Doom
Directed by: Andrezej Bartkowiak
Starring: The Rock, Karl Urban, Ben Daniels, Richard Brake, Al Weaver, Rosamund Pike, Dexter Fletcher
Rated: R for strong violence/gore and language.
Parental Notes: This mediocre film is violent and messy, and therefore not for youngsters who can’t handle that sort of thing. There’s some sexually suggestive language as well. While not suitable for kids or most preteens, teenagers will probably enjoy it.
“Doom” is clearly aimed at two groups of people: those who are fans of the computer game series of the same name and those who enjoy sci-fi action fests. Unfortunately, it fails both groups, and even fails to be actively bad enough for folks who enjoy awful sci-fi movies. It’s a fairly mediocre film from all angles — not good enough or bad enough to make much of an impression.
The plot, which concerns a group of soldiers sent to Mars to find out what exactly has gone wrong at a research station there, is straightforward and apparently based on the storyline of the third Doom computer game. The soldiers are the standard assortment for this sort of flick. There’s Sarge (The Rock), the tough as nails commanding officer; Reaper (Karl Urban), the conflicted hero with a mysterious past; Goat (Ben Daniels), the religious one; Portman (Richard Brake), the perverted one; The Kid (Al Weaver), who is on his first mission; and so on. Once they get to Mars, they meet up with Samantha (Rosamund Pike), a beautiful, blonde scientist — another standard element. It quickly becomes apparent that the genetic experiments being carried out on Mars resulted in the creation of superhuman monsters, and it’s up to the soldiers to kill them all before they get to Earth and infect the populace with their mutation.
Fans of the games are probably shaking their heads at this point. In the games there are indeed zombies, but the primary monsters you fight are literally demons from Hell: transporters created using alien technology opened up a gateway to the underworld. Unfortunately, the movie has eliminated all traces of Hell and all but a few visual references to the demons. In fact, the coolest weapon in the game makes an appearance in name only: the BFG (“Big Force Gun”) our heroes find doesn’t do the things gamers will expect. Even the much discussed first-person sequence falls flat: our hero doesn’t turn as quickly as you can in the game (presumably in an effort to keep the audience from becoming motion-sick), so he seems to be moving slowly.
It would be unreasonable to expect a film based on a game not to have changes, but “Doom” fails as a pure sci-fi action flick as well. An attempt to explain how the genetic experiments resulted in the zombie-like creatures is unnecessary and far-fetched, the stock characters are completely uninteresting, and the first-person sequence is likely to make those not used to playing the game feel carsick. Even the big climactic fight at the end fails to be either beautifully artistic or realistically brutal and is simply mildly interesting.
Worst of all, “Doom” is insufficiently tongue-in-cheek to be delightfully terrible. There are those who may appreciate films which try and fail to be straightforward and serious in their chosen genre, but this reviewer is not one of them. There are some laughs here, some intentional and some not, but not enough for a truly campy good time. There’s no self-mocking tone to indicate that the actors are aware of the poor quality of the script.
The main thing “Doom” has going for it is that it is the only film in its genre currently playing in theaters. It certainly isn’t unbearably awful; if you’re looking to be mildly entertained and aren’t picky, it might work for you. Where it falls short is if you’re looking for a great roller-coaster ride of a movie.