We watched Doomsday today. I went into it expecting to hate it, due to many reviews. Now, normally, I don’t pay much attention to reviews, but these included those whose opinions I do often agree on and many women who like strong female characters and those who love post-Apocalyptic movies. And they all hated it.
Okay, one thing pegged right is that it is unoriginal. But I always laugh at anyone expecting originality…seriously, there is no such thing. Not since the written word. Nothing has been original since long before writing, it’s just a matter of story telling. I suppose what is meant is “I don’t like the way this story teller tells this same old story.” Fair enough….but I do wish people would stop using “unoriginal” in reviews. It’s pointless.
Sorry…it’s a pet peeve.
This is a self-admitted homage movie to begin with. So “originality” is even more of a non-issue. Yes, LOT’S of Escape from New York/LA in this…but I can totally live with the idea of a female Snake Pliskin. Yup, Mad Max is there. Personally, I do NOT get the references made to Resident Evil, other than it being a fairly recent strong female role offering, or, especially, 28 Days Later, other than a virus (but in this doesn’t create “zombification” only death and all violence from the infected is response to the government and military treatment they get. Oh, perhaps anything about any disaster taking place in Britain has to be related to 28 Days Later? I don’t get it…but maybe it was one of the movies Neil Marshall (writer/director, also of Dog Soldiers and Descent both of which had initially made me hopeful about this one) intended to homage…but I don’t see it. Sorry.
Anyway. Of course, why I love it the most is all about Rhona Mitra as Major Eden Sinclair. She is a wonderful female action actress, having both acting chops and a great physique. She not only is muscular, with good arms but a totally enviable back, but is able to move and carry herself like an action hera. Her character has grit, something she’s shown before (the physique I can’t remember seeing, although I do know she did Lara Croft appearances, well, I doubt she needed it for that either actually…just the breast implants which, honestly makes me sad that she felt she had to do).
I also loved seeing Malcolm McDowell as a megalomaniac who takes over a castle and makes himself out to be a medieval king. I just know so many who would would do this if trapped in a disease ravaged Scotland. And, well, it’s just such cheesily good role for him.
As an aside, I had a personal laugh from the Mad Max styled cannibalistic Marauders in Glasgow, when the leader, Sol (Craig Conway) is up on stage. Some time ago I wrote in a survivalist group meaning to say “fighting off desperate reavers” and left out the first “e” …making it “fighting off desperate ravers.” This led to many jokes about being bombarded with glow sticks and the like. But HERE was the reality…we do have to fear the ravers! At least when they get a taste for human flesh. Okay, not as funny to anyone else…but I must laugh for years over bad typos I make.
I don’t know, I also found the idea of England locking off Scotland the way they did somehow pointed. And I like anything that shows corrupt government types. (and yes, I can see some Land of the Dead…but not the zombie movies usually mentioned…well, I guess there is the locking up Raccoon City in Resident Evil but not as much due to some of the general way it was done).
Oh, big personal pet peeve. Yes, as a female Snake Pliskin, Sinclair does have only one eye, her left. She removes and uses her artificial eye, which also serves as a camera, to see around corners and such. So, she’s not got it in when she’s running round with a gun..including with longarms. Uh, and there she is with in held right-eyed. Why the fuck can’t anyone in the movie and TV world figure out that people actually can fucking shoot from their left side! This pisses me off! There is no fucking reason for this. Some people with two eyes are left-eyed (you probably aren’t surprised that I am…hence my annoyance about this) so certainly someone who ONLY has a left eye should shoot from the left! With handguns it doesn’t matter, with longarms it DOES. (btw, yes, this includes the makers of LOST…there’s even an LOLOST type screen cap of Mikhail with the rifle lined up to his non-existent eye *sob*)
No, this is not a great movie. But it’s enjoyable to watch if you truly love the genre and strong women…at least Aaron and I found it so. It may be too much of a cult homage to ever have a cult following itself. But Mitra really will should she get the right roles.
Because ultimately, it’s Mitra who will get me to buy this movie to add to my “woman warrior” line up…although I’ll likely wait until I find it real cheap (which I just tend to do). She seriously has to continue playing action roles, we need this! We need someone like this doing action. And this makes me so sad that this movie was so panned and flopped, that even genre fans talked other genre fans out of it (and, honestly I’m really disappointed in some writers that they didn’t indicate being impressed by her, because she’s worth raving about! FUCK!). Because I seriously want this woman to get these kinds of roles, preferably in really well done genre movies.
Mitra is totally my top vote for who should have been cast in a (far better written, of course) Sarah Connor TV series. She’s got it all. The only problem I might see is that she does bear some facial resemblance to Linda Hamilton, not a lot, but enough that it might be seen as her being too much like her. But the real thing is that she’s got both the physique AND the grit.
I am totally in love.
(Cross-posted in all my blogs Women of Strength LJ and all Sarah Connor Charm School fora.)
Copyright © 2008 Kym Lambert