Toxic Masculinity Tuesday: ‘Doomsday’ (2008)

People are tired of girl boss movies. We’ve written about this Mary Sue, good-at-everything, always emasculating, infallible trope here, here, here, and here. All of these projects failed.

When people push back against the girl boss, they often recite examples of Hollywood doing action women right. Sarah Conner, Ellen Ripley, Cleopatra Jones, The Bride, Cara Dune, and my girl, Cynthia Rothrock are just some of the names bandied about when discussing believable female action stars.

I always felt Rhona Mitra’s Eden Sinclair from Doomsday belongs on this list. While not as celebrated, Doomsday is a hodgepodge of several genres that blend together for an enjoyable time. Its part Mad Max, mixed with Escape from New York and The Omega Man, with a bit of Gladiator.

It’s a far more dangerous world than you will find in most modern female-led movies that Eden Sinclair must survive. And she truly just survives. Although a skilled warrior, and raised in a military society, Eden is put through trials and losses you won’t see in modern films. Are they earth-shattering? No. But they are challenges that she must overcome while completing the mission, and not mere stumbling blocks to show off her greatness.

This is why, for just the second time in Toxic Masculinity Tuesday history, a female will help you fight your toxicity with her own toxicity!

Check out the trailer:

Plot:

In 2008, a virus called Reaper spreads throughout the United Kingdom. The movie opens with Eden’s mom attempting to escape the virus zone. Except the government has a quarantine plan to seal up Scotland, leaving the infected behind their wall to die.

Negotiating with a sympathetic helicopter pilot, Eden’s mom is able to get her a seat onboard while she is left behind. Eden is wounded, losing an eye as the helicopter escapes with survivors and the government seals up Scotland.

Twenty-five years later, Eden is a Major in the Department of Domestic Security. After years of peace, the Reaper virus returns, and threatens to infect London. Prime Minister Harris and his official, Canaris, reveal to the DDS that satellite imagery shows there are survivors in Scotland. 

World renowned scientist, Michael Kane, was working on a cure in Scotland but was left behind. Survivors mean he must have found a cure. The DDS sends in Rhona and a crack team of soldiers to protect the scientist who must find the cure before London falls. They only have so much time as projections have the virus overrunning the city in days.

That’s when the movie takes you into a crazy world of cannibals, knights, guns, motorcycle and car chases.

Eden Sinclair

It would be easy to classify Eden as a typical girl boss. We first see her as an adult taking part in a raid, using her gun skills and cybernetic eye to make quick work of the gangsters. She also has that short, somber way of speaking that is popular in the trope. Yet, the director actually tries to explain her disposition.

Eden remembers the sacrifice her mom made for her, and she was raised by the government to be a soldier. She accepts the assignment to go into Scotland to see if her mother is alive. So behind her tough veneer, is a woman dealing with survivor’s guilt since she was a child.

Once in Scotland, we see that Eden’s empathy extends to her hastily gathered team.  Once the convoy reaches Dr. Kane’s previous residence, they are ambushed by a ruthless street gang. Although the group takes heavy casualties, Eden does everything she can to save people, often putting herself in danger. In fact, her sacrifice allows two of her group to escape while she and another soldier, Talbot, are captured.

While captured, Eden is physically beaten by the gang leader, Sol. He only keeps her alive to try and use her to get over the wall. Yet, Sol forces her to listen as they burn Talbot alive and eat him during a rave-like celebration.

Eden makes friends with the girl in the cell next to her and rescues her when she eventually escapes. Not before decapitating Sol’s girlfriend and second-in-command Viper in a sword fight.

Freed, Eden’s immediate thought is to find the two who escaped and keep them safe. You could say Eden is just completing her mission, but I disagree. Eden shows a lot of traits, such as bravery, loyalty, leadership, and empathy that many would consider toxic today.

Chased by Sol’s gang, the girl Eden rescued leads them to a train. Eden battles to the last second to ensure the others jump onboard before she barely makes it. That is what heroes do, not girl bosses.

Why You Should Watch

I kind of spoiled a lot of the movie, but there is still much more. Eden finds that some of the people in Scotland chose to live in medieval times as she unravels how they survived the plague. All the while, the virus ravages London as the time ticks down to find a cure.

Eden continues to show survival skills but takes a beating as she does so. When she overcomes a situation, you can see the physical toll each victory takes. Instead of a victory pose, she’s tending wounds. I’m sure some will squint and see a modern day girl boss. Or even say Eden presages the current trope. But I disagree.

Eden Sinclair is what I consider a realistic female action hero that mirrors the usual names tossed about. A hero nearly in the same vain as an Ellen Ripley or Sarah Conner for the bravery and sacrifice they choose. Yet, I do have one gripe. The original script had Eden saying quips but the director, Neil Marshall, said he took them out to make her more serious. This was a mistake, as humor could have elevated Eden to that next level of female heroes. 

Give Doomsday a try and let me know if I’m wrong. At the very least, you get to see Sean Pertwee being eaten. An actor who seems to die so violently in entertainment that it became a trope itself.

****

Check out my superhero novel, Fiasco of Adventures here or here. And check out my new website TheMegacosm.com!