what the hell?' moment to another, they're overlooking the fact that that's pretty much the idea.
can be a blast if you like the action, like the violence, endure the language and like watching Rhona Mitra strut around in tight, black spandex
The acting is better than adequate, and Rhona Mitra is very good as the jaded heroine. As loud, relentless, chaotic, brutally violent and gory B-movies go, this one is a keeper.
A tribute to the early 1980s anarchy actioners The Road Warrior and Escape From New York, Neil Marshall's Doomsday also blends elements from 28 Days Later for a fun and ultra-violent action-sci-fi-kinda-horror film.
One's enjoyment of Doomsday might stem from how much one admires a blatant homage to the 1980s.
Latest News for Doomsday
July 28, 2008:
RT on DVD: Harold & Kumar, Doomsday and Dark City Director's Cut
Since we're all still recovering from Comic-Con 2008, and tons of new home video details dropped at the Largest Nerd Gathering in the World, it's time for RT on DVD: Geek... More...
July 25, 2008:
Team of specialists sent to quarantined Scotland in post-apocalyptic sci-fi adventure. ![]()
More...
May 14, 2008:
UK Box Office Breakdown: Speed Racer Tanks
Cripes! The bloodthirsty summer movie season has its first big-budget flop of the summer, and we're only two weeks in. The disappointment, no scrap that, disaster in question... More...
May 06, 2008:
Neil Marshall's 10 Post-Apocalyptic Picks
The Doomsday director runs RT through the movies that inspired his cyber-punk vision of a dodgy future. More...
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