Doomsday

Imitation is sometimes considered flattery. There are other times when imitation is quite simply ripping other´s ideas off. It can be a good thing and it can be a good thing. Cinema has always been a medium that is prone to imitation and whether it be Hollywood releasing two very similar and competing big budget pictures in the same year or film being copycatted for the next decade, Tinseltown loves to copy. Did we really need "Deep Impact" and "Armageddon" in one year´s time? How about "Volcano" or "Dante´s Peak?" Just how many films were ´inspired´ by "The Blair Witch Project" and is there a cookie cutter out there shaped like Quentin Tarantino?

"Doomsday" is a film riddled by inspiration; or as writer/director Neil Marshall calls it, ´homage.´ The film is an example of patchwork cinema and combines elements from "Escape From New York," "The Road Warrior," "The Omega Man" and numerous other pictures to create the experience in "Doomsday." Some aspects of "Doomsday" are true inspirations and the film pays homage to movies such as "Excalibur" with a little medieval artistry and the street-wise apocalyptic sense of "The Warriors." Other influences and inspirations were a little more obscure, such as the hint of cannibalism intended as a nod to the film "A Boy and His Dog." Marshall loves apocalyptic cinema and gives his film a few very nice touches.

Then there were the blatant rip-offs such as the eye patch and deadly fight in the apocalyptic city that was lifted directly from "Escape From New York" and the "Road Warrior" like street chase as the main characters were trying to flee to freedom. Marshall went as far as injecting plot points into his movie to explain the eye patch and I couldn´t help but draw parallels to the pivotal fight scene where the hero finds herself locked into combat with a loved champion gladiator and is a heavy underdog and the weapons are primitive, but painfully deadly. The ´gimp´ character should easily remind viewers of the Mad Max films and also "Pulp Fiction" in what was very painfully obvious homage.

From the very early moments when Scotland is walled off by the military to prevent the spread of the Reaper super virus, "Doomsday" is a familiar thrill ride that is entertaining, but far from original. Having been a fan of many of the films that sparked the fancy of Marshall, I was more than familiar with many of the homage and references that created the picture. There were more than a few scenes that gave me reason to grin in enjoyment as an experience I had loved from a previous picture had found its way into Marshall´s film. The "Road Warrior" scenes were of particular enjoyment although I had difficulty believing these post-apocalyptic jalopies could keep up with a gorgeous Bentley.

"Doomsday" is fun. It is one of those pictures that are meant to be enjoyed for the fast pace and excitement that is contained among its hastily edited frames. Neil Marshall served as writer, director and editor and his influence is felt throughout the film. His previous effort "The Descent" was a warm surprise as a horror film that borrowed from previous benchmark horror films, but that picture had a little something more going for it. The writing was better and that picture contained suspense and I was able to invest a little compassion towards the characters. The characters in "Doomsday" were cold and callous and I didn´t particularly care if they survived or perished, with the exception of the character portrayed by former Marshall collaborator MyAnna Buring.

To touch on the plot, "Doomsday" finds Scotland a barren wasteland after a wall was built around the nation and borders were closed to contain the lethal Reaper virus. A young girl is taken by a military helicopter after losing an eye from shrapnel. Years later that girl is revealed to be Eden (Rhona Mitra) and she is a deadly member of the Department of Domestic Security (DDS) and an officer among their ranks. When the Reaper virus returns and infects London, Eden is sent by the Prime Minister (Alexander Siddig) and her chief Bill Nelson (Bob Hoskins) to infiltrate Scotland and find survivors that were viewed by reconnaissance satellites. She is made leader of the team, which includes two armed troop transports.

It isn´t long before Eden and her team makes first contact with the survivors, but it isn´t a pleasant experience as Eden´s team is brutalized and mangled. Those that Eden and her team find are a large band of punk-rock influenced cannibals who are led by the enigmatic Sol (Craig Conway). While captive, Sol questions Eden as to her purpose in Scotland and shows his intentions by barbequing one of her subordinates. All of this comes after a rousing remembrance of the Fine Young Cannibals hit song "Good Thing." Eden manages to escape, but discovers Sol´s sister Cally (MyAnna Buring) is also captive and that Cally can lead her to find Dr. Kane (Malcolm McDowell), who may have a cure for the virus.

Eden, Cally and the surviving members of her team manage to escape Sol and his barbaric "Mad Max" tribesmen. However, they find themselves again captive to some murderous knights who seem comfortable living in the castles of Scotland and reviving Feudalism and the medieval times. Here Eden comes face to face with Dr. Kane and he makes her aware of his intentions to keep his followers from knowing about London and the world of technology. To keep the peace, Kane subjects Eden to a gladiatorial fight against his master-at-arms and lead executioner. In Snake Plissken form, Eden pulls out the underdog victory and finds escape in the form of a Bentley Continental GT.

I´ll discontinue my discussion of the plot, but the "Road Warrior" auto combat scenes are still left in the balance as well as a reveal about the intentions of the Prime Minister and a little more truths about the state of the Reaper virus in London. Eden, who is one of the most unlikable heroes in recent history, manages to serve as both heroine and anti-hero when the story unfolds and I found the pictures climactic car combat was betrayed by a disappointing ending. With a film that contained so much high adrenaline action, the anti-climactic final scenes seemed too laden in exposition and did not provide any closure. One must wonder if a sequel was not hoped for.

The acting in "Doomsday" is serviceable. Lead actress Rhona Mitra is alright as the heroine, but her performance lacks the grit and tough charisma that Kurt Russell brought to Snake Plissken in "Escape From New York." The picture does not take advantage of having a strong female hero and leaves poor Rhona feeling flat. Supporting actors MyAnna Buring and Adrian Lester run around and perform their tasks, but they hardly memorable in their performances. Craig Conway was a load of fun as the ambitions and crazed leader of the ´Punk Rockers´ and my favorite scene in the film involved him prancing around a stage to the FYC song "Good Thing." Malcolm McDowell and Bob Hoskins provided some street cred to the movie, but these veteran actors are far from their glory days when McDowell had his Droogs and Hoskins had Jessica Rabbit.

There were things I liked about "Doomsday" and there were other things that I did not find too terribly special. It is a conglomerate of concepts borrowed from other films and it is an apocalyptic film that reminds us of so many other apocalyptic films. It is unoriginal, but spirited. The action is entertaining, but the story and characters are underwhelming. "Doomsday" is a movie that is all spectacle with no heart. If you enjoy good B-movie thrills or fondly remember the Grindhouse, then "Doomsday" will probably appeal to you. This isn´t a movie you will ever want to watch for great acting or an riveting story, but if you like loud explosions, blood and over-the-top apocalyptic action, then "Doomsday" might be infectious enough for you.

Imitation is sometimes considered flattery. There are other times when imitation is quite simply ripping other´s ideas off. It can be a good thing and it can be a good thing. Cinema has always been a medium that is prone to imitation and whether it be Hollywood releasing two very similar and competing big budget pictures in the same year or film being copycatted for the next decade, Tinseltown loves to copy. Did we really need "Deep Impact" and "Armageddon" in one year´s time? How about "Volcano" or "Dante´s Peak?" Just how many films were ´inspired´ by "The Blair Witch Project" and is there a cookie cutter out there shaped like Quentin Tarantino?

"Doomsday" is a film riddled by inspiration; or as writer/director Neil Marshall calls it, ´homage.´ The film is an example of patchwork cinema and combines elements from "Escape From New York," "The Road Warrior," "The Omega Man" and numerous other pictures to create the experience in "Doomsday." Some aspects of "Doomsday" are true inspirations and the film pays homage to movies such as "Excalibur" with a little medieval artistry and the street-wise apocalyptic sense of "The Warriors." Other influences and inspirations were a little more obscure, such as the hint of cannibalism intended as a nod to the film "A Boy and His Dog." Marshall loves apocalyptic cinema and gives his film a few very nice touches.

Then there were the blatant rip-offs such as the eye patch and deadly fight in the apocalyptic city that was lifted directly from "Escape From New York" and the "Road Warrior" like street chase as the main characters were trying to flee to freedom. Marshall went as far as injecting plot points into his movie to explain the eye patch and I couldn´t help but draw parallels to the pivotal fight scene where the hero finds herself locked into combat with a loved champion gladiator and is a heavy underdog and the weapons are primitive, but painfully deadly. The ´gimp´ character should easily remind viewers of the Mad Max films and also "Pulp Fiction" in what was very painfully obvious homage.

From the very early moments when Scotland is walled off by the military to prevent the spread of the Reaper super virus, "Doomsday" is a familiar thrill ride that is entertaining, but far from original. Having been a fan of many of the films that sparked the fancy of Marshall, I was more than familiar with many of the homage and references that created the picture. There were more than a few scenes that gave me reason to grin in enjoyment as an experience I had loved from a previous picture had found its way into Marshall´s film. The "Road Warrior" scenes were of particular enjoyment although I had difficulty believing these post-apocalyptic jalopies could keep up with a gorgeous Bentley.

"Doomsday" is fun. It is one of those pictures that are meant to be enjoyed for the fast pace and excitement that is contained among its hastily edited frames. Neil Marshall served as writer, director and editor and his influence is felt throughout the film. His previous effort "The Descent" was a warm surprise as a horror film that borrowed from previous benchmark horror films, but that picture had a little something more going for it. The writing was better and that picture contained suspense and I was able to invest a little compassion towards the characters. The characters in "Doomsday" were cold and callous and I didn´t particularly care if they survived or perished, with the exception of the character portrayed by former Marshall collaborator MyAnna Buring.

To touch on the plot, "Doomsday" finds Scotland a barren wasteland after a wall was built around the nation and borders were closed to contain the lethal Reaper virus. A young girl is taken by a military helicopter after losing an eye from shrapnel. Years later that girl is revealed to be Eden (Rhona Mitra) and she is a deadly member of the Department of Domestic Security (DDS) and an officer among their ranks. When the Reaper virus returns and infects London, Eden is sent by the Prime Minister (Alexander Siddig) and her chief Bill Nelson (Bob Hoskins) to infiltrate Scotland and find survivors that were viewed by reconnaissance satellites. She is made leader of the team, which includes two armed troop transports.

It isn´t long before Eden and her team makes first contact with the survivors, but it isn´t a pleasant experience as Eden´s team is brutalized and mangled. Those that Eden and her team find are a large band of punk-rock influenced cannibals who are led by the enigmatic Sol (Craig Conway). While captive, Sol questions Eden as to her purpose in Scotland and shows his intentions by barbequing one of her subordinates. All of this comes after a rousing remembrance of the Fine Young Cannibals hit song "Good Thing." Eden manages to escape, but discovers Sol´s sister Cally (MyAnna Buring) is also captive and that Cally can lead her to find Dr. Kane (Malcolm McDowell), who may have a cure for the virus.

Eden, Cally and the surviving members of her team manage to escape Sol and his barbaric "Mad Max" tribesmen. However, they find themselves again captive to some murderous knights who seem comfortable living in the castles of Scotland and reviving Feudalism and the medieval times. Here Eden comes face to face with Dr. Kane and he makes her aware of his intentions to keep his followers from knowing about London and the world of technology. To keep the peace, Kane subjects Eden to a gladiatorial fight against his master-at-arms and lead executioner. In Snake Plissken form, Eden pulls out the underdog victory and finds escape in the form of a Bentley Continental GT.

I´ll discontinue my discussion of the plot, but the "Road Warrior" auto combat scenes are still left in the balance as well as a reveal about the intentions of the Prime Minister and a little more truths about the state of the Reaper virus in London. Eden, who is one of the most unlikable heroes in recent history, manages to serve as both heroine and anti-hero when the story unfolds and I found the pictures climactic car combat was betrayed by a disappointing ending. With a film that contained so much high adrenaline action, the anti-climactic final scenes seemed too laden in exposition and did not provide any closure. One must wonder if a sequel was not hoped for.

The acting in "Doomsday" is serviceable. Lead actress Rhona Mitra is alright as the heroine, but her performance lacks the grit and tough charisma that Kurt Russell brought to Snake Plissken in "Escape From New York." The picture does not take advantage of having a strong female hero and leaves poor Rhona feeling flat. Supporting actors MyAnna Buring and Adrian Lester run around and perform their tasks, but they hardly memorable in their performances. Craig Conway was a load of fun as the ambitions and crazed leader of the ´Punk Rockers´ and my favorite scene in the film involved him prancing around a stage to the FYC song "Good Thing." Malcolm McDowell and Bob Hoskins provided some street cred to the movie, but these veteran actors are far from their glory days when McDowell had his Droogs and Hoskins had Jessica Rabbit.

There were things I liked about "Doomsday" and there were other things that I did not find too terribly special. It is a conglomerate of concepts borrowed from other films and it is an apocalyptic film that reminds us of so many other apocalyptic films. It is unoriginal, but spirited. The action is entertaining, but the story and characters are underwhelming. "Doomsday" is a movie that is all spectacle with no heart. If you enjoy good B-movie thrills or fondly remember the Grindhouse, then "Doomsday" will probably appeal to you. This isn´t a movie you will ever want to watch for great acting or an riveting story, but if you like loud explosions, blood and over-the-top apocalyptic action, then "Doomsday" might be infectious enough for you.