Overall Rating: ***
Doom @ IMDB
Synopsis:
When things go terribly wrong at a Martian research facility, the marines are sent in to secure the situation. Sarge (The Rock) and his team of marines must fight genetic abominations hell-bent on eating them while protecting the gate back home called the Ark. Crazy weapons and hand-to-hand combat bring all of the action from the hit game to the big screen.
Review:
I gave this movie three out of five stars, but that rating needs a few qualifications. I have to say that the movie was entertaining. It also was a pretty good adaptation of a video game to a movie. For a bad adaptation, see House of the Dead. Let be honest though, this movie didn’t have anything that screamed “great!” I’ve seen action movies that grab you and they really keep you engaged for the full two hours. It was definitely entertaining, but it doesn’t quite compare to movies like The Transporter or Kiss of the Dragon.
I definitely liked the lead characters, Sarge and John Grimm a.k.a. Reaper (Karl Urban). Sarge is a hardcore marine that follows orders and gets the job done. Reapers is a marine with a troubled past but a conscience that matches his skill with weapons. They give you just enough backstory for Reaper that it keeps things interesting. They picked a good actor for the part. Urban plays the role well. And of course, the rock rarely dissappoints.
The one scene that I feared would bring the movie to a screaching halt is the “first-person” season. This is the clip you see in the trailers that looks like you’re playing the game. Luckily, they used the scene in an acceptable way. It wasn’t nearly as bad as I feared. I also liked what they did with the end the of the movie. I won’t spoil the end, but it was a nice change from the typical endings to action flicks. I would say Doom is definitely worth a rental, but it makes for a questionable matinee flick.