Doom (Unrated Extended Edition)
| Publisher: Universal Studios | Running Time: 1 Hour 53 Minutes |
| Release Date: February 7, 2006 | Format: UMD |
Let me be honest with you: I did not think this movie had much of a chance. The game is not exactly known for its storyline and video games do not have the best track record in their conversion from game to movie. I guess I am one of the few people that liked Resident Evil (not Resident Evil: Apocalypse) and of course Mortal Kombat from the 90’s. Excuse me if I came into this movie a little cynical about video game movies, but to my surprise, this turned out half decent.
It is not like they had much content to work with as far as the plot is concerned. As I said, the game is about shooting monsters and opening doors with keys, so the source material is pretty weak. Basically, Dwayne “The Rock� Johnson of wrestling fame, leads a team of Marines to the Red Planet after a distress call informs them that the team on Mars is in need of urgent help.
Apparently, a few years in the future a teleport system is discovered in some part of Nevada that transports its passengers to Mars. On the Olduvai Research Station, supposedly they are conducting archeological digs, finding a human “super species� on Mars. The Marines quickly find out that there is more to the story than is being told to them by scientists on the station.
The movie admittedly starts slow. There are few action sequences until about halfway through and the only thing keeping the movie dragging along are the plot elements, including the distress call coming from a doctor being attacked, the marines preparing for combat, reaching the station and walking around until they finally run into the monsters. I was wondering for the longest time if things would ever get exciting.
There is not a whole lot to it, but once the action gets started, the movie begins to pick up. If you were a fan of the first Resident Evil movie, you will probably like Doom as well. Like Resident Evil, Doom is loosely based on the game but remains loyal enough to where gamers should not be disappointed. Like I said, there is not much story to work with anyway, so reworking the Resident Evil movie’s plot with a more sophisticated crew of actors seems to work just fine. The actors pull off their roles well enough to make it believable.
As far as extras go, the Unrated Extended Edition has a few. First, you have the “Basic Training�, which shows how the acting crew trained for their roles with weapons and basic training. “Rock Formation� joins make-up artist Jeff Dawn as he applies prosthetic make-up on The Rock for the final fight. “Master Monster Makers� goes in-depth with the crew in charge of making the monsters from foam and rubber. “Doom Nation� is a documentary on the Doom franchise with interviews from John Carmack and Tim Willits of id. Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb of G4 fame are also featured. Finally, the final extra feature is the Doom 3 Xbox demo, which I could not get working.
If you are a fan of the Doom video game franchise, you will probably like this movie. If you were a fan of Resident Evil, you will probably like this movie. If you like being chased by super-human monsters with twenty four chromosomes…you will probably like this movie. Sure, it lacks a deep logical plot, but what movies geared at the 18-25 group don’t? You’re about as likely to watch this movie for plot as you are to play the Doom videogame for a plot. In other words, throw that idea out the window and prepare for lots of bullets. Strap yourself in, Mars is a long ride.
| Movie: | 7 |
| Video: | 8 |
| Audio: | 8 |
| Acting: | 7 |
| Extras: | 6 |
| Final: | 7.2 |
| Written by Kyle | Review Guide |
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