Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
1/4
"Doomsday" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 03/02/2012
A plague epidemic breaks out in Scotland, which is promptly quarantined and abandoned to its own fate. Three decades later a military unit is sent in to investigate the possibility of a cure when the virus reappears in the ghettos of London. After the hugely enjoyable Dog Soldiers, I held high hopes for Neil Marshall. Although it was clearly inspired by Predator, it was done with enough wit, homour and invention to make me think we may have found Britain's answer to Sam Raimi. Unfortunately after the tepid The Descent and now this dismal mess my hopes have been thoroughly crushed. The opening of the film is a pure rip off of Escape From New York, down to the retro computer graphics and synth soundtrack, and he even uses the same on screen type face for the subtitling. It then turns into …
Rating of
3/4
Not quite the end of the world
kcvidkid - wrote on 09/15/2008
A great (although familiar) concept, but after the initial set-up, it takes the road more travelled, favoring "Mad Max" elements rather than those of "28 Days/Weeks Later". But it does make for a fast-moving and entertaining adventure.
I thought we were pessimists, but those folks across the pond REALLY have a bleak outlook! Can't cure a disease? Then let's quarantine any affected and leave them to die. Problem is, some are immune. And we didn't think that they might carry the key to the cure.
I was confused by some scenes, although most everything was cleared-up by waiting for further clarification. Something that left me stumped, though: why do all the post-apolcalyptic societies embrace a punk appearance? I guess it's more exciting than suits and ties.
Skin rating = 2 …
Rating of
2.5/4
Good enough for a cult...
danand82 - wrote on 09/07/2008
After Dog Soldiers (2002) and The Descent (2005), Neil Marshall seemed like the new wunderkind of British horror cinema. His latest, Doomsday, is a markedly different film from his earlier work – most clearly in it's inability to choose which genre it belongs to. Dog Soldiers clearly leaned in the direction of comedy while The Descent was a masterful lesson in claustrophobic horror, marred only slightly by a number of over the top action scenes in its final act. Doomsday has funny moments, horrible moments, thrilling moments and, more often, moments filled with levels of absurdity which would not feel out of place in a full-blown spoof.
The year is 2033. A quarter of a century has passed since the outbreak of a fatal disease in northern Britain. Scotland has been cut off - …
Rating of
2/4
Not As Good
chiggles - wrote on 05/31/2008
A lot of horror fans have found a respect for writer/director Neil Marshall, as he has brought us two great horror films, Dog Soldiers and The Descent. So when we all hear news that Neil Marhsall is doing yet another horror movie, we got really excited. Doomsday tells about a killer virus called "The Reaper", in which swept over Scotland sometime in the future. The army built up a giant wall around Scotland to keep people out and in, but the virus ended up spreading some 30 years later, and a supposed cure is held up inside the wall. A task force is sent in to retrieve it, but they found something worse then they bargained for.
Doomsday is sort of a bunch of movies combined, for example Mad Max and 28 Weeks Later. It takes place in sort of a post apocalyptic future, so director Neil …
Rating of
1/4
And then, the end, ruined it all....
Tino - wrote on 05/16/2008
Doomsday isn't as bad as it looks..... Until the very end. The writer/director Neil Marshall creates a very interesting and believable apocalyptic world with a decent, but not very original story. It is set-up as a zombie movie, but there aren't really many zombies. There are people infected by a virus, but the real threat is the newly created quarantined anti-society that formed within the walls of the contained area. The plot is simple and kind of lame, as are the character choices. The film can be stupidly violent, but not too terribly...until the end. If you see this, you might as well walk out once the car chase begins. It is way too unbelievable and simply idiotic. It completely sells out any creativity the movie had. The end of the action, plot, story, everything. It all sucks. …
Rating of
2.5/4
A+B+C+D+E = Doomsday
BryanFury - wrote on 04/05/2008
Watching Doomsday is like seeing five movies in one seating. Because the plot is like that of 28 days later, the lead character Rhona Mitra resembles a bit like Kate Beckinsale's character from underworld. The setting is something like that of from Escaped from New York. The scene in the beginning of the movie felt like inspired by the movie Aliens. Lastly the ending dealing about a cure pretty much resembled I am Legend. The combination of five ideas into one movie makes a somewhat fresh but old entertaining action filled flick worked in so many levels. It works because the main character delivered a gladiator slash terminator performance. That alone makes everything about this movie worthwhile seeing. Although in the eyes of a serious critic, Doomsday would either doomed from the …
Rating of
3/4
Don't take it seriously and it will be fun.
TheWolf - wrote on 03/26/2008
Doomsday is one of those films that you are either going to really like or really despise. The post apocalyptic genre is a classic premise but only has so many directions that it can be taken. Personally I was happy to see that this film decided that it was going to avoid the zombie option. This film takes a run at the genre in a very similar way that Tank Girl did back in 1995 (both films included Malcom McDowell, but that is not where the similarities stop).
Craig Conway's characterization of Sol seemed as though he had based the over the top personality on Iggy Pop, and I am quite convinced that had this movie been made 20 years earlier Sol would have been played by Pop.
I loved the intensive changes of scenery from one location to the next occurred as the film seemed to bring …
Rating of
3/4
Action and Every Cliche in the Book!
turtlehead43 - wrote on 03/23/2008
I've seen just about every zombie movie, action movie, and apolyptic future movie out there. This one combined elements from all of them! If you were intending to see something new and awe-inspiring, then you shouldn't have been at this movie in the first place. Anyone who watches any TV commercial would know what they were getting into ahead of time...I've read other reviews and everyone is down on this movie already, well I'm not. There isn't a great plot so I'll cut to the chase and explain what I possibly could have liked about it.
The typical plague of course to begin with...this time it's The Reaper virus (think a mild form of "Rage" from 28 Days Later). There is some killing at the border reminiscent of the recent Children of Men. A lone child gets out on a chopper, but not …
Rating of
1/4
So horrible it almost made it awesome, but didn't
Josh C - wrote on 03/19/2008
There were so many problems with this film. It was way, way, way over-the-top much in the same way Mad Max and Escape from NY was. Except with this film, I don't have the fond childhood memories that are the reasons I think those movies are so entertaining.
The plot was weak, but I am not going to knock it too much because of that. Because anyone going to watch this film isn't watching it for good acting or a plot. They are watching it for action and more action. As far as the action went, this film delivered as promised. So why such a low rating you may be asking?
My problem with the movie was there were so many things they could have done better. They have a country full of people who are trapped inside the walls yet no one on the outside has looked in close enough to realize …
