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DOOM (2005) Director: Andrzej Bartkowiak. Hacktors: The Rock, Karl Urban, Rosamund Pike. Rating/5: The lowdown: iD Software's classic shoot-'em-up video game finally reaches the big screen, 12 years after the first Doom transformed first-person blasters forever. The film's arrival has been accompanied by a combination of excitement and sensible scepticism from the game's fans, while the public at large no doubt just prepare themselves for a kick-ass movie starring that wrestling guy The Rock.     The story set-up establishes that a portal between Earth and Mars was discovered in 2026 and named The Ark. Sarge (The Rock) and his team of gun-toting soldiers are called in when a research facility on Mars shuts down, with six scientists inside it. Cue a load of video game-esque mayhem. So was the scepticism justified? You'll have already figured out the answer from the rating... Good points: Rather than go for the populist approach and usher in the kiddies with a PG-13 rating, Doom weighs in with an 'R'. So we see heads come off and there's a fair deal of blood. Considering that Alien Vs Predator was delivered as a PG-13, this has to be applauded.     The Rock is dependably solid as Sarge, while Karl Urban does a good job as his subordinate John Grimm, nicknamed Reaper by his buddies. Richard Brake, who played Joe Chill in Batman Begins, also stands out as Portman, a Southern sleazeball who practically oozes slime. The effects and monster costumes are all capably handled, as is the direction. Nothing about the film's actual execution is actually bad, apart from the overly fast editing which we've come to expect from modern action-fests. Without wanting to give too much of the (admittedly threadbare) plot away, the script also takes admirably brave steps with The Rock's character which actually manage to surprise. Bad points: Sadly, the entire concept sucks the big one. Look away now if you don't want to know whether Hell features in this movie or not, but this is my major problem with the plot. The whole flavor and unique quality of the original Doom came from the contrast between futuristic technology on Mars and rampaging creatures from Hell. Glowing red pentagrams hung on the walls, helping to create a genuinely oppressive atmosphere.     There's none of that supernatural stuff in Doom. Bizarrely, everything's explained on a scientific basis, in a fashion which has been done so many times that it beggars belief. So once Doom's Satanic guts have been ripped out, many fans will feel sadly deflated. I certainly couldn't believe what I was seeing - or not seeing. As if to rub salt in fans' wounds, the dialogue even makes regular reference to Hell: characters tell each other to go to it, etc. But worst of all, I felt hardly a twinge of recognition with the game. At this point, I should clarify my position: in my time, I've spent days on the original two Doom PlayStation games and have only tackled the demo version of Doom 3. As far as I can see, the movie is based more on this current game, but given that executive producer John Wells told me that material had also been based on the original game, I was amazed to feel no connection. Didn't even recognise a single monster, apart from human 'zombies' (who, of course, aren't really zombies - why, that introduce a supernatural element...).     By the time the action reached a climactic hand-to-hand battle, I could barely stifle groans. This may as well have been another entry in the Resident Evil series: aside from a fairly well-executed first-person perspective sequence which lasts a few minutes, it bears little or no resemblance to the game I know and love. Just to put the boot in a little more, it has to be said that Rosamund Pike's performance as John Grimm's scientific sister Samantha is merely adequate when something stronger was needed, in order to really sell all the banal, predictable exposition. Overall: I'm bewildered. Exactly how easy would it have been to get this film right? All we needed was pulse-pounding action with grunts blowing hellspawn away. Hellspawn. Not mutated scientists. Oh, and the flavour of the actual game would have been nice. Sigh... Release Date: Out now in US theaters. It is released in the UK on October 28, 2005. [Interview With Exec Producer] [Reviews Menu] [Home] © Copyright Slasherama 2002-present