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feature :: doom : the movie
Doom : The Movie
The movie version of the video game isn't as bad as you think. Find out what I thought of the Rock and his BFG.
We don't usually review movies here on AustralianGamer.com because, well, we are a games site, not a movie site. However, we feel a review of Doom the movie is appropriate for two reasons:
1. Doom as a brand is such an iconic and important part of video game history.
2. There is a sequence in the movie which tries to replicate the view of the character from his eyes as he runs and guns around.
So let's get right into it. The plot is pretty much exactly what you expect. Something has gone wrong at a remote scientific research station on Mars. All research has ceased. Communication has failed. And the messages that do get through are less than comforting. It's a level 5 quarantine and the only souls allowed in or out are the Rapid Response Tactical Squad ' hardened Space Marines armed to the teeth with enough firepower to neutralize the enemy ' or so they think.
Seriously though, you know the plot really isn't going to be all that deep. Most of the characters are stereotypes out of every other action movie you have ever seen. This isn't a bad thing though. You only need to know just enough of each characters quirks to know who it is you are watching. The exceptions are the main characters, John Grimm (Karl Urban), Samantha Grimm (Rosamund Pike) and Sarge (The Rock). There is a bit of back story in regards to John travelling back to the research facility and having to face his sister Samantha again, but really, it's not that important to the movie and only serves to slow things down a bit. Karl Urban has made a career out of frowning, and he doesn't really make a convincing soldier, although he is enjoyable to watch.
The Rock on the other hand doesn't have to work all that hard to play a big army sergeant who follows his orders no matter what. I did notice his swearing though, which was kinda strange. When he swore, it just sounded forced, which made any of the aggressive scenes where you have the main characters getting angry at each other kind of silly. Again, not really that important.
What IS important about this movie is the way it captures the feeling of the game, the claustrophobic levels, the monsters that jump out at you, and the bizarre scenarios. You have to hand it to them; one thing they definitely succeeded with was the level design. For any fans of the game (mainly Doom 3), the majority of the areas will look very familiar, it just all has the same kind of look and feel, from the buildings built into the sides of the mountains on Mars, to the displays on the computer monitors.
I felt like it was such a shame then that the monsters themselves weren't all that impressive. I can't even put my finger on what it was exactly, but they just weren't all that scary. This movie has talked a lot of how they tried to do everything they could before they resorted to CG, because if you use too much CG, everything looks too fake.
Well, it ain't much better if the demons and monsters just look like guys dressed up in rubber suits either. Combine that with the fact that the whole 'demonic and religious' aspects of the game have been taken out, and it undermines the fear that was so pushed in the games. This isn't some demon from the pits of hell that will do unspeakable things to your body and soul. No, this is just some dead scientist who looks like he has been deep fried.
Don't get me wrong, there are some cool scenes. A particular section has one of the marines face off against one of the Hell Knights in an arena type setting which is good fun. There is a lot of suspense in an early sequence when the marines are trudging through the sewers and one guys torch light goes out (of course). And the final fight is good fun, although it's not really the big climax you would expect. By the time you get to that point in the movie, you have kind of stopped caring about the characters, which makes it just not as much fun.
The last thing to mention is the first person sequence towards the end of the movie. A lot has been said about this, the fact that they are truly creating a movie based on a game when it emulates the exact view you have when playing the game.
It is a cool scene, I'll give it that. It looked like they had a lot of fun making it to be sure. But it comes off as being incredibly cheesy. I read somewhere that the guy who put together that sequence worked on a lot of theme park rides, and it shows. It feels more like a theme park ride than a part of the movie, complete with cheesy zombie-like characters around every corner. I'm sorry, but it just doesn't work on the big screen, then the camera moves around too much, you just get disorientated. They could have made it work into the movie a little better; make it a bit more suspense and a bit less cartoon action. There is a battle at the end of this sequence with Pinky, the demon in the wheelchair, and all Grimm has is a chainsaw. I remember the first time I saw Pinky when playing Doom 3. I had a machine gun, and I was scared witless. This scene was just comical, I wasn't frightened at all, and it was just ... funny. This is not the intended effect I would imagine.
I think ultimately your opinion of this movie will depend on what you thought of the game. And not the original Doom, but Doom 3, which is the version that the movie has most in common with. There are a lot of scenes that will make you smile (Yes, there is a BFG), and a lot of in jokes that are only intended for gamers to get. Not only that, but most of us are used to any movie based on a video game being a massive disappointment. If your expectations are that low, I guarantee you will get a kick out of Doom. I know I did.
1. Doom as a brand is such an iconic and important part of video game history.
2. There is a sequence in the movie which tries to replicate the view of the character from his eyes as he runs and guns around.
So let's get right into it. The plot is pretty much exactly what you expect. Something has gone wrong at a remote scientific research station on Mars. All research has ceased. Communication has failed. And the messages that do get through are less than comforting. It's a level 5 quarantine and the only souls allowed in or out are the Rapid Response Tactical Squad ' hardened Space Marines armed to the teeth with enough firepower to neutralize the enemy ' or so they think.
Seriously though, you know the plot really isn't going to be all that deep. Most of the characters are stereotypes out of every other action movie you have ever seen. This isn't a bad thing though. You only need to know just enough of each characters quirks to know who it is you are watching. The exceptions are the main characters, John Grimm (Karl Urban), Samantha Grimm (Rosamund Pike) and Sarge (The Rock). There is a bit of back story in regards to John travelling back to the research facility and having to face his sister Samantha again, but really, it's not that important to the movie and only serves to slow things down a bit. Karl Urban has made a career out of frowning, and he doesn't really make a convincing soldier, although he is enjoyable to watch.
The Rock on the other hand doesn't have to work all that hard to play a big army sergeant who follows his orders no matter what. I did notice his swearing though, which was kinda strange. When he swore, it just sounded forced, which made any of the aggressive scenes where you have the main characters getting angry at each other kind of silly. Again, not really that important.
What IS important about this movie is the way it captures the feeling of the game, the claustrophobic levels, the monsters that jump out at you, and the bizarre scenarios. You have to hand it to them; one thing they definitely succeeded with was the level design. For any fans of the game (mainly Doom 3), the majority of the areas will look very familiar, it just all has the same kind of look and feel, from the buildings built into the sides of the mountains on Mars, to the displays on the computer monitors.
I felt like it was such a shame then that the monsters themselves weren't all that impressive. I can't even put my finger on what it was exactly, but they just weren't all that scary. This movie has talked a lot of how they tried to do everything they could before they resorted to CG, because if you use too much CG, everything looks too fake.
Well, it ain't much better if the demons and monsters just look like guys dressed up in rubber suits either. Combine that with the fact that the whole 'demonic and religious' aspects of the game have been taken out, and it undermines the fear that was so pushed in the games. This isn't some demon from the pits of hell that will do unspeakable things to your body and soul. No, this is just some dead scientist who looks like he has been deep fried.
Don't get me wrong, there are some cool scenes. A particular section has one of the marines face off against one of the Hell Knights in an arena type setting which is good fun. There is a lot of suspense in an early sequence when the marines are trudging through the sewers and one guys torch light goes out (of course). And the final fight is good fun, although it's not really the big climax you would expect. By the time you get to that point in the movie, you have kind of stopped caring about the characters, which makes it just not as much fun.
The last thing to mention is the first person sequence towards the end of the movie. A lot has been said about this, the fact that they are truly creating a movie based on a game when it emulates the exact view you have when playing the game.
It is a cool scene, I'll give it that. It looked like they had a lot of fun making it to be sure. But it comes off as being incredibly cheesy. I read somewhere that the guy who put together that sequence worked on a lot of theme park rides, and it shows. It feels more like a theme park ride than a part of the movie, complete with cheesy zombie-like characters around every corner. I'm sorry, but it just doesn't work on the big screen, then the camera moves around too much, you just get disorientated. They could have made it work into the movie a little better; make it a bit more suspense and a bit less cartoon action. There is a battle at the end of this sequence with Pinky, the demon in the wheelchair, and all Grimm has is a chainsaw. I remember the first time I saw Pinky when playing Doom 3. I had a machine gun, and I was scared witless. This scene was just comical, I wasn't frightened at all, and it was just ... funny. This is not the intended effect I would imagine.
I think ultimately your opinion of this movie will depend on what you thought of the game. And not the original Doom, but Doom 3, which is the version that the movie has most in common with. There are a lot of scenes that will make you smile (Yes, there is a BFG), and a lot of in jokes that are only intended for gamers to get. Not only that, but most of us are used to any movie based on a video game being a massive disappointment. If your expectations are that low, I guarantee you will get a kick out of Doom. I know I did.
