Starring: The Rock, Karl Urban, Rosamund Pike
Director: Andrzej Bartkowiak (Lethal Weapon 4, Devil's Advocate, Dante's Peak)
Tagline: "Hell Breaks Loose"
Doom was a really confusing experience for me. I was torn trying to point out reasons it sucked, but at the same time I couldn't help but enjoy and appreciate many aspects of it. When I first heard they were coming out with a movie based off of a game series which albeit, is badass, though not particularly my fancy, I was uninterested especially given the leading role of the Rock (big money there). I expected just another seemingly half-assed production based on some director's (who in this case despite his respectable record, has a frustrating lack of vowels in his name) interpretation of a game he probably didn't play until he signed on to the script. But I was fortunately proven wrong.
Up until this point I think it is grudgingly understood that the best movie adaptation of a game would have to be Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, a.k.a. "Plastic actor gets plastic boobies to fill studio's wallets with fan-boy hardons". Thankfully, Doom knocks it off the top of the pile, and leads me to honestly conclude it is the best video-game movie I've seen thus far.
O.K. The beginning is pretty boring, filled with its fair share of corny one liners (not exclusive to beginning of movie) and half-assed, shallow introductions to the main characters. This didn't bother me however since I was pretty sure three-fourths of them would be disemboweled within the next half an hour anyway. But NO! You have to wait a good hour or so into the damn flik before there is any significant bloodshed, save the beginning sequence. On the plus side, the characters, although cliche across the board (tough black guy, conveniently named "Destroyer", comical black guy, timid youngster, troubled lead character with an ambiguous, traumatic past, and...well the Rock), are pretty entertaining. The only two characters that seemed to have potential for some depth end up being blatant plants to drive the B.S. story (get to that in a second).
The props and scenery are straight up rips of Doom 3, which is not a bad thing persay, being as it stays very true to that aspect of the game. But on the other hand, one of the big problems with the disappointing last installment in the series was that the environments felt too dark and claustrophobic, which translates into the film. Now this does add to the creepy atmosphere, but since there is a surprising absence of constant action, it starts to get tedious and boring after they revisit the same closed, clanking metal corridor or inspect the same dark room with conveniently placed ceiling vents every 3 steps for a demon to reach down and rip your head off.
But still, you have to give them props for executing it well and giving it the same feel as the game, whether you feel that is a positive or negative thing. My personal sentiments are, it felt more like a movie based off of Resident Evil (though a far superior one than the actual Resi movies): Too much back tracking and zombies. Now on to the zombies.
So once the action finally picks up, you start to realize this is more of a zombie flik then fighting off a horde of hellspawn demons, which is at the heart of the Doom storyline (erm, or lack thereof). That is what irked me the most, and what really ticks me off about all video game adaptations. The writers/directors try and build their own story line instead of staying true to the plot of the game. In this case, there is too much plot, and it is way off from the games shallow story. However, this is necessary (pfft, I guess...) to make it appeal to both fans of the game and those who don't play games, though I don't know anyone who is a fan of gratuitous violence and hasn't played a Doom game. I won't spoil the sup-par plot for you, but basically there is too many zombie motifs for a movie based on a game about scourging hell-born demonoids. But to be fair, and so I don't get lynched by zombi-enthusiasts who may read this, they also clumsiley tie in this whole "moral selection" dealy, wherein previously mentioned characters that actually had...character turn out to just be quintesential good guy and bad guy models, one that can be infected and the other that can't based on whether they are evil or not. This just comes off as sort of rushed and cheesey and is pretty far fetched even for zombies. Zombies don't care what brains they feed on, they simply MUST FEED!
Anyway, the best part of the movie is definitely the first-person sequence, which I predicted to be just a gimmick, which it is, but one with redeeming qualities. This 5 minute affair is the only part completely true to the game, by actually emulating the gameplay to a tee. I mean, there is laughing zombies wielding hand axes. Where the hell did they get hand axes?! No one knows, and it doesn't matter, and that is what is great about it. There is also a demon wielding a chain saw which, upon being disarmed...well...if you are a fan of the series you know where this is going. I'll also take time to say completely out of place that the B.F.G. was definitely a treat to see and resulted in my favorite line in the movie, which was simply "Big fucking gun...".
If you are a fan of Doom, see this movie. You may be far more critical of it than I, but if you go in it with an open mind and take in the good parts and ignore some of the bad (e.g. plot, shallow characters, pacing, dialogue, etc.) and accept it for what it is, you'll enjoy yourself (after the first 45 minutes or so anyways). Doom the game is about running around and blasting guys that are trying to gouge at every orifice and appendage on your body, which this movie captures quite well at some points, and lets up in others. If only they could cut out the fluff, build the characters a bit more, and...hell who am I kidding, I'd much rather just have 2 hours of the first-person goodness =)
6.5/10
