| Review by: J.R.
McNamara |
| Date:
2/5/06 |
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Director: Andrzej
Bartkowiak
Starring: The Rock,
Karl Urban, Rosamund Pike, Deobia Oparei, Ben
Daniels, Razaaq Adoti, Richard Brake, Al Weaver
Screenplay: David Callaham,
Wesley Strick
Music: Clint Mansell
Tagline: No one gets
out alive
Country: USA
Year: 2005 |
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Are movies based on video games a good idea? Why
not? Movies based on comics, or books can be a good
idea, so why not video games. The problem with adapting
video games for the screen is a video game has a
different narrative style, and without the involvement
of the viewer having a controller in their hands,
occasionally they can fall flat. Sure, Tomb
Raider relied on Angelina Jolie's
wonder bra, and let's not even talk about
Super Mario Brothers or House of the Dead, but the source material cannot
necessarily be blamed. It is creator's interpretations
that may make the movie fall apart. The creators
behind this film have just fallen short of the mark
with this, and have not come up with the greatest
interpretation of the game Doom,
but certainly a half decent, mindless bit of shooty
action. The problem with this film is that a major
element of the game has been changed. The villains
in the movie of Doom have an alternate
origin than that of the game. To me this seemed
an unnecessary change, but doesn't really
affect the overall experience, but I do wonder why
a license like Doom would be purchased
by the movie makers, and then a major plot of the
game altered.
Doom starts
with something awful happening at a remote scientific
research station on Mars. No communication has been
possible, except for the occasional snippet of sound,
which are quite distressing. The base has been put
on a level 5 quarantine, which means nothing comes
out, and nothing goes in…nothing except for
Sarge (The Rock) and his Rapid Response Tactical
Squad, a crew of hardnosed marines, armed with the
greatest in military hardware and ready to kick
ass. Assisted by the lovely scientist Samantha Grimm
(Rosamund Pike), these guys are prepared for anything…anything,
except for what awaits them behind the doors of
the locked down facility…
Basically, take Aliens, Predator
and any other sci fi 'bug hunting' movie
you can think of and mix them together with elements
of the Doom video game, and you
have Doom: The Movie. The cast
is pretty good, and The Rock never takes over the
film as you expect a wrestling personality (an oxymoron,
I know) potentially could, in actual fact, he plays
the grizzled marine veteran 'Sarge'
pretty well. Of course the special effects are the
star of the show, although when the film goes to
'first person mode', which you expect
it would have to at some point, it seems to get
a little silly. There is just enough sci fi for
the sci fi fan, just enough video game for the game
fan, and just enough gore for the gore lover, and
if you like all three, you probably can't
go wrong. If you sit down to this and expect you
are going to be watching a classic of science fiction,
boy will you be disappointed, but if you want to
watch marines with big guns killing monsters and
Rosamund Pike in a tight shirt with erect nipples,
you're gonna love it!!
Over and above this film being good or bad, I will
admit this, when the BFG turns up, that little fanboy
hidden inside of me started to get excited. |
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| Video |
| In general the visuals are excellent, but I did
notice one thing. I usually watch my review DVDs
on several different DVD players and I found that
when this was played on one of them, the posterization
on was pretty shocking. The image is basically a
good one, until it hits darkness, and then the blacks
go flat and other colors have no depth to them at
all. Like I said this was on only one machine out
of three, but it hasn't happened before. |
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| Audio |
| The 5.1 and DTS audio tracks on this feature is
fabulous. When the BFG goes off, oh boy, does it
go off. Doom is loud and proud,
and loves your surround sound system |
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| Extra Features |
Doom has a series of short documentaries about
its making. All of these vignettes show interviews
with various members of the cast, crew, fans and
game developers.
Basic Training (10 minutes 33 seconds) shows the
military training the actors that played the marines
went through, taught by Special Forces vet Tom MacAdams
to look as convincing as possible in their roles.
It shows not just the weapons training, but also
explains how the men trained together so they felt
like an actual team. One of the real interesting
things about this mini doco is showing what a blank
round in a weapon can do to a foam dummy head….
Rock Formation (5 minutes 37 seconds) shows the
evolution of the make-up that the Rock ends up in
by the end of the film. This is one of those make
up documentaries that is really only interesting
if you like make up effects and how they are done.
Master Monster Makers (10 minutes 54 seconds) looks
at the design and the workings of the monsters in
Doom, and if you have any knowledge of the game,
you will know these beasties range from zombies
to massive mutated freaks of nature. Obviously not
all the monsters from all the games appear, but
the ones seen are pretty effective.
First Person Shooter Sequence (10 minutes 47 seconds)
is the how's and whys of the 'First
Person Shooter' sequence that Karl Urban's
character John Grimm experiences. The technical
side of this doco is quite interesting, considering
it seems to be one shot; this doco breaks it down
to its elements, and shows it piecemeal.
Doom Nation (14 minutes and 38 seconds) is a look
at the origins of the game, and the evolution of
it.
Game On! (6 minutes 47 seconds) is a 'hints
and tips' for the game, Doom 3. This is basically
a voice-over with some pretty impressive footage
from the game.
This disc also has trailers for Jarhead and Serenity. |
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| The Verdict |
| It may be loud, obnoxious, gung ho and ridiculous,
but it isn't that bad. This is one of those
bubblegum movies that are great while the flavour
is there, but strictly throw away at the end. The
extras are great fun for fans of the game and the
movie. With any luck we will get a Duke
Nukem movie next…now THAT I wanna
see. This film is probably not for the serious horror
fan's carefully organized selection of giallo
and exploitation flicks, but at the very least it
is worth a rent. I will say that turning off your
brain is advisable though. |
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| User Comments |
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0 user comments have been posted so far |
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| Regional Coding |
2 & 4 |
| Format |
PAL |
| Aspect Ratio |
2.35:1 |
| 16x9 Enhanced? |
Yes |
| Audio Options |
English DD 5.1
English DTS 5.1
Hungarian DD 5.1 |
| Subtitles |
English
Hungarian
Dutch
Danish
Finnish
Hebrew
Icelandic
Norwegian
Swedish |
| Country |
Australia |
| Distributor |
Universal |
| Running Time |
108 minutes |
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