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Doomsday
Director/ Writer: Neil Marshall Starring: Rhona Mitra: Mjr Eden Sinclair Adrian Lester: Sgt Norton Bob Hoskins: Bill Nelson Malcolm MacDowell: Dr Kane David O’Hara Canaris Alexander Siddig: PM Hatcher Synopsis. Dateline Now: An Emerging Killer Virus erupts in Glasgow, Scotland and commences snuffing thousands of citizens per hour. The British Govt realises that containment is the only way to prevent the spread and rebuild Hadrians Wall from coast to coast at the border, sealing Scotland off. The Royal Navy patrol the coast, and anyone trying to escape is shot dead. Dateline twenty years into the future. Things have proceeded from bad to worse for the UK. The world wasn’t too charmed by the ruthlessly enforced quarantine policy and a now isolated England is drowning under a tide of unemployment, deprivation and organised crime. The Cops and Security Forces have evolved into some monolithic Department of Domestic Security, and a seemingly amoral Prime Minister rules, with apparently more care for Spin and re-election than duty and service. Then the virus turns up again, in London. Rising star of the DDS Police Major Sinclair, played with aplomb by Rhona Mitra, is approached by boss and Mentor Commander Nelson , played by Bob Hoskins, to go over the wall, where it turns out people have actually survived, to retrieve a cure from a scientist who was working there when the wall went up. Oh yes, and this is against the clock. If a cure isn’t found fast, The Govt. will flood central London to cull the infected. Cue recruiting a bunch of grunts then a journey into post Viral Apocalypse Scotland taking in Glasgow now ruled by a Psychotic, Mad Max style Tribe of Punk Cannibals, and then the Highland Castle Stronghold of the scientist, now a bizarre reworking of a medieval society. All heavily seasoned with Urban Combat, Armoured Warfare, swordfights, cannibalistic rituals, Jousting (?), Road racing. And just general mayhem.
Review: Believe me, this film is just mind-bending chaos from start to finish, just not always in a good way. It is always pleasing to me to see a British Horror with a few pounds spent on it. The fact is it’s so rare that one comes along, that I, like most reviewers, allow them to get away with more than they deserve. Director Neil Marshall has a lot to work with from the start. The cast is brilliant. Not just Mr Hoskins, Rhona Mitra, and Malcolm MacDowell but everyone; It looks like a whose who of the more competent supporting faces from British TV and Film. With an idea as outlandish as this, especially UK based there is massive potential for it to flop dramatically speaking. No chance here. Everyone gives it one hundred percent all the time. Sinclair is perfect as the ‘won’t waste words’ action heroine, and ten times more convincing than Lara Croft. Sean Pertwee, well he just rules as far as I’m concerned, even in a smaller role like this as one of the medical scientists. Main bad guy Saul is simply the most deranged screen villain I’ve seen (don’t believe me? Just wait for the road race at the end…) Bob Hoskins gives it his brilliantly charismatic all, with sadly the most inadequate lines of the film, and McDowell as the embittered and unhinged Kane, lounging around in period costume like a painted king, is quite clearly re-living his Shakespeare days with talent and poise.
The effects in this movie are more than up to the job. From the start the infected victims are horrifically oozy, the special make up and injury stuff is always top class, but it’s the combat which out does anything I’ve seen on a recent Brit Flick. The action sequences are intense. The team insert into Scotland in a pair of armoured troop carriers, (BTR 70’s Russian for any tank nerds out there) and end up fighting a disastrous running battle with the crazed cannibals. They basically get out fought very convincingly by rudimentary weapons, petrol bombs and obstacles. It has to be seen to be believed, but the level of violence is off the scale from very early on. Every combat scene is meticulously choreographed, Every new project Neill Marshall gets, this sort of stuff seems to be more polished. All the military stuff is more than convincing (even the future weapons bits, the major’s remote control eye/ camera is not that far from reality. The foam grenade? Perhaps not but who knows?) and the catastrophic injuries/ gory deaths are ultra realistic. The cannibals throw themselves at the DDS troopers with manic abandon, and die in their hundreds with many more to replace them. Finally, a Brit actioner with the effects it deserves.
This sequence ends with one of the films many surprise moments, Without wanting to give too much away I’ll just leave it at “guess whose coming to dinner” remember they’re cannibals? Any way after they lose the vehicles and take a severe beating, the action takes on a more personal note, as our Protagonists are forced to go it ‘toe to toe’, and frequently forced to flee for their lives. The action is relentless and drags us frenziedly from one bizarre location to the next with some jarring moments. You find yourself watching Sinclair fighting for her life against a six and a half foot tall Knight Executioner minutes after escaping cannibals, on a steam locomotive into the rolling hills. Then in the middle of it all we are shown scenes of the dire situation in London from a fortified Ultra modern office. It just works, trust me. It might sound like a car crash (and there are plenty of those in it, I can assure you) but this film really works. I got about five minutes in, and I was thinking ‘seriously?’ but that’s the point. When mikeoutwest asked me to review this for Flash Bang he said “Just enjoy it” and he was right. If they’d meant you to think deeply about this they would have given you time! They Don’t. It storms along like a runaway train, it nods respectfully to many classic and cult landmarks (Mad Max, Satan Bug, Escape from New York, to name but three.) and it is hugely entertaining.
Unfortunately a couple of times the dialogue clunks like a dropped anchor. As I’ve mentioned, Bob Hoskins lines seem inappropriate somehow. Like they were written for a film set in the states maybe. But he plays his role eloquently as ever. Occasionally plot exposition jumps out a little too obviously, for example from Kane’s daughter Cally. I’ll have to be honest though, It’s no landmark itself, Except maybe people will look back at this as the film that set a proper benchmark for effects and scale in a British set Action Movie. For having such nerve it deserves 7 out of 10 Any less and I’d feel unpatriotic. P.S I bet Sinclair could take Lara Croft. Sulaco
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