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Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this post-apocalyptic action-horror movie is brimming with bloody, splatty, graphic violence. Weapons include guns, swords, arrows, knives, and grenades, and brutal images include suicide by gun, decapitation, stabbing, torture, shooting, fighting, cannibalism, car chases, and crashes. A woman's naked breasts are visible during a shooting; other scenes feature pole dancing and cleavage-revealing outfits. Language includes lots of "f--k"s, plus other profanity. The heroine smokes cigarettes.
Families can talk about the kinds of things that post-apocalyptic movies often have in common. How does Hollywood tend to signal a civilization in decline? What other movies does this one remind you of? What sets it apart? Is it significant that the main character is a woman? How does Eden see the world differently from her male adversaries? How does her traumatic past shape her attitude toward authority and morality?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Cynthia Fuchs
Like so many of its post-apocalyptic precursors, DOOMSDAY sets a reluctant hero against the world. In this case, she's DDS Major Eden Sinclair (Rhona Mitra), a tough chick with emotional baggage (she lost her mother) and bionic extras (a spy camera/recorder eyeball). Trained by chief Bill Nelson (Bob Hoskins), she's long used to adversity in a divided UK, where a wall partitions England and Scotland to quarantine a virus. In 2035, when the virus resurfaces, the prime minister's conniving assistant sends her to Glasgow to retrieve a man named Dr. Kane (Malcolm McDowell), who may have developed an antidote. Her mission: Resist the brutal tribal punks who now control the city, recover the doctor (or the antidote), and return to London.
Derivative by definition, the movie pits Eden against a series of enemies and challenges that showcase her courage and intelligence (a la Ripley in the Alien films) as well as her lethal expertise (shades of Resident Evil). The predictable, video game-like plot doesn't allow much in the way of character development, though Eden does admire team member Sergeant Norton (Adrian Lester), who displays a singular moral sensibility, and so, must suffer dire consequences.
Like Neil Marshall's other films (Dog Soldiers and The Descent), Doomsday is full of gore and fierce battles for survival. It also alludes to social/political issues like AIDS and the Katrina catastrophe. Still, such broader dimensions tend to be overshadowed by the harrowing, bloody action. While Eden draws obvious inspiration from her tough-chick role models (Linda Hamilton, Kate Beckinsale, even Buffy), she's also a vaguely new kind of mad girl. Anticipating the direst end, Eden chooses the cannibal punks, declaring herself for them, in terms they appreciate. It's a grim resolution, even in this post-apocalypse.
Similar movies include Road Warrior, 28 Days Later, Escape from New York, and Aliens.
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Sexual ContentVarious cleavage shots. A naked woman's breasts are visible when she's in the bathtub during a raid. Sol kisses his girlfriend lasciviously; he tries to kiss Eden, who bites his lip. Pole dancers wear fishnets, bikini tops, and bikini-style bottoms (their rears appear in close-ups). A masochist appears in black vinyl suit, begging to be hurt. |
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ViolenceOngoing graphic, bloody violence. Armed military personnel with guns abuse panicking crowds. Injuries/deaths (including a graphic suicide) from gunshots, trampling, beating, and barbed wire. Many gory images: child's eye bloody from gunshot; smashed, mangled cow and person; decapitation (shown on screen, via grisly prosthetics); stabbing; shooting; cut throat (spurting blood). The infected appear covered in gooey skin and blisters. Combat scenes (in which streets are strewn with skulls and skeletons) feature vehicles crashing, guns, arrows, fighting, swords, and explosions from grenades. Torture scenes include hot poker branding, whipping, punching, and biting. Gladiator-style arena fight features kicking, hitting, knifing, an axe to a head. A cannibalism scene shows a man burned/charred alive; scenes in which the raging crowd gnaws at the meat are grotesque. A rabbit blows up on screen. |
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LanguageFrequent use of "f--k" (sometimes with "mother-"), plus other language: "s--t," "bastard," "hell," "damn," "bollocks," "balls," "ass," "bitch." |
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Social BehaviorThe main female character is surly but moralistic; the prime minister's assistant is power-hungry and cruel; punked-out tribe in Glasgow is furious and cannibalistic; one young soldier wants to protect a young woman. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoRepeated cigarette smoking main characters. |
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