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Overall Rating
 Awesome: 3.7%
Worth A Look: 7.41%
Average: 14.07%
Pretty Bad: 35.56%
Total Crap: 39.26%
11 reviews, 69 user ratings
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| Doom |
by William Goss
"Retread Planet"
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The Rock and company face off against the relentless clichés of the video-game adaptation, 'Doom,' a predictable film that goes through the same old motions of shooting and screaming that other films have tackled to better effect.When a research facility on Mars is placed under lockdown, a special tactics team, led by Sarge (The Rock), is sent in to find survivors and eliminate the threat. As the most casual viewer can expect, each character is dispatched one by one, leading up to a climactic showdown for the safety of humanity. What's such a shame is that several other films have worn out the same plot, and Doom brings nothing new to the table. The catalyst this time around is genetic mutation running rampant on the red planet, resulting in general destruction and all-around mayhem.
Even though so many others have beaten the same path, this film insists on a lethargic setup, padding an entire hour with a passive attempt at character development and endless excuses to go into conveniently crowded locations where lighting and logic are equally dim. Once any action kicks in, though, it is a typical rehash of guns blazing in the general direction of something suspicious and…not human(!). Karl Urban and Rosamund Pike turn in flat performances as a stoic soldier and his estranged scientist sister, while every other interchangeable supporting character fails to earn any sympathy before their inevitable elimination. However, The Rock manages to establish a buffet of scenery on which to chew, particularly after his character and the proceedings head in a more bleak direction.
The film's sole highlight doubles as a beacon of irony. A five-minute sequence towards the end of the film is depicted from the first person perspective, a la the game: weapons are chosen, creatures are dispatched, etc. As well-executed and somewhat exciting as the device happens to be – especially in comparison with the preceding tedium – it is no more than proof of aimless action movies being much too akin to the experience a video game can provide instead.
As much as the gaming segment is on autopilot, so is the rest of the film. The acting is wooden at best, the plot is pretty predictable, and the creature design is nothing new (keep it slimy, stupid). Even the "strong violence/gore" flaunted by the R rating is relatively unimpressive. There is no stone that another film hasn't left unturned, and it most did so in a much more interesting fashion. Every aspect of the 'deploy-and-destroy' subgenre that peaked with Aliens is met with minimal aplomb and interest, while every cliché that has surfaced ever since is greeted with open arms. One can only hope that the last-ditch attempt of DOOM will mean 'game over' to such a stale and seemingly unstoppable formula.Offering my thoughts to the monitor following the screening, I was cut off by a ten-year-old, who shared his opinion that 'Doom' was "awesome!". It would look like that young man's taste in cinema has nowhere to go but up.
link directly to this review at https://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=13269&reviewer=409
originally posted: 10/25/05 15:35:32
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USA
21-Oct-2005 (R)
DVD: 07-Feb-2006
UK
N/A
Australia
27-Oct-2005
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