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| Doomsday - Film review | |
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| Topic Started: May 29 2008, 06:44 AM (157 Views) | |
| zeitgeist | May 29 2008, 06:44 AM Post #1 |
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Doomsday - Film review Alt title; Friday Night In Govan"  Sometimes life turns out so much better than you could ever have hoped for! And this was one of those times. I knew absolutely nothing about this film, bar the title. So I figured, with the word "doom" in the title, there might be some explosions and perhaps some people dying horribly. It also had an 18 certificate, so the violence had the potential to be graphic. But things started ominously. As the opening credits ran, it became horribly apparent that this was [gulp] a British film. Something that normally has me washing my hair for weeks at a time, in a desperate attempt to avoid it. However, I'd handed over a ludicrously large amount of money, so decided to stick it out. And joy unfettered! This is by far the best film of the year so far, and one of the best British films, ever! Normally we have to make do with lamentable middle class rom-coms or deplorable upper class homosexualist dramas, but not here. This was a proper film. A quick synopsis; events take place in 2035 Great Britain. For the last thirty years, Scotland has been sealed off after an outbreak of an incurable virus, with everyone presumed dead. The virus then rears its head in the heart of London, and with survivors having been spotted in Scotland, a crack team of soldiers are sent, led by Major Eden Sinclair to try and discover whether a cure exists. So far, so dull. But when they arrive in Scotland, things really kick off. Travelling in two armoured personnel carriers, they arrive in a post-apocalyptic Glasgow, which looks remarkably like the current day version. Turns out that Glasweegieland is now run by maraduing hordes of early nineteen-eighties punk rockers, led by Exploited lookalike Sol. With food being a wee bit on the short side, they get by with capturing outsiders and using them as barbeque. A fate we see in graphic detail as some bloke of The Bill, or possibly Holby Blue gets fried alive. Incidentally, there are a lot of "wasn't he in The Bill / Holby Blue moments" as the cream of British TV bit part players get a run out on a film set. After the impenetrable, chemical warfare withstanding, armoured personnel carriers get destroyed with some makeshift petrol bombs and an arrow (they forgot the double glazing), the survivors make their escape, with the sister of chief punk Sol, on a steam train (!) to the Highlands where, via a secret fallout shelter, they get captured by a bunch of 15th century knights. No, I'm not making this up. Turns out the scientist they had been sent to find has set up his own little medieval kingdom, and is doing quite nicely, thank you. Despite Malcom McDowall, for it is he wondering what happened to his career, being the father of Sol and Cally, he still wants them put to death. Cue another tortuous escape for the survivors, this time on horseback, as they head back to the fallout shelter. Handily for them, the auxiliary power is still working and they manage to get hold of a conveniently crated sports car and some petrol. Post-nuclear necessities and all that. The diminishing survivors then drive off into the sunset only to run into a convoy of early nineteen-eighties punk rockers, led by Sol and his now decaptitated, formerly uber-hot, girlfriend. Something I forgot to mention earlier. Cue an utterly insane car chase and stuntathon, the highlights of which include the gimp strapped to the front of a van meeting a horrible death. No, I didn't mention the gimp we met earlier on, either.  Naturally, our heroine saves the day, slightly too late to stop the Prime Minister back in London committing suicide, but just in time for the last ten minutes to turn into an exact replica of Mad Max. Rarely have I seen so many beheadings, sword wielding cat fights, cannibalism, torture, gratutitious toplessness, explosions and fire at one go. At least, not since the last time I passed through Govan. It's almost as if the director, who was also responsible for the rather poor "The Descent" and "Dog Soldiers" had decided that if this was to be his final film, he wanted to throw in as many wonderful, wonderful things as humanly possible, in his version of King Arthur & The Escape From Thunderdome.  Sometimes, it's hard to keep track of all the wonders on screen, as the rock concert meets Cirque Du Soleil meets cannibal holocaust scene is soundtracked by Adam & The Ants 'Dog Eat Dog' and the Fine Young Cannibals. Yes, there are holes in the plot big enough to drive one of the armoured personnel carriers through. But who cares! This is a rocket ride of epic proportions, albeit one that thoroughly deserves its 18 certificate (that's Rated R for overseas folks). The films lead, Rhona Mitra, spends her time strutting around in tight, black spandex, issuing deadpan one liners and dispensing death, and is absolutely marvellous if unrecognisable from her stint on US TV in Boston Legal. I await her appearance in the forthcoming "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans", with slightly disquieting glee. |
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3:15 PM Nov 26
