Doom (2005)
No one gets out alive
I have a game that released today that deals with beating up demons as super-fancy marines, so I though I’d do a movie that would follow suit. After a quick google search and a check against my log of things I’ve already done, I was surprised to realize that I in fact have not done tonight’s movie. Just like me to think I did something that I didn’t do, right? Well, I guess I may as well go ahead and remedy that situation, am I right? Load you guns and bring your flashlight, tonight we boot up Doom.
There was a surprising number of people who hated everything about this movie on the pure basis that it “wasn’t Doom.” A lot of those folks, I would say, never played Doom 3 in which it actually bears a pretty good resemblance - I mean, sure, things are changed and it’s not identical to the game (thank heaven’s am I right? Can you imagine an entire movie where the soldiers could only use a flashlight or a gun?) but it’s far closer to the horror-oriented story and pacing of that game than any of the other’s in the franchise. That said, I would give you a moment to get over the fact that I have, in fact, some familiarity with the source material - but we got a review to get to. The story here is roughly about some solider-types getting sent in to save and investigate a level 5 alert on a science and research base. Turns out, something is afoul on a planet beyond the moon, and creatures start popping up to give our soldiers a run for their money. How many, if any, will manage to get out whilst completing the objectives of secure, protect, and destroy?
Of course, there’s plenty to it with twists in how and why, but the basic point is as spelled out without any of the intricate details. Characters have a strong leaning towards “we want you to feel like this” when in regards to them - which in turn does mean you’ll be a bit put off by a good two or three of the soldiers, whilst rooting for one or two and probably being indifferent towards the others. Of the entire pool, the character traits are enough to spell out who the character is, ranging from sleezeball to genuine good guy - but as far as development goes the relationship between the brother-soldier and sister-scientist and her interactions with one other soldier are the only things that really provide anything really on paper recognizable as “character depth.” Is it needed? No, considering most people coming to this movie from the source just want non-stop action, but I’m not surprised at people docking it for “weak” characters either.
The actors do a good job playing their roles, although sometimes they come off as dry. In the case of the soldiers, they can often come of extreme in regards to their traits - pervy sleaze guy is always on and over-the-top, and the Rock gets to the point where he might be really chewing it up even given his characters state of being. On the flip side of that, our lead scientist lady is often very straight-face, almost boring in comparison to the near-wacky levels of “got to cut myself for saying the lord name in vain” of the soldier. It does generally work fine for amusement when you accept it for what it is, and it doesn’t necessarily feel like anyone is phoning in their parts - it’s effort, I’m just not entirely convinced that the effort is directed to always be put into the right place for the movie. Still, it’s far from being horrible - I’ve seen enough movies to know that - and for someone looking for just having fun and not a masterpiece you’ll most likely have complaints against the characters not the actors playing them.
Rapid response is here.
How are we floating as far as the effects department? We be floating good, but you’ll certainly occasionally get splashed by something that could be better. It’s the nature of the game - if you look hard enough you’ll always find something that could be done better, but in this case there’s a few CG elements that don’t hold up nearly as well as most the rest that appear in the movie - in specific, something about the space-wheelchair just looks faker than it should. I know, I know, we have big monsters, people getting tore up and shot up, zombies, explosions, and BFGs and I’m saying the wheelchair looks fake. Look, I just call it like I see it - most all the rest of the movie all the rest of those effects look good - particularly our evil demon stand ins. They also do a good job of using the lighting to their advantage to not over-show too much of the beasties to give it the heavy chance to look super fake, even during the first person segment. Oh yeah, did I mention there’s an entire section of the movie that goes to enough lengths to appease game fans by going first person? Yeah, it’s pretty baller in my book, and they even do the transition to it quite well, even if perhaps a few moments during it get a little haunted house like.
The costumes all look pretty great as well. Being more of a sci fi flick, we get to have fun with fancier armor and gluing all sorts of stuff onto modern firearms to make them look chunkier and more futuristic. On the monster side, I’m pretty well positive that some of the creatures are suits, which I feel is more considered costume than effect work - but I can see the argument for both. Of course, you also have the relatively expected and boring science white lab coats - but you can’t have everything super amazing anyways right? The setting also looks great, with ample dark hallways that have you questioning who would build anything like that, a swing in the sewer, and some lit rooms full of set dressing.
Audio is balanced well, and you’ll hear everything you need to. You get decent subtitles to go with them as well, so you needn’t really have to worry there. Sound is good and punchy, and you get plenty of little audio queues to go along with whatever monsters might be lurking around corners. Music does it’s regular thing and fades away after watching, but it adds to scenes as it sees fit. By the end, it even starts working in a little of that original Doom music, which is an added bonus. There are also, and I feel it goes here, plenty of one-liners to appease the action fans amongst us.
Pardon the compression of darkness in the picture.
Was it the best movie ever? I wouldn’t go that far. The movie takes a while before it switches from uneventful horror to action, and that might put off some of the folks going in to it for action. The acting is done pretty well, but some of the characters can be a point of rumbling for watchers. It has a lot of references and nods and flat-out fan service for the game - but it isn’t the game in the franchise that people had really expected or that most wanted. If you want a fun movie, it can do that but it’s safe to say that not everyone will get the same mileage me and mine have gotten out of the movie, especially with revisits.