DVD Artwork
I distinctly remember the first time I sat and watched one of my really good friends play Doom. I was fascinated by the new idea of a first person shooter. I couldn’t take my eyes away and soon I was ready to puke my guts out because of motion sickness. I can say that Doom the movie didn’t make me want to puke my guts out so that was nice. Other than that there isn’t a whole ton that I can say about Doom.
On some planet, that I’m pretty sure is Mars, a distress signal is sent out by a group of doctors. A crack team of space marines led by Sarge (The Rock, of The Rundown and WWE fame) are sent to find the scientists and recover vital information that the science team has gathered. Obviously all is not hunky dory in the creepy ass science labs, and before you can say, “First Person Shooter,” the team is being picked off one by one. It all leads to an inevitable conclusion involving a showdown between, “tortured soul good guy” John Grimm (Karl Urban, Ghost Ship, Chronicles of Riddick) and the bad ass super demon.
When all is said and done this movie isn’t half bad. It is an hour and a half of mindless entertainment that knows where its roots are. One part Predator, one part Aliens, one part Starship Troopers, it never reaches the glory of any of them but it does make its nods. It is bloody in the right spots, and has some neat creature effects but falls totally flat on building suspense, or any type of connection to the characters.
One thing that other reviewers have totally come down on is the use of the First Person Shooter shots. I for one have to say that those are some of the best parts of Doom. It is the only shot that build any dread and though it is a pretty long shot, that can get a tad tedious (like watching your friend play Doom actually) the shot doesn’t comprise that much of the film. I personally dug it, but I think it would have worked better in smaller doses dispersed throughout the whole of the film.
The DVD has fairly disposable special features most of which tie into the release of DOOM 3 which is a pretty good idea, remind the people that the game is really cool, no matter what you think of the movie. Let’s face it though the plot of Doom (the game) is pretty thin, and the fact that they made a passable movie out of it is saying something. I, for one, have to admit that my heart did a little nerd leap of joy when The Rock picked up the BFG (which technically stands for Bio Force Gun, but we all know better).
So what can I say? This isn’t the worst video game based movie I have ever seen (I reserve that dubious distinction for Street Fighter). It’s no thinking man’s movie. It is blood and explosions and fights with demon mutant creatures just for the hell of it, and though there is nothing wrong with that, it doesn’t make for great cinema. What it does make for is a great time with a bunch of friends, a bunch of beer, and maybe the pizza of your choice. Pretend like you are in high school again and enjoy it for what it is. Then laugh about the Razzie that The Rock was nominated for.
