Review of Doomsday (2008) by Brad H — 16 Aug 2009

One's enjoyment of Doomsday might stem from how much one admires a blatant homage to the 1980s. A tribute to the early anarchy actioners The Road Warrior and Escape From New York, Neil Marshall's Doomsday also blends elements from 28 Days Later for a fun and ultra-violent action-sci-fi-kinda-horror film. About 10 minutes into it I decided to pretend it was a long-lost mid-'80s film Marshall had dusted off and put his name on.

A bit like a medley of greatest hits performed by a hot, young talent who brings a new vocal inflection to the tired, old standards. If Marshall's goal was to deliver a no-nonsense, tongue-in-cheek, mega-violent "throwback" action flick, I'd say he's done a fine job of it. Now for the bad. Doomsday isn't quite memorable as the grab bag bunch of movies he is pulling from. .

This sort of rough-and-tumble B-movie Hollywood just doesn't know how to deal with. Just have fun and remember the old days.