Doomsday

I caught Doomsday for the first time the other day, it's the third film from Neil "Dog Soldiers" Marshall and to be honest it's rubbish.

It's basic plot revolves around a team looking for a cure to a deadly disease in an apocalyptic Scotland. On top of that Marshall has thrown a bit of everything he thinks he is cool onto the basic structure.

So we have a distopian Britain, elements of Mad Max, Dirty Dozen, Escape From New York, 28 Days Later, an inexplicable medieval society that clearly loves Gladiator too. Add in the random bouts of nudity, poll dancing and comical violence and you truly have a film born of the dreams of a 14 year old boy.

The distopia is whilst at least relevant for the story it is a rather poorly realised one and no where near as effective as the likes of V for Vendetta as a weak Prime Minister is bullied into unthinkable action by your classic evil second in command type.

A lot of the other elements kind of work such as the Mad Max style elements (well, up until the singing along to 80s hits en mass, really. It comes out of nowhere and goes on for a good five minutes.) whilst others are wasted. Why bother sitting up a team on a mission structure when all bar two of said team who killed only a handful of minutes later before we even really know their name.

This is all topped off with the bizarre choice to include a medieval culture in the mix. Whilst it seems most of Scotland (walled off from the rest of the world) has become a lawless frontier it seems a government scientist has created his own Camelot. And there is explanation why.

Now, we're not talking a group of people who have simply moved into a castle and adopted a feudal style system of law, no, what we have here is an actual total recreation down to the clothing and armour. Why?

I could of maybe bought it if they'd had perhaps been a couple of lines about the scientist at the head of this society having been a history fan or something but there is noting. We're expect simply just to accept this to the point where twenty years after Scotland was walled off a grown woman has no inclination what a car is! Ok, a bit weird but maybe possible until you realise that this woman's enemies, who her brother actually leads and who have at the start of the film captured her, drive around. In cars.

In the cast the recognised names either feature for mere minutes like Sean Pertwee or sleepwalk through it like Malcolm McDowell and Bob Hoskins. And whilst she does ok, lets be honest Rhona Mitra is a cut rate Kate Beckinsale (which is faintly damning in itself)

Elsewhere things randomly explode or hardened APC's prove laughably susceptible to bows and arrows but fun can be had spotting a number of goofs and gaffes throughout the film.

Basically the whole thing is B-movie clag that was lucky not to head straight to the £3 DVD bargain bin market and for me The Descent remains Marshall's only really genuinely good film (though I've not yet seen Centurion)