For some, Doom may well be the best videogame adaptation ever made. For others, particularly the hardcore gamers who have followed Doom since it’s inception into the gaming world, may think otherwise.
Doom: Unrated Extended Edition
Directors: Andrzej Bartkowiak
Producers: Lorenzo di Bonaventura and John Wells
Writers: Dave Callaham (story and screenplay) and Wesley Strick (screenplay)
Features: Basic Training, Rock Formation, Monster Movie Makers, First Person Shooter Sequence, Doom Nation, Game On and XBOX Doom 3 Demo
Characters:
Karl Urban...John Grimm
Rosamund Pike...Samantha Grimm
Deobia Oparei...Destroyer
Ben Daniels...Goat
Razaaq Adoti...Duke
Richard Brake...Portman
Al Weaver...The Kid
Dexter Fletcher...Pinky
Brian Steele...Hell Knight
The Rock...Sarge
Yao Chin...Mac
Genre: Horror
Review:
For some, Doom may well be the best videogame adaptation ever made. For others, particularly the hardcore gamers who have followed Doom since it’s inception into the gaming world, may think otherwise.
The film version of Doom is, more or less, its own thing. The story itself is not really like the game at all. The marines do land on Mars, but do not encounter a literal hell as they do in the game. Rather, the film takes on Hell in a more symbolic manner suggesting that Hell is inside us, rather than some tangible world.
Perhaps this is a nod to the biblical notion of predestination, which suggests that some go to Hell while others don’t. This is an interesting commentary for a movie based on a videogame, and it may just appeal to some of the incidental fans who enjoyed the game as a kid and are now a bit more sophisticated, but hardcore gamers are going to hate it. This version of Doom is not the Doom they know and love. It’s an all together different creature…sort of.
While Doom is very different from a plot standpoint, it is close to the game in many, many ways which casual fans are sure to love. Everyone remembers being able to walk through walls after plugging in a special code. In the film, there are walls with the same properties. There is the BFG gun, a fan favorite. The score, while grating, is dead-on to the original game. There is a lengthy first person sequence shot in the same manner as the game. There are the villains, zombies and demons—the concepts of which were taken from artwork used in the games. The levels, too, are similar, if not the same to the series and Karl Urban, the film’s hero, actually looks like the guy at the bottom corner of the screen. So there are similarities, but they are somewhat tragically, surface level.
From a critical standpoint, Doom is a bit of a mess. It’s basically a lazy, though occasionally ambitious mish-mash of Predator and Resident Evil-style films. There are zombies and other nasty creatures scampering about, but none of them are really all that scary. In fact, the only true scares come from the heavily criticized first person sequence which provides some cheap, but arguably effective scares. I get the feeling that one of the two screenwriters (Dave Callaham or Wesley Strick) wanted to make an intelligent, thought provoking movie and the other wanted to make a video game movie. The result is, obviously, an uneven one. The symbolism of the film (Man vs. Himself vs. The Devil), however, is surprising. It was fun to watch that subplot unfold as odd and unnecessary as it was.
The characters are paper-thin at best and, above all else, very weakly written. There is one particular character, The Kid (Al Weaver), who irritated me the most. He’s this scrawny, weakling of a kid, no older than twenty. He’s thin, pale and nervous about this mission and frankly, he should be—he’s a combat marine, part of a highly trained tactical reinforcement group. So my question is this—how the hell did he get there in the first place? The answer: He shouldn’t be there, but the screenwriters didn’t seem to notice that.
I actually saw this film in theaters because of The Rock. I never watched him when he wrestled, but he won me over with The Rundown and I’ve been a fan ever since. He was really excited about this movie, even giving away crucial plot twists on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart by accident. He just couldn’t hide his excitement for this film. I went to support him. He’s a great action actor and I hope his fan base grows larger over time. Needless to say, Doom did not play well in theaters. It was boring to watch, much like watching a friend play the game, though the Rock was fun.
On video, however, the film does bode much better. This extended edition is more of a director’s or producer’s cut of the film (it’s unclear as to which) adding additional character moments. There aren’t that many added scares or additional violence and nudity (there are a few moments). The biggest edition is the longer first person sequence, which adds a few more jumps and jolts for fun.
Doom may be a casual gamers dream film. It’s got a lot of what made Doom great. Hardcore gamers will likely think otherwise. It’s not the same story and thus, it’s not the same Doom. Newcomers will likely have a hard time enjoying the film too. It’s not fun enough or fresh enough to bring in a new audience and it’s not scary enough to hold horror fans.
*Film Scorecard*
As entertainment (for hardcore gamers and newcomers): * 1/2
As entertainment (for casual fans): * * *
As a film: * *
Overall:
DVD REVIEW:
Video:
N/A
**At the present, I cannot review the video as I was not presented with the actual release product, but a special presentation screener, which was watermarked. When I’m sent the final product, I’ll add my review of the picture.
Audio:
Doom is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. This is a very powerful, surround heavy track rich with awesome surrounds effects. Dialogue is also clean and clear in the center channel. A great disc.
There is also a French 5.1 and Spanish 5.1 surround track in addition to Spanish and French subtitles and English captions.
Extra Features:
While it looks like this is a packed DVD, there really isn’t much here worth viewing.
First up, there are the featurettes. They include: Basic Training, Rock Formation, Monster Movie Makers, First Person Shooter Sequence, Doom Nation and Game On. The first four featurettes cover the making of the film, from the training required of the actors to setting up the first person sequence. The second set of featurettes deal with the game itself. The first talks about how it became popular and the second gives you hints and tips for Doom 3. The best of these featurettes is Basic Training. It’s fun to watch these actors work.
Finally, there’s a demo for Doom 3 on the XBOX, so, if you have an XBOX, enjoy.
Oddly, director Andrzej Bartkowiak is absent from all the special features. There isn’t a commentary on the disc either. Did the director hate the film? Does he disapprove of this cut? The disc does uncover that the first person sequence wasn’t even shot by him. I wish there was some sort of explanation.
Final Thoughts:
If you’re a casual fan, pick this film up or give it a rent. If you like Predator-style clones, you may also want to rent this disc. Hardcore fans may want to stay away and just keep on playin’ the game and pretend this film never happened.
*DVD Scorecard*
Video: N/A
Audio: 8
Extras: 5.5
Overall: 7
UNRATED
* Running Time: 113 minutes
* List Price: $29.98
* Available on DVD February 7th 2006.
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----R. L. Shaffer