...it is at least a lot of fun.
There were things I liked about "Doomsday" and there were other things that I did not find too terribly special. It is a conglomerate of concepts borrowed from other films and it is an apocalyptic film that reminds us of so many other apocalyptic films. It is unoriginal, but spirited. The action is entertaining, but the story and characters are underwhelming. "Doomsday" is a movie that is all spectacle with no heart. If you enjoy good B-movie thrills or fondly remember the Grindhouse, then "Doomsday" will probably appeal to you. This isn´t a movie you will ever want to watch for great acting or an riveting story, but if you like loud explosions, blood and over-the-top apocalyptic action, then "Doomsday" might be infectious enough for you.
Video:
The first time I experienced "Doomsday" was on the Blu-ray format. The film was quite good on the high definition format and I was partly afraid I would be a little hard on the DVD release because I had been able to enjoy it in full splendor of high definition the first time around. Skipping to the chase, the DVD release is quite impressive and shows that the standard definition format has plenty of life in it. Detail is among the strongest I have seen on DVD and coloring is just as impressive on DVD as it was on Blu-ray. I won´t go as far as calling this the perfect release on DVD, because some of the cinematography chosen doesn´t allow this film to rival the absolute best releases on the format. If it weren´t for the few spotty scenes in the film, this would an absolutely incredible release. The biggest difference between the formats is how the format handles the darker sequences in the film. On DVD, they suffered just a tad amount of murkiness. Source materials were solid and the native film grain is never troublesome.
Audio:
Audio is again impressive with the DVD release of "Doomsday" and while there were a few scenes that kept the visual quality from scoring the perfect 10, there is absolutely no reason to dock the DVD of any points. In fact, the DVD soundtrack of "Doomsday" is only a hair behind the Blu-ray release is clarity and depth. The English Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is powerful, enveloping and quite impressive. Each of the six channels erupts with sound throughout the film. The low frequency effects channel pounds with power and both high and low range sounds are perfectly rendered. The gunshots heard during the first moments when Scotland is being walled off sound quite good and bounce around the room vibrantly. Most importantly, the verse of Fine Young Cannibals "Good Thing" sounds very good on the DVD release. I love that song. Dialogue is clean and you never miss a spoken word during even the most hectic moments. The rated version of the film also includes a Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 mix and English, Spanish and French subtitles.
Extras:
The DVD release of "Doomsday" begins with a few quick promo clips for other Universal releases. After these pass, a menu screen provides the user an ability to select either the unrated version of the film or the Original Theatrical Film. In comparison to the Blu-ray release, only the unrated version is available. I´m actually a little surprised that branching wasn´t used to provide both versions on that release. Regardless, it is nice that he DVD uses branching to include both the unrated and R-rated release. Selecting the Unrated version of the film contains an additional bonus feature over what the theatrical release provides. This feature is the Feature commentary with director Neil Marshall and cast members Sean Pertwee, Darren Morfitt, Rick Warden and Les Simpson. The commentary finds four actors that had roles more akin to cameos joining the director for a discussion on the film. It isn´t a bad conversation and the cast and crew share a lot of stories about the making of the film and talk about its influences.
Both versions of the film feature three making of features that last for roughly forty-five minutes. The first bonus material is the EPK-styled Anatomy of a Catastrophe: Civilization on the Brink (17:23). This is your typical promotional making-of feature with plenty of talking heads interviews with cast and crew. It is polished, loud and relatively enjoyable. I enjoyed hearing Neil Marshall and his crew talks about their influences. The Visual Effects and Wizardry of Doomsday (3:32) is a shorter and more focused making of feature that looks more at the film´s visual effects. It is a continuation of the first featurette, but it showed some nice footage of how the visual effects aided the look of the film. The third part of the making-of footage is Devices of Death: Guns, Gadgets and Vehicles of Destruction (20:09). This focused more of the equipment and technology showcased in the film and was far nicer than the pop-up graphics of the Blu-ray release. The gear was shown from design to production and I found this to be quite interesting.
Closing:
After watching "Doomsday" for a second time (albeit the theatrical release), I found myself enjoying the film just a little bit more than I did on the first serving of Neil Marshall´s homage to all the films he loves. While I cannot bring myself to raise the Entertainment Value score by another digit, I´m a little more accepting of the nature of the film. It is still far too unoriginal and flawed to fully embrace "Doomsday," but it is at least a lot of fun. The Blu-ray release was good, but in comparison to other titles on the DVD format, "Doomsday" is a better representation of technology on the well loved standard definition format. The picture quality is good, but the film does not possess the elements to call this reference material. However, the sound is simply awe-inspiring. The supplements are worth checking out, but my favorite element of the DVD release is the fact that the theatrical film has made its way along with the unrated version. This isn´t the best film in the world, but it´s fun and I easily sat through a second showing.
Video:
The first time I experienced "Doomsday" was on the Blu-ray format. The film was quite good on the high definition format and I was partly afraid I would be a little hard on the DVD release because I had been able to enjoy it in full splendor of high definition the first time around. Skipping to the chase, the DVD release is quite impressive and shows that the standard definition format has plenty of life in it. Detail is among the strongest I have seen on DVD and coloring is just as impressive on DVD as it was on Blu-ray. I won´t go as far as calling this the perfect release on DVD, because some of the cinematography chosen doesn´t allow this film to rival the absolute best releases on the format. If it weren´t for the few spotty scenes in the film, this would an absolutely incredible release. The biggest difference between the formats is how the format handles the darker sequences in the film. On DVD, they suffered just a tad amount of murkiness. Source materials were solid and the native film grain is never troublesome.
Audio:
Audio is again impressive with the DVD release of "Doomsday" and while there were a few scenes that kept the visual quality from scoring the perfect 10, there is absolutely no reason to dock the DVD of any points. In fact, the DVD soundtrack of "Doomsday" is only a hair behind the Blu-ray release is clarity and depth. The English Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is powerful, enveloping and quite impressive. Each of the six channels erupts with sound throughout the film. The low frequency effects channel pounds with power and both high and low range sounds are perfectly rendered. The gunshots heard during the first moments when Scotland is being walled off sound quite good and bounce around the room vibrantly. Most importantly, the verse of Fine Young Cannibals "Good Thing" sounds very good on the DVD release. I love that song. Dialogue is clean and you never miss a spoken word during even the most hectic moments. The rated version of the film also includes a Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 mix and English, Spanish and French subtitles.
Extras:
The DVD release of "Doomsday" begins with a few quick promo clips for other Universal releases. After these pass, a menu screen provides the user an ability to select either the unrated version of the film or the Original Theatrical Film. In comparison to the Blu-ray release, only the unrated version is available. I´m actually a little surprised that branching wasn´t used to provide both versions on that release. Regardless, it is nice that he DVD uses branching to include both the unrated and R-rated release. Selecting the Unrated version of the film contains an additional bonus feature over what the theatrical release provides. This feature is the Feature commentary with director Neil Marshall and cast members Sean Pertwee, Darren Morfitt, Rick Warden and Les Simpson. The commentary finds four actors that had roles more akin to cameos joining the director for a discussion on the film. It isn´t a bad conversation and the cast and crew share a lot of stories about the making of the film and talk about its influences.
Both versions of the film feature three making of features that last for roughly forty-five minutes. The first bonus material is the EPK-styled Anatomy of a Catastrophe: Civilization on the Brink (17:23). This is your typical promotional making-of feature with plenty of talking heads interviews with cast and crew. It is polished, loud and relatively enjoyable. I enjoyed hearing Neil Marshall and his crew talks about their influences. The Visual Effects and Wizardry of Doomsday (3:32) is a shorter and more focused making of feature that looks more at the film´s visual effects. It is a continuation of the first featurette, but it showed some nice footage of how the visual effects aided the look of the film. The third part of the making-of footage is Devices of Death: Guns, Gadgets and Vehicles of Destruction (20:09). This focused more of the equipment and technology showcased in the film and was far nicer than the pop-up graphics of the Blu-ray release. The gear was shown from design to production and I found this to be quite interesting.
Closing:
After watching "Doomsday" for a second time (albeit the theatrical release), I found myself enjoying the film just a little bit more than I did on the first serving of Neil Marshall´s homage to all the films he loves. While I cannot bring myself to raise the Entertainment Value score by another digit, I´m a little more accepting of the nature of the film. It is still far too unoriginal and flawed to fully embrace "Doomsday," but it is at least a lot of fun. The Blu-ray release was good, but in comparison to other titles on the DVD format, "Doomsday" is a better representation of technology on the well loved standard definition format. The picture quality is good, but the film does not possess the elements to call this reference material. However, the sound is simply awe-inspiring. The supplements are worth checking out, but my favorite element of the DVD release is the fact that the theatrical film has made its way along with the unrated version. This isn´t the best film in the world, but it´s fun and I easily sat through a second showing.
Average user rating (1-5):
Not yet rated.
Not yet rated.
[release]23746[/release]