Video game adaptations. Those three words usually instil a sense of fear and doubt amongst film buffs, and rightly so. For over more than a decade we have had to endure a flurry of sad efforts that include Street Fighter (shudder), Mortal Kombat (argh!), Resident Evil (urgh) and Tomb Raider (sigh). Now we have the game that transformed modern gaming, Doom.
The good news is that the title does not reflect the quality of the movie. While die-hard Doom fans will argue that the plot does not follow traditional game canon, the movie does well to balance the concept against a new take on the story to attract unfamiliar audiences. The basic plot sees a group of Marines sent to investigate what went wrong on a scientific research centre on Mars, where something is killing every creature that breathes.
The promotional interviews promised no Oscar winning performances, only gore violence and other macho hardcore stuff. I was disappointed it got a �15� rating here in the UK after all that was promised, and I was half-expecting another Alien Vs. Predator � thank god it wasn�t! This movie is brainless, pure guy-flick goodness right from the start (including a cool Universal logo orbiting Mars).
As far as the cast is concerned, The Rock steals the show as Marine leader �Sarge� � he is clearly enjoying himself in the role and looks more impressive with each passing movie. Karl Urban is okay as the hero �Reaper� but Rosamund Pike is just irritatingly bland as the obligatory female scientist, with a dodgy American accent to boot - why couldn�t they just have gotten an American actress? The same goes for Dexter Fletcher � someone please hit him for me!
The special effects on the whole are decent, and it was nice to see some old-fashioned man-in-suit monsters and real tangible gore. The much talked about first person shooter scene was a good first attempt, but nothing outstanding. The best bits all really contain The Rock, especially the fan-pleasing scene where he discovers the Bio-Force Gun (BFG), something he renames to great amusement. So, Doom is not bad, but there is lots of room for improvement should they wish to make a sequel, and please, for heavens sake give it a decent cast, budget, and creative team so it won�t be doomed to the Seagal and Van Damme-filled �straight to DVD� shelf! |
