Doomsday (2008/Blu-ray + DVD-Video/Universal)
Picture:
A-/C+ Sound: A-/C+ Extras: A- Film: B
By
default, Doomsday remains not only
Neil Marshall’s most ambitious work, but also his best work and I was a bit
surprised by just how much of this film worked, even when it was clichéd. The
film shows the government in action against a deadly virus called “The Reaper
Virus”, where hundreds of thousands of people are killed and action is
taken. The government constructs a wall
to keep the quarantine in effect, but those people are long-forgotten as time
goes on. But before you can say “28 Days Later” 30 years passes by and
the virus breaks loose again, this time Major Eden Sinclair (Rhona Mitra) is
sent in to find a cure in order to bring order back to the outside world and
what transpires is not only all-out anarchy, but a great action/thriller that
will surprise most.
Cinematographer
Sam McCurdy has worked on Marshall’s previous films and his work here is
perhaps his best giving the film a great nearly post-apocalyptic appearance
without being too gutted of color or depth, the 1080p 2.35 X 1 anamorphic High
Definition image on the Blu-ray looks terrific and is one of the better discs
issued to date. The film was shot in
Super 35, so by default there are some moments where the image doesn’t quite
look nearly as sharp and has some of the grain quality that is often associated
with Super 35. Despite that, it still
looks fantastic. The anamorphically
enhanced DVD version has weak Video Black and detail issues for whatever
reasons.
Then
there is the sound, which is presented in superb DTS-HD master Audio lossless 5.1
mix that is never dull and is constantly engaging in some way, shape or
form. This, like the picture, is one of
the best released in Blu-ray to date and we can only hope for more to
come. The mix is sonically pleasing with
tons of action and the surrounds are active with lots of depth and detail, the
low end is also booming and will give any Home Theater setup a good
workout. The Dolby Digital 5.1 on the
DVD is much weaker, has an awkward soundfield and dialogue/voiceover in the
center channel is substandard.
As if
this wasn’t enough the Blu-ray also features a great wealth of extras that are
not only interesting, but engaging as well with this release being a
“U-Control” exclusive allowing some in-depth moments during the viewing of the
film, including segments on the Reaper Virus, technical specs on the Bentley in
the film and several weapons, plus picture-in-picture allowing the viewer to
access behind-the-scenes and cast information while watching particular
scenes. As if these extras aren’t enough
to enhance the Blu-ray experience there is a fantastic commentary by Marshall
and several cast and crew members to top it all off. The DVD has the rest of the extras too,
including a choice between the theatrical and uncut versions of the film.
Doomsday could in many respects be one of the
gems of 2008, even with its flaws, it beats much of the run-of-the-mill
material that we have seen thus far and continue to see. It won’t win any Oscar’s necessarily, but
it’s a fun film to watch and this Blu-ray takes the viewer beyond the movie and
gives fans more than they could bargain for.
Plus, it’s one of the better performers in the audio/visual realm and
will or should be in most serious collections on that note alone.
Alternate
opinion (NS): Marshall could have established himself as the potentially
formidable filmmaker some of his previous films suggested he could become, but
we instead (in either cut) get a film that is an awkward amalgamation of every
film we have seen before. Instead, his
films have shown a slow but evident pattern of decline. We have covered some of Neil Marshall’s films
before here at this site and have had mixed feelings about his work. You can read about his films at these links:
Dog Soldiers: http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/2373/Dog+Soldiers+(DTS
The Descent: http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5079/The+Descent
- Nate Goss & Nicholas Sheffo
