Doom (2005)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

Andrzej Bartkowiak

Writers (WGA):

Dave Callaham (screenplay) and
Wesley Strick (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

21 October 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

No one gets out alive.

Plot:

Space Marines are sent to investigate strange events at a research facility on a distant planet but find themselves at the mercy of genetically enhanced killing machines.

Plot Keywords:

Mars | Soldier | Monster | Space Marine | Hell

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Dwayne Johnson	...	Sarge (as The Rock)
Karl Urban	...	John Grimm
Rosamund Pike	...	Samantha Grimm
Ben Daniels	...	Goat
Razaaq Adoti	...	Duke (as Raz Adoti)
Richard Brake	...	Corporal Dean Portman
Al Weaver	...	The Kid
Dexter Fletcher	...	Pinky
Brian Steele	...	Hell Knight / Curtis Stahl
Deobia Oparei	...	Destroyer (as DeObia Oparei)
Yao Chin	...	Mac
Robert Russell	...	Dr. Carmack
Daniel York	...	Lt. Huengs
Ian Hughes	...	Sanford Crosby
Sara Houghton	...	Dr. Jenna Willits

Also Known As:

Doom - Der Film (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence/gore and language.

Runtime:

100 min | USA:113 min (unrated version)

Country:

UK | Czech Republic | Germany | USA

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-18 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Netherlands:16 | Germany:18 | Canada:14A (Manitoba) | Singapore:NC-16 | UK:15 | New Zealand:R16 | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Philippines:R-13 | Taiwan:R-18 | Hong Kong:IIB | Indonesia:Dewasa | Argentina:13 | Argentina:16 | Norway:15 | Ireland:16 | Sweden:15 | France:-12 | Czech Republic:15 | USA:Unrated (unrated DVD version) | Iceland:16 | Singapore:M18 (unrated extended edition) | Brazil:18 | Malaysia:18SG | Italy:VM14 | USA:R (certificate #42048) | Ireland:18 (DVD rating) | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Japan:R-15 | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Barrandov Studios, Prague, Czech Republic

Company:

John Wells Productions

Trivia:

The character of Sarge (played by Dwayne Johnson) is an homage to Master Sergeant Thomas Kelly, one of the main characters from the video game Doom³ (2004) (VG).

Goofs:

Factual errors: Throughout the movie, Sarge calls the Marines "soldiers." In reality, Marines are deeply offended when they are called "soldiers."

Quotes:

[first lines]
Samantha Grimm: [narrating] In the year 2026 archaeologists working in the Nevada desert discovered a portal to an ancient city on Mars. They call this portal the Ark. Twenty years later, we're still struggling to understand why it was built and what happened to the civilization that built it.

Movie Connections:

References Doom³ (2004) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Struggle

Part DOOM, part something else

*Warning* This review contains mild spoilers to the GAME, but not the movie.

A dig in the nevada desert have found a portal to an ancient city on mars. Since then, scientists have struggled 20 years to find out more about the civilization that built the city and why they disappeared.

Apparently they found something. In an emergency transmission sent from the science facility on mars a head scientist explains that there is a "level 5 breach" and quarantine procedures must be implemented immediately. A squad of elite soldiers are sent to the science facility on Mars to protect and retrieve property and make sure quarantine is kept. What they find is naturally more than they are trained and equipped for.

This is another game that made it into the silver screen, and the DOOM franchise isn't exactly known for it's multi-depth story lines. This made me seek out and watch this movie with plenty of ice in my stomach, ready to forgive the producers for mistakes they made.

And mistakes were made. The greatest one was of course to change the entire plot. As a gamer who put more value in story than the action, I would personally say that the DOOM3 storyline was better than the movies (completely changed) storyline. In the game the city plays a central role. In the movie you never leave the work areas, you never get to see the old ruins. The city isn't even mentioned beyond the intro. Beyond 2 <10 second scenes, you do not see the Mars exterior. You barely register that these events take place on Mars, not on earth. The artifacts that played a central role in the game is not mentioned or present in the movie. The entire "Hell is loose" plot was completely cut away, the events of the movie blamed onto something *COMPLETELY* different. The theme "one man against hell" became "a few men and their issues". The ghost of the little girl (one of the games scarier parts) did not make it to the move.

DOOM3 was also a horror experience playing both on achluophobia (fear of darkness) and Monophobia (fear of being alone), this was an aspect missing in the movie where areas was lit and the characters was always going at least two and two. I almost think the movie could have been better if they hired less actors and put more money on storywriters.

Another aspect completely gone is the ambient red tone of being on mars, something that could have added a more artistic flavor to the movie. Except for very short moments in the beginning of the movie you never see that these events in fact take place on mars.

I was not happy to see the storyline almost completely changed and the horror downscaled to almost not scary at all with nothing better added to it. There are no deep questions asked here, no philosophical submessage to the audience to go home thinking about. This is a lighthearted actionmovie and that's it.

The most faithful part (to the game) is the labs and the monsters. he developers who made the game gave the areas/monsters/weapons an unique design that wouldn't have been right to move away from. If you care zero about the plot, then yes this is DOOM.

There's also the first person sequence in which we get to follow a series of events through the eyes of a soldier when he runs around and shoot monsters in corridors. It was fun, although I would say that it failed to capture me. I was mostly annoyed with the choice of music and it could have been more scary.

I see some ways this movie could have been made better with the material it's based on, but I did not expect it. At least the action is well done. If you want 2 hours of entertainment that wont change your world, DOOM offers just that. If you do not watch many movies and want some extra quality when spending time on one, you can jump this one.

Game-movies so far are between "awful" and "ok". This one was "ok".