Weekly Review -- Apocalyptic chic

Doomsday (2008) -- Warriors, conspiracies, epidemics, oh my! Neil Marshall, director of Dog Soldiers and The Descent, takes on the potential end of civilization as we know it in his latest offering. After the so-called Reaper virus has wiped out most of Scotland and isolated it from the rest of Great Britain, the country suffers a social and economic collapse. Thirty-five years later, the virus reappears in ravaged London and survivors are uncovered in Glasgow, prompting the government to dispatch a team to Scotland, in order to find a possible cure. Led by Major Eden Sinclair (Rhona Mitra) and including infectious disease specialist Dr. Talbot (Sean Pertwee) and Sergeant Norton (Adrian Lester), the team soon runs into a host of problems, not the least of which are the savage mentality and harsh living conditions of the outbreak survivors. As he did with Dog Soldiers, Marshall imbues the proceedings with dark camp and unleashes gore with gusto, while infusing the story with numerous violently innovative action sequences. The world that the movie takes place in is a curious mishmash of prehistoric settings, Neo-Gothic stylings and techno sensibilities, all of which is topped off by dog-eat-not-only-dog instincts and drenched in war paint. This world is raw and vivid, making it easy to imagine that a group of people who have been through a similar catastrophe could revert to such primitive behavior. Mitra is a convincing action heroine, exploring the vulnerable and tough sides of Sinclair and demonstrating aptitude in the physically demanding scenes. After having also been the first human model for Lara Croft and having played the female lead in Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, she might be in for an adventurous cinematic ride, and she has the chops for it. The supporting cast is very good, particularly David O'Hara as ruthless Deputy Prime Minister Michael Canaris and Lester as a dutiful soldier. Doomsday is one of the better action movies of recent years, with enough tongue-in-cheek humor to bring hue into its dour milieu, as well as enough action to keep the genre fans satisfied.

7/10