Stunning Rhona Mitra is the only saving grace of the dreadful "Doomsday". Even her charismatic presence and black skin tight couture can not salvage this narrative quagmire from Director and Writer Neil Marshall. Marshall was actually very effective in "The Descent". That makes what happened here even more bewildering. "Doomsday" is a mutated clone on a number of levels. Beautiful Rhona Mitra resembles Kate Beckinsale of "Underworld", but is a more athletic version. The comparisons to "Underworld" are warranted-- in particular the Gothic nihilistic tone. No Vampires. Instead we have cannibalistic survivors of a deadly man-made virus. The "Doomsday" post apocalyptic world of 2033 lands as a cheap rip-off of "The Road Warrior" and "Mad Max: Beyond Thunder Dome". At times enduring the grotesque cinematic chaos becomes insufferable. There is a protracted scene in which one of Major Sinclair's (Mitra's) men is charred crispy and then consumed. "Doomsday" begins with a promising premise, but soon spirals out of control into the narrative abyss. This is too bad, because Mitra plays a great hero and Malcolm McDowell garners enough restraint as the compelling antagonist Kane.
In 2008 a lethal virus eradicates Scotland killing hundreds of thousands of people. The Government in a radical measure to contain and quarantine the area erects an impenetrable Wall along the British border. One of those lucky to escape during this turmoil is young Eden Sinclair. Her mother apparently sacrifices her life to save her. The young child grows into Major Sinclair (Mitra), who is now a powerful and capable warrior.
In 2033, the virus re-emerges in England; thus threatening total annihilation. However, intelligence photos of the quarantine region reveal survivors. Therefore, a cure for the virus may exist somewhere beyond the Wall. Prime Minister John Hatcher's (Alexander Siddig) national and political survival rests on finding this cure. Apparently Kane (whacked out Malcolm McDowell), who discovered the virus, may have developed an anti-virus. Hatcher tasks his security minister Bill Nelson (Bob Hoskins) to assemble a military team to retrieve the cure from the quarantine region. Nelson enrolls Major Sinclair (Mitra) to lead this mission. Sinclair quickly assembles her team, and they embark on their mission to find Kane and the cure. Once behind the Wall, the mission goes amokpredictably. Turns out that Kane (McDowell) has recreated his new world as a quasi-medieval existence where only the strong survive. From this point on the mission much like the movie becomes murky and incomprehensible.
Even as a straight action movie "Doomsday" is puzzling. The quick cut edits, and dark atmosphere do little in defining crisp and engaging action sequences. Mitra performs the fight scenes admirably, though I'm guessing she is not a trained martial artist. It just comes off as sloppy. Most of the cloned "Road Warrior" high speed chases are embarrassing.
The conclusion of "Doomsday" makes no sense at all. What was Neil Marshall's point? There are a bunch of silly post apocalyptic mutant zombie movies out there, and this one is really unpleasant and not all that much fun. Rhona Mitra and Malcolm McDowell are completely wasted here. And "Doomsday" was nearly a complete waste of two hours.
