After months of not so good previews....After tons of ferociously bad reviews....After all the the geeky internet bashing and flaming, I felt as if it was my duty to see this film. Up to this point there hasn't been a remotely interesting video game/movie adpatation. The closest I've seen to what could be defined as a decent retelling is the first Resident Evil, and the rare pros that movie had within a plethora of vicious cons was shot to shiit with a bogus ending and a terrible sequel.
So yeah, I'll be the first to admit I wasn't expecting much. Still, I went into the theater with a clear mind and hoped for the best. My review will be vague for the most part and I'll only really get into details about characters and some plot things, but if you don't want to know anything then don't read. But I'm not going to spoil anything important so don't worry.
After skimming Roger Ebert's one-star review prior to seeing the film, I agreed with him on the opening shot: It is very neat. The Universal logo revolves around Mars and the camera zooms right onto the planet's surface and the U.A.C. Facility tucked deep into a sand blasted Martian canyon. That's where our agreements ended.
I'll say this about the movie, the opening seemed a little shaky at first. Much like the film I mentioned earlier, Resident Evil, our first action shot is a bunch of terrified scientists screaming for their lives. The opening ignores build-up and plunges into the danger (something that dominates this movie). Before long we're being introduced to the main characters, a military unit led by Sarge (The Rock). Each member has their own handle, something familiar to any gamer. The cast of characters seem pretty generic at first glance and the opening dialogue echoes lingo and phrases we've all heard before. Our black guy casting doesn't make a choice between the talkitive, flirtatious "ladies man" or the quiet, hard black veteran: It includes both. Now there are a few intriguing characters thrown into the mix, such as a religious soldier named Goat who carves a cross into his arm at one point when he takes the lord's name in vain. There's also another character named Pinky whose lower body is replaced by a hightech wheelchair. When asked about the wheels, it's explained that a certain teleportation mishap sent him to two different coordinates...if you catch my drift.
The first thirty minutes seem very similar to the RE film: Laboratory gets overrun by...something...and a military squad (who look as if they borrowed the same fatigues from the soldiers in Resident Evil) are sent in to contain the situation.The squad teleports to Mars through a portal called "The Ark", which means no time is wasted in a long starship transportation scene. About this time, once the groundwork is set...the movie actually starts to pick up. Lots of fanboys bitched like hags on rags when it seemed like the whole "Hell" thing was dropped. It actually works out for the best in the movie and even though there is more science than demonic presence, there are plenty of references to hell and demons. Most of these videogame movies fail mainly because they try so hard to drift from the main idea of the game...or in some cases try to duplicate it exactly. Doom plays it pretty well and lives up to its promise: To tell a sci-fi action movie. That's right, action movie. There isn't a scary moment in Doom. There are quite a few false scares to keep the teen audience spooked, but the film is essentially about soldiers who have to shoot the crap out of monsters.
There is a really refreshing plot twist in the later half of the movie that kicks in just as most of the audience has predicted how the story will turn out. I really wish the previews hadn't ruined the First Person Camera sequence that occurs in Doom. Why you ask? Because the previews did it really shiitty justice, it's actually a lot cooler in the theater. It would have been a huge surprise to have suddenly popped on the screen without prior knowledge of the sequence existing. So instead of being a neat idea to throw in the movie, it is something that looked gimmicky in a crappy trailer and you keep waiting for it to happen in the movie. Much of the effect is lost if you've already seen it in a preview. To the precious few have avoided all trailers, I envy you. Nothing sucks more than to have a badly done advertisement that spoils something for you. This is a case where advertising can ruin something about a movie.
There's been a lot of talk about the monsters in Doom. Or well, the lack of them. Yeah it is true, but to be honest I didn't really care. It worked for the movie's plot and they didn't throw in a freaking Lost Soul or a Cocodemon for sheer homage value. That would have sucked. As for guns, only a few signature weapons showed up. The movie might have been borderline gimmicky in some parts but the filmmakers knew when not to cross the line. The last half of the movie is satisfying on an entertainment level and I really enjoyed watching it. The characters retain their genre flavor to the end but it a way that doesn't leave an after taste. You don't care for any of them like you did for Hicks or Ripley, but you are glued to the screen when it comes down to who is gonna bite it and when and who is gonna make it out.
If you're gonna walk in the theater expecting it to be lame then don't bother...because nomatter what, your dorkiness will prevent you from seeing anything good in this movie. If you can forget that all other video game movies suck for a moment and that this is a movie based off a game, you might enjoy Doom. The only real negative that irked me throughout the movie was the music. Uninteresting score that at times played inappropriatly (until the FPC sequence, then it was just pure shooter fun). This, however, was redeemed when the credits began to role and the words popped on with NIN blasting away in the theater. I wish they had kept Trent Reznor on to do the tunes like he did for Doom3, cus they rocked that game.
I'd give it three stars. I enjoyed the movie's entertainment level even if it was at the expense of some things. For what it was meant to provide, it worked. It mostly avoided cheesy action scenes, a curse that has plagued EVERY other video game/move incarnation out there. This is the first Game/Movie that I think can truly be said to be a successful adaptation. It finally happened
Doom delievered.
So yeah, I'll be the first to admit I wasn't expecting much. Still, I went into the theater with a clear mind and hoped for the best. My review will be vague for the most part and I'll only really get into details about characters and some plot things, but if you don't want to know anything then don't read. But I'm not going to spoil anything important so don't worry.
After skimming Roger Ebert's one-star review prior to seeing the film, I agreed with him on the opening shot: It is very neat. The Universal logo revolves around Mars and the camera zooms right onto the planet's surface and the U.A.C. Facility tucked deep into a sand blasted Martian canyon. That's where our agreements ended.
I'll say this about the movie, the opening seemed a little shaky at first. Much like the film I mentioned earlier, Resident Evil, our first action shot is a bunch of terrified scientists screaming for their lives. The opening ignores build-up and plunges into the danger (something that dominates this movie). Before long we're being introduced to the main characters, a military unit led by Sarge (The Rock). Each member has their own handle, something familiar to any gamer. The cast of characters seem pretty generic at first glance and the opening dialogue echoes lingo and phrases we've all heard before. Our black guy casting doesn't make a choice between the talkitive, flirtatious "ladies man" or the quiet, hard black veteran: It includes both. Now there are a few intriguing characters thrown into the mix, such as a religious soldier named Goat who carves a cross into his arm at one point when he takes the lord's name in vain. There's also another character named Pinky whose lower body is replaced by a hightech wheelchair. When asked about the wheels, it's explained that a certain teleportation mishap sent him to two different coordinates...if you catch my drift.
The first thirty minutes seem very similar to the RE film: Laboratory gets overrun by...something...and a military squad (who look as if they borrowed the same fatigues from the soldiers in Resident Evil) are sent in to contain the situation.The squad teleports to Mars through a portal called "The Ark", which means no time is wasted in a long starship transportation scene. About this time, once the groundwork is set...the movie actually starts to pick up. Lots of fanboys bitched like hags on rags when it seemed like the whole "Hell" thing was dropped. It actually works out for the best in the movie and even though there is more science than demonic presence, there are plenty of references to hell and demons. Most of these videogame movies fail mainly because they try so hard to drift from the main idea of the game...or in some cases try to duplicate it exactly. Doom plays it pretty well and lives up to its promise: To tell a sci-fi action movie. That's right, action movie. There isn't a scary moment in Doom. There are quite a few false scares to keep the teen audience spooked, but the film is essentially about soldiers who have to shoot the crap out of monsters.
There is a really refreshing plot twist in the later half of the movie that kicks in just as most of the audience has predicted how the story will turn out. I really wish the previews hadn't ruined the First Person Camera sequence that occurs in Doom. Why you ask? Because the previews did it really shiitty justice, it's actually a lot cooler in the theater. It would have been a huge surprise to have suddenly popped on the screen without prior knowledge of the sequence existing. So instead of being a neat idea to throw in the movie, it is something that looked gimmicky in a crappy trailer and you keep waiting for it to happen in the movie. Much of the effect is lost if you've already seen it in a preview. To the precious few have avoided all trailers, I envy you. Nothing sucks more than to have a badly done advertisement that spoils something for you. This is a case where advertising can ruin something about a movie.
There's been a lot of talk about the monsters in Doom. Or well, the lack of them. Yeah it is true, but to be honest I didn't really care. It worked for the movie's plot and they didn't throw in a freaking Lost Soul or a Cocodemon for sheer homage value. That would have sucked. As for guns, only a few signature weapons showed up. The movie might have been borderline gimmicky in some parts but the filmmakers knew when not to cross the line. The last half of the movie is satisfying on an entertainment level and I really enjoyed watching it. The characters retain their genre flavor to the end but it a way that doesn't leave an after taste. You don't care for any of them like you did for Hicks or Ripley, but you are glued to the screen when it comes down to who is gonna bite it and when and who is gonna make it out.
If you're gonna walk in the theater expecting it to be lame then don't bother...because nomatter what, your dorkiness will prevent you from seeing anything good in this movie. If you can forget that all other video game movies suck for a moment and that this is a movie based off a game, you might enjoy Doom. The only real negative that irked me throughout the movie was the music. Uninteresting score that at times played inappropriatly (until the FPC sequence, then it was just pure shooter fun). This, however, was redeemed when the credits began to role and the words popped on with NIN blasting away in the theater. I wish they had kept Trent Reznor on to do the tunes like he did for Doom3, cus they rocked that game.
I'd give it three stars. I enjoyed the movie's entertainment level even if it was at the expense of some things. For what it was meant to provide, it worked. It mostly avoided cheesy action scenes, a curse that has plagued EVERY other video game/move incarnation out there. This is the first Game/Movie that I think can truly be said to be a successful adaptation. It finally happened
Doom delievered.
