DOOM

DOOM
Directed by; Andrzej Bartkowiak, USA / Czech Republic, 2005
Action / Thriller / Sci-fi / Horror, 100min
Distributed by: Universal Pictures

Story:
A Special Forces team lead by "Sarge" [The Rock] are sent into a research lab buried on the surface of Mars. Their main mission is to rescue the six persons in the lab, and retrieve vital research information. But when they get to the planet there's more than just scientists awaiting them.

Me:
I enjoyed this movie. It's been slammed with a wide variation of criticism, all from being the worst piece of garbage to being hailed as a fantastic action movie. I think it falls in under the enjoyable two hours action/horror flick with a few shocks and a few nice surprises. Being a Doom game fan to start with there's a natural weakness for this sort of stuff, even though I haven't played anything else than the original Doom way back in 93'. The actors are Ok, the Rock is always fun to watch, and It's nice to see him chooses parts that don't just keep him in the goody good guy casting. If you have ever played the Doom games, then you know what to expect. If you have ever seen Cameron's Aliens, then you know what to expect. So why did I enjoy it then? Well basically, because it's just a big dumb movie about dudes with oversized guns and intense monsters chasing then down dark corridors. I liked the back-story between John Grimm [Karl Urban] and his sister Samantha [Rosamund Pike], it holds up quite well, and the reason for the monsters, is not ingenious but quite amusing. Also it leads to the sequence that will be the one most remembered by fans of the games who ever watch the movie. John goes on a first person shooter rampage that is done very very neat. It's like watching an intro to the game or something. No so to make it easy, I enjoyed Doom. I'm sure that not a lot of people will enjoy it, but if you just want a big dumb kickass scary sci-fi movie then this one will work like a charm.

Image:
2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, Wonderful grey and dark tones keeping the dark and gritty feel from the games. Subtitles in Swedish, English, Danish Norwegian, Finnish, Icelandic, Dutch, Hungarian and Hebrew.

Audio:
English 5.1 Dolby Digital, English dts, Hungarian 5.1 Dolby Digital. It packs a punch!

Extras:
There are six featurettes covering preproduction training, special effects etc. Gaming tips, the first person shooter sequence, and trailers for other Universal titles. The highlight has to be the 14 minute short featurette telling the history and background of Doom the computer game.