Doomsday
for strong bloody violence, language and some sexual content/nudity.
Reviewed by: David Simpson
CONTRIBUTOR
| Moral Rating: | Extremely Offensive |
| Moviemaking Quality: |
|
| Primary Audience: | Teens Adults |
| Genre: | Sci-Fi Action Thriller |
| Length: | 1 hr. 45 min. |
| Year of Release: | 2008 |
| USA Release: |
March 14, 2008 (wide) |
Plagues in the Bible
The Origin of bad—How did bad things come about? Answer
Where did cancer come from? Answer
Why does God allow innocent people to suffer? Answer
What about the issue of suffering? Doesn't this prove that there is no God and that we are on our own? Answer
Does God feel our pain? Answer
What kind of world would you create? Answer
Fear, Anxiety and Worry… What does the Bible say? Answer
VIOLENCE—How does viewing violence in movies affect families? Answer
This movie extreme violence, including: cannibalism, hand cut off, spit in the face, push down stairs, car set on fire, gun in mouth, blood on camera lens, animal killing, branding, exploding bus, disfigurement, axe murder, shot in the hand, driving off cliff, slit throat, fall down stairs, piercing ripped out, angry mob, riot, arrow in back, decapitation, thrown through window, shot in the head, kicked in the face, crushed hand, gash in the face, shot in the arm, shot in the chest, shot in the face, knocked out with gun butt, suicide, person on fire, head blown off, corpses, burnt body, axe in the head, arrow in chest, stabbed in the head, exploding car, shot in the leg, burned alive, hostage killed, sword fight, crushed to death, throat slitting, shot in the back, explosion, car crash, shot in the eye, dismemberment, shot in the throat, punched in the face, nude woman murdered, shot through the mouth, shot to death, fall from height, axe in the chest, severed head, crushed by door, car crashes through window, torture, dragged by car, blood spatter, exploding rabbit, neck breaking, etc.
| Featuring | Rhona Mitra (Maj. Eden Sinclair), Bob Hoskins (Bill Nelson), Malcolm McDowell (Dr. Marcus Kane), Caryn Peterson (Vagrant Girl), Adeola Ariyo (Nurse), Emma Cleasby (Katherine Sinclair), Christine Tomlinson (Young Eden Sinclair), Vernon Willemse (David / Gimp), Paul Hyett (Hot Dog Victim), Daniel Read (Sergeant #1), Karl Thaning (Pilot), Stephen Hughes (Soldier #1 / Johnson), See all » |
| Director |
Neil Marshall “The Descent,” “Dog Soldiers” |
| Producer | Benedict Carver, Marc D. Evans, Trevor Macy, Peter McAleese, Steven Paul, Andrew Rona |
| Distributor |
“Mankind has an expiration date.”
A post apocalyptic, stylized thriller is the best way I could think of to describe “Doomsday.” It details the fictional account of Scotland being quarantined by the British government out of fear of a virus spread that has ravaged the island.
The dreaded “Reaper” virus is contained behind a big wall, and all entry into the country is prohibited, until the disease resurfaces in London. Desperate to avoid England being subject to the same vicious epidemic, they send in a special ops team to try and locate a cure for the Reaper Virus.
Eden Sinclair (Rhona Mitra) leads this gung-ho team behind the wall to find this cure and also a doctor/scientist that was known to have stayed in the area.
“Doomsday” is not an original movie; its story has been told in slightly different ways in “28 Days Later,” “V For Vendetta,” and “I Am Legend.” Eden Sinclair is typically a very attractive and extremely talented warrior whose kick-butt moves get her out of the seemingly impossible scenarios.
But it is just what you would expect from Hollywood in this genre of film. A beautiful girl, showing herself off, a brutal government that cares not one little bit about their people, and ruthless cannibals, who are haunting Scotland behind the wall.
There is plenty to find offensive about this movie. The language is fairly heavy, it's what you would expect from an R-rated movie with many uses of f***, s**t, variants of those two, as well as other crude terms. The violence is extreme with many decapitations, gruesome deaths involving lots of blood, and other such methods including a man being burnt to death slowly before being eaten.
There are scenes of scantily-clad women, as well as frontal nudity, but no sexual scenes. But the content is all quite graphic and very offensive. One of the main topics of “Doomsday” is cannibalism, and how those who survived the virus in Scotland have become cannibals in order to stay alive. These “creatures” are vicious, evil and will kill with no remorse or concern.
As Christians, we look to put ourselves on a high standard, as representatives of a God who is beyond all that is of this Earth. He is almighty and powerful, and is the epitome of joy and love. Nowhere in this movie is there love, joy, contentment, or even honesty and justice. Morally “Doomsday” fails to give us the redemption we might seek.
We do not gain anything good from watching something like this, and based on the content, I'm not recommending it for any age. To love one's neighbor, and to do good to those who hate you, that's a message that Jesus gave us to live by, and these characters continually kill, steal and destroy lives as it suits them. Unfortunately, it's not just the cannibals that do this, but also government, and people in places of influence.
It's a terrible example.
I felt this movie was better than some others of its genre. I think it was because it didn't over glorify the R-rated content compared to what some similar movies did. However, “Doomsday” is disturbing and graphic, and a very poor end to what could have been promising with a little more direction. One to miss? Yes.
Violence: Extreme / Profanity: Extreme / Sex/Nudity: Heavy
See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.
none
Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 1½
My Ratings: Moral rating: Very Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 2