Doom is the latest video game to make it to the big screen and also the latest effort by Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock. When a film-goer thinks of The Rock and a video game turned movie, they probably have certain expectations. In the case of the actor known as The Rock, a fan would expect a certain level of action where Mr. Rock could flex his action hero muscles. In the case of Doom the video game, a gamester would hope to find all his favorite game elements reach the screen.
I think that DOOM delivers on both these fronts. How satisfying the results, I suppose, is up to the individual viewer. For me, with fairly low expectations, I was quite entertained with what DOOM delivered. I mean, I wasn't expecting the GODFATHER. My expectations were as follows; well paced action, a reasonably compelling plot, decent acting, and top-notch special effects.
As far as pacing and action, DOOM held my attention. The film opens with a mysterious call for help from a space station that results in a plucky band of Marines being sent in. After the initial frame of reference is established; problem at space station, Marines need to help, the film moves at a fairly decent clip. A nice job is done with building up the suspense of "what's out there what happened..?" and a judicious use of "monster attacks" in the first part of DOOM allowed me, as a viewer, to engage the film with more interest. When the monsters really do attack in full force, I was much less jaded by the onslaught of special effects.
I'm not a huge fan of video games and am less familiar with how well the game was adapted to the big screen, so I can't really comment on how successful the film captured the experience. My understanding is that it didn't deliver for fans of the game and that the general premise, a demon break out from Hell was clearly not present. However, as a stand-alone plot, sans video game expectations, I thought DOOM was perfectly adequate plot-wise. Again, this isn't CITIZEN KANE, so I really only expect it to be fairly reasonable. While not the premise of the game, it's a perfectly serviceable storyline. It's your typical secret government plot to design and create a super being. By using violent convicts, the evil government types figure out a way to harvest these violent tendencies. Of course, something goes horribly wrong, hence the Marines being sent. I've seen this plot before in various incarnations and didn't find it a problem as a storyline for DOOM.
As for the acting, well, I think The Rock phoned it in a bit, not enough to destroy the film, but I expected a little more from Duane. I know he can do better. The rest of the cast performs decently to varying degrees, with some performing better then others. Standouts included, Karl Urban as John Grimm, and Al Weaver as The Kid. However, overall, the Marine unit didn't feel much like a Marine unit. I think some actors were miscast, and their characters poorly written, in particular, Richard Brake's character Portman. Portman is a drug addicted medic and seemed out of place throughout the film. The acting was fine, but the character just didn't make sense to me. This is supposed to be a super elite Marine squad and they keep a divisive, unstable wacko? Makes for some nice conflict, but I found it a little hard to swallow.
What succeeded the most were the special effects. I have seen so many different incarnations of various monsters in movies that I'm a bit jaded. I thought the transformed creatures in DOOM looked pretty cool. The filmmakers clearly put some money into them. One of my favorites's had to be the transformed wheelchair bound scientist. The transformation of having a wheelchair bound monster slogging about, was both humorous and inventive. The best, however, and what made the film for me, was the scene that had John Grimm killing monsters from the viewer's point of view. It was sort of a "game-cam" and fit perfectly within context of the film. It was a gimmick, but I hadn't seen it done before, and it was entertaining enough to provide some momentum to DOOM's closing scenes.
DOOM is an entertaining film. Filmgoers wanting a close adaptation of the video game, will be disappointed. Those wanting a striking horror/sci-fi film ala' ALIENS will be disappointed, too. But, for those of you less familiar with the game version and more forgiving with this genre, in general, DOOM is just the film for you. Buy some popcorn, sit back and enjoy.
I think that DOOM delivers on both these fronts. How satisfying the results, I suppose, is up to the individual viewer. For me, with fairly low expectations, I was quite entertained with what DOOM delivered. I mean, I wasn't expecting the GODFATHER. My expectations were as follows; well paced action, a reasonably compelling plot, decent acting, and top-notch special effects.
As far as pacing and action, DOOM held my attention. The film opens with a mysterious call for help from a space station that results in a plucky band of Marines being sent in. After the initial frame of reference is established; problem at space station, Marines need to help, the film moves at a fairly decent clip. A nice job is done with building up the suspense of "what's out there what happened..?" and a judicious use of "monster attacks" in the first part of DOOM allowed me, as a viewer, to engage the film with more interest. When the monsters really do attack in full force, I was much less jaded by the onslaught of special effects.
I'm not a huge fan of video games and am less familiar with how well the game was adapted to the big screen, so I can't really comment on how successful the film captured the experience. My understanding is that it didn't deliver for fans of the game and that the general premise, a demon break out from Hell was clearly not present. However, as a stand-alone plot, sans video game expectations, I thought DOOM was perfectly adequate plot-wise. Again, this isn't CITIZEN KANE, so I really only expect it to be fairly reasonable. While not the premise of the game, it's a perfectly serviceable storyline. It's your typical secret government plot to design and create a super being. By using violent convicts, the evil government types figure out a way to harvest these violent tendencies. Of course, something goes horribly wrong, hence the Marines being sent. I've seen this plot before in various incarnations and didn't find it a problem as a storyline for DOOM.
As for the acting, well, I think The Rock phoned it in a bit, not enough to destroy the film, but I expected a little more from Duane. I know he can do better. The rest of the cast performs decently to varying degrees, with some performing better then others. Standouts included, Karl Urban as John Grimm, and Al Weaver as The Kid. However, overall, the Marine unit didn't feel much like a Marine unit. I think some actors were miscast, and their characters poorly written, in particular, Richard Brake's character Portman. Portman is a drug addicted medic and seemed out of place throughout the film. The acting was fine, but the character just didn't make sense to me. This is supposed to be a super elite Marine squad and they keep a divisive, unstable wacko? Makes for some nice conflict, but I found it a little hard to swallow.
What succeeded the most were the special effects. I have seen so many different incarnations of various monsters in movies that I'm a bit jaded. I thought the transformed creatures in DOOM looked pretty cool. The filmmakers clearly put some money into them. One of my favorites's had to be the transformed wheelchair bound scientist. The transformation of having a wheelchair bound monster slogging about, was both humorous and inventive. The best, however, and what made the film for me, was the scene that had John Grimm killing monsters from the viewer's point of view. It was sort of a "game-cam" and fit perfectly within context of the film. It was a gimmick, but I hadn't seen it done before, and it was entertaining enough to provide some momentum to DOOM's closing scenes.
DOOM is an entertaining film. Filmgoers wanting a close adaptation of the video game, will be disappointed. Those wanting a striking horror/sci-fi film ala' ALIENS will be disappointed, too. But, for those of you less familiar with the game version and more forgiving with this genre, in general, DOOM is just the film for you. Buy some popcorn, sit back and enjoy.