i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.

Charming and brutal

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

I really wanted to love this film, but it sadly disappoints. "Doomsday" is a love letter to "Escape from New York" and "The Road Warrior" with it's story of a deadly viral outbreak in Scotland that causes the entire northern part of the UK to be walled off and it's inhabitants left to their own devices for survival. The story then picks up 30 years later when the British government finds themselves needing to go back into the quarantined zone to search for the virus' origin after it resurfaces outside the walls in London. Rhona Mitra, complete with a Snake Pliskeen-style eyepatch, leads an elite group of soldiers inside the walls to search for their goal, fighting off various wasteland inhabitants. This part of the film worked well as fun homage to John Carpenters "Escape from New York," but when the story takes an unexpected turn following Mitra's escape from the city into the picturesque countryside, where survivors have formed a medieval society led by Malcolm McDowell, it's too much of a genre shift to be believed or enjoyed. A homage to John Carpenter and George Miller is one thing, but when writer/director Neil Marshall decides to thrown in a "Excalibur" and "Highlander" homage, that's a bit much. The film does come to life again in the final third act, which involves an extended Road Warrior-like car chase through the wastelands, but Marshall is sadly no George Miller when it comes to action, though in all fairness, who is? Although I may seem mostly negative in my review, there really is a lot to like. Rhona Mitra is very good in the lead, the urban wasteland production design and costume design are both spot on, as are the car designs in the final Max Max inspired sequences. Marshall is a talented director ("The Descent" is a genuine horror classic), but "Doomsday" is not up to Carpenter and Miller standards. If a filmmaker wants to make a homage such as this, it either needs to be able to live up to it's source material or it needs to be able to offer something new. "Doomsday" offers neither. Quentin Tarantino manages to do both brilliantly in nearly all of his films (heist films, blaxploitation films, revenge films, kung-fu films,, grindhouse, war films, westerns, etc.). On it's own, I'm not sure how "Doomsday" would be received by audiences unfamiliar with 80s post apocalyptic films, but for audience members with an affection for these film, which Marshall certainly has, this film does offer enough treats to be worth watching, even if the overall experience seems disappointing. Overall, if watching "1990: The Bronx Warriors" or "Cherry 2000" is your idea of a good time, you should definitely check this film out.

I might be a late comer for this film and Doomsday was released in 2008. It was directed by Neil Marshall who's work include The Descent, Dog Soldiers and some TV episodes. I've seen Dog Soldiers before this and loved it, so I was actually interested at Doomsday, as Neil Marshall seems to love 80's movies a lot. Dog Soldiers was pretty much a homage to 80's horror films and Doomsday obviously takes influence from Mad Max but also seems to add some elements from 28 Days Later (great film).Doomsday doesn't seem to be known by most people and was a box office disappointment and after seeing Doomsday, I wasn't surprised why it failed.Doomsday starts out great as we see that there is a dangerous disease called, Reaper virus, which kills most of the infected. UK government isolates Scotland by building a large wall near Hadrian's wall (I think). This causes diplomatic problems with the rest of the world among other issues like civil unrest and unemployment. After 25 years (or 27 or 30, I don't know. The information is conflicted), Reaper virus is found on London. Quarantines take place and most likely isn't going to hold long, so other measures should be taken. It it revealed that Scotland has survivors, meaning that there should be a cure and government sends a small group to find it.By now it's clear that Doomsday isn't very logical film and it's suppose to be like old B-movies. It doesn't make sense most of the time, but doesn't take itself too seriously. To put it simply, stupid fun. I would argue that it works for the first half, but the moment action starts behind the walls, Doomsday becomes a mess. Too many illogical situations come and go, along with the action. This wouldn't necessary be a bad thing for this kind of film, but there's so many fast cuts and poorly paced music, it becomes annoying. It's sad because I actually found the previous moments very interesting and even creepy. There were high stakes finding the cure and we do see some moments of total chaos in London (unlike in misleading trailer, it didn't have the time to spread to whole region).There are so many questions left after seeing the film. I know it's suppose to be silly on purpose but it's not silly in a good way. For example: 1. How did Reaper Virus got into London sewers without infecting people that are near Scotland. I assumed it was smugglers, but why would they go to Scotland and wasn't it the most heavily guarded places on earth? If it was the government sector that did it, wouldn't it make sense to send a squad to get the cure before releasing Reaper virus to London? 2. How did cannibals come up a good plan against two armored vehicles? Did they have scouts all over the place? They just suddenly come out of nowhere like they are ghosts or something. Also, why was it a good idea to bring that one woman inside the vehicle when it was SO OBVIOUS that she was a bait. 3. How did cannibals and medieval-like knights (seriously) find the good guys so easily? It happens three times and they somehow organized everything.4. What were good guys trying to do after finding out that former doctor (played by Malcolm McDowell) has gone crazy. I understand why the lead female intentionally got caught, but what were they trying to do before getting caught? Did they try to approach the castle or something else? There are other problems, but I don't have enough time and space to mention all of them.I can live with the wall building speed and unrealistic tribes with great amount of fuel and resources even after 25 years, but adding too much silly moments while trying to keep a serious tone can break the film. I just don't think that same magic can be added to modern movies unlike in 70's and 80's. Dog Soldiers is an exception, but somehow Marshall, with his team, failed to capture the 80's in Doomsday. There are definitely good moments in Doomsday, which is why I give Doomsday a 4/10, like the first half of the film, special effects were top notch (hard to tell difference between practical effects and CGI) and action wasn't bad until the final action sequence (which did have one shot that was awesome). Casting was surprisingly good even if dialogue was slightly cringe-worthy. Actors did fine job with the material they were given; Bob Hoskins' character being my favorite. The moments when we see Reaper virus affecting people were honestly creepy and I wished the film would've shown more. Doomsday does forget what it's suppose to be and tries too hard to be 80's film.I wouldn't give a 4/10 and instead give it a perhaps 7/10 or 8/10 if the film keep the tone and atmosphere of the first half. Too long action setup without breaks with continuous action music playing in the background and fast editing just hurt my ears and eyes. Just because you make quick edits and add music to a scene, it doesn't make a good action film. The last half was really that bad.

At this point I have already been a fan of writer/director Neil Marshall, as I have already seen Dog Soldiers and The Descent and are among my favorite modern horror films. Doomsday is Neil Marshall's take on the post apocalyptic action/science fiction genre. The film is mostly a combination of 28 Days Later, Escape From New York and The Road Warrior. The film brings us back to the good ole' days(the 80's) and is a highly entertaining and blood soaked action fest that I thoroughly enjoyed from start to finish. The flick is a little campy, but looks great and favors practical f/x and delivers huge with tons of great gory action. Rhona Mitra is our gorgeous lead and is very effective here as a female equivalent to Snake Pliskin. She does well in the fights and gives a very good performance here as the lead in this film. Bob Hoskins and Malcolm McDowell appear as well and are awesome as well. While there is a whole lot of stuff made that just does'nt appeal to me, Doomsday is totally the type of movie that at least, I want to see. I am sure this won't be the sort of film that gets awards, but it gets a thumbs up from me and is awesome in my book.

Neil Marshall's Doomsday is a bloody, balls to the wall homage to several different kinds of films, and while it may wear it's influences on its sleeve with complete lack of subtlety that some will read as being derivative, it's still a blast of B-movie fun with some neat set pieces and heaps of nasty ultra violence. It's basically 28 Days Later, Mad Max, Escape From New York and Need For Speed all rolled into one package. When a ravaging virus attacks the UK, a giant, impenetrable wall is built around Scotland to act as a quarantine. Years later when the disease resurfaces, British parliament sends in a team of mercy to gain the knowledge from survivors within the wall and hopefully find a cure. Rhonda Mitra, channels a tougher Lara Croft as Eden Sinclair, a warrior extraordinaire who heads the team with grit and grace, mentored by a cranky Bob Hoskins. Closely watched by slimy, untrustworthy politician Canaris (David O Hara is all scum under a lake of ice) they venture into bonny Scotland and find themselves in way over their heads. From there it's a dizzying parade of car chases, battles with marauding cannibal savages, road warrior style mayhem, and a visit to ex scientist turned medieval despot Marcus Kane (Malcolm McDowell) in his remote castle, setting the stage for a fight that's straight out of gladiator. It's all fairly preposterous, but the movie couldn't care less and blasts along on its own wild trajectory like a Rottweiler let off its leash in a furniture shop. Mitra makes a solid heroine, and the villainous turns from both McDowell, O Hara and live wire Craig Conway as the cannibal's brutal chieftain are super fun. Marshal has an eye for staging especially violent action, and with a film that wants to give shout outs to three of the most violent films ever made, he's the guy for the job. Not a great movie, but a neat, nasty little slice of smash and burn action fireworks that will put a fore poker to your pulse.