943 reviews
Would I call Doom a good movie? Not really. Do I still enjoy it? Yes!
For me the interaction between the actors is working pretty well and the movie delivers something resembling the game Doom in terms of scenario. We have some of the monsters that can be found in the game even though they're not really demons but something else.
In addition the action scenes are pretty entertaining and especially the first person shooter style scene is very well done.
Does the movie still have problems? Definitely. The characters themselves are rather stupid in their behavior and overall pretty flat. The story writing as well is not great.
Still watching Karl Urban and The Rock going at each other is pretty fun.
For me the interaction between the actors is working pretty well and the movie delivers something resembling the game Doom in terms of scenario. We have some of the monsters that can be found in the game even though they're not really demons but something else.
In addition the action scenes are pretty entertaining and especially the first person shooter style scene is very well done.
Does the movie still have problems? Definitely. The characters themselves are rather stupid in their behavior and overall pretty flat. The story writing as well is not great.
Still watching Karl Urban and The Rock going at each other is pretty fun.
*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".
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".
OK, we are all hearing how Doom the movie is a complete sellout etc, but still this is an enjoyable movie. The Rock as Sarge is absolutely perfect! i just couldn't imagine Karl Urban doing a better job then The Rock when it comes to Sarge. Although many have branded this film "Resident Evil in Space" and yeah it is but that doesn't subtract from the film at all. The 1st person scene was especially pulled off well and will give you some giggles (c'mon who didn't laugh?).The Score is absolutely awesome and sets the atmosphere perfectly! too me this film had an old school 80's horror feel to it which i felt made it that more enjoyable (we got lots of uncensored over the top gore which now we don't get enough of). Overall don't judge this movie till you see it because it is a lot better then people rate it unless your looking to find something thats a 100% identical too its source material (Doom 3) then i'd advise you to not watch this film because some of it has been completely rewritten from its original context hence no hell. Overall a lot better then what i was expecting too see
- JERICH9478
- Nov 10, 2005
- Permalink
There are certain genres that are despised no matter what. The genre of movies based on video games is one of those and rightfully so. There have been a large amount pretty awful video game adaptations of such games as Wing Commander, Super Mario Bros., Tomb Raider, Street Fighter, Double Dragon, and House of the Dead. There have been, however, some decent adaptations like Mortal Kombat (the first film, not the sequel) and the Resident Evil films. Now that I've viewed the unrated version, DOOM can be added to that list. Although not nearly as stylish and entertaining as Mortal Kombat or Resident Evil, DOOM may not be the mind-blowing spectacle that fans of the video game were hoping for, but at least it knows what it is: a fun ALIENS knock-off. Unlike ALIENS, Doom lacks a strong story and well-developed characters that the audience can cheer for. The characters here are barely one dimensional. They are given essentially no motivation for what they do and as a result, the movie suffers. Still, it's better than one would expect thanks to some slick directing, a couple solid action sequences, and The Rock. 7/10
- jellyneckr
- Mar 27, 2006
- Permalink
I just rewatched Doom (17 years later) and was happily surprised at how good the film was and how much I enjoyed it.
Urban is particularly good.
I enjoyed the music and sound fx, however the visual fx, particularly the for the beasties, could have been sharper.
I loved the part of the film that goes in to FPS mode, super effective and really fun.
The weakest part of the film, the character of Pinky. He comes across as a bit of a flog and adds zilch to the movie.
For some reason this movie was considered a bit of a failure but as I stated I liked it and had plenty of fun watching it. Give it a go :)
Urban is particularly good.
I enjoyed the music and sound fx, however the visual fx, particularly the for the beasties, could have been sharper.
I loved the part of the film that goes in to FPS mode, super effective and really fun.
The weakest part of the film, the character of Pinky. He comes across as a bit of a flog and adds zilch to the movie.
For some reason this movie was considered a bit of a failure but as I stated I liked it and had plenty of fun watching it. Give it a go :)
- damianphelps
- Nov 2, 2022
- Permalink
- michaelRokeefe
- Apr 19, 2006
- Permalink
Being a vivid DooM gamer from as early as circa 1993 and knowing that ID software was involved in this movie, I had high expectations.
But then the bad news started to appear... Rumours began emerging saying there would be no hell, no Mars and no teleports; all essential parts of the original games. "Ok, these are just rumours", I thought to myself, putting my faith in the games' development team, ID Software, which I thought would keep an eye on the production and keep it true to the games. Fortunately, later on it was confirmed that it would indeed be set on Mars and that kept my hopes up, even though they decided to go with B-rate actors.
After seeing the movie I felt disappointed, realizing ID Software had completely sold out itself. Nothing in this movie is worth the title "DooM", except for the props, the monsters and the weapons. The movie to me felt like a Resident Evil clone set on Mars and if you ask me this movie should have been titled "Resident Evil: In Mars... with Bigger Guns... and Bigger Monsters".
A major disappointment for me was that the producers decided to remove hell from the movie. The idea of the monsters originating from hell was an important aspect in the games. I'm guessing the producers decided to remove the hell part from the movie because of the large population of Christians in USA, thinking it would scare them away from the box office. Doing so, they completely betrayed the gamers, so their plan backfired badly.
Viruses, cheesy one-liners, untalented actors, and not staying true to the original games' themes compel me to give this movie 3 stars. One for the creative FPS scene, one for the monsters and one for the props.
If you ask me, this movie doesn't deserve to be called DooM!
But then the bad news started to appear... Rumours began emerging saying there would be no hell, no Mars and no teleports; all essential parts of the original games. "Ok, these are just rumours", I thought to myself, putting my faith in the games' development team, ID Software, which I thought would keep an eye on the production and keep it true to the games. Fortunately, later on it was confirmed that it would indeed be set on Mars and that kept my hopes up, even though they decided to go with B-rate actors.
After seeing the movie I felt disappointed, realizing ID Software had completely sold out itself. Nothing in this movie is worth the title "DooM", except for the props, the monsters and the weapons. The movie to me felt like a Resident Evil clone set on Mars and if you ask me this movie should have been titled "Resident Evil: In Mars... with Bigger Guns... and Bigger Monsters".
A major disappointment for me was that the producers decided to remove hell from the movie. The idea of the monsters originating from hell was an important aspect in the games. I'm guessing the producers decided to remove the hell part from the movie because of the large population of Christians in USA, thinking it would scare them away from the box office. Doing so, they completely betrayed the gamers, so their plan backfired badly.
Viruses, cheesy one-liners, untalented actors, and not staying true to the original games' themes compel me to give this movie 3 stars. One for the creative FPS scene, one for the monsters and one for the props.
If you ask me, this movie doesn't deserve to be called DooM!
Doom is not a masterpiece. However for what it is, a video game to movie franchise, it does a decent job. I was watching this film when suddenly my parents came in. They immediately sat down and watched the last 50 minutes with me. Surely that's an indication that the film itself wasn't too bad. My favourite part of the movie was the FPS scene. It showed a level of originality which has been absent in other Video game movies, such as the Resident Evil franchise. Another Pro was the casting of the Rock as Sarge and Karl Urban as Reaper. Both made decent performances in the movie.
The level of action was decent and I was happy that the film branched out a bit further than the 90 minute restriction. Furthermore I particularly enjoyed the fact that the makers decided to use models and suits, similar to Alien rather than rely on CGI. It again shows a level of originality that implies the makers wanted the film to stand out and was not there just to make money.
The cons were that overall the acting was not great. The other marines for example, other than The Rock and Urban, did not put in great performances and Rosamund Pike, I think was particularly bad. They seemed an ordinary group of guys thrust into battle. They just didn't seem to act like a group of elite, disciplined soldiers. It just didn't feel realistic.
Another con is that the film was not particularly scary. The actual game is deemed to be one of the scariest games out there to play. So it feels an opportunity missed that the film was not a terrifying roller-coaster ride filled with suspense and was more like a variety of action sequences containing grim monsters.
All in all Doom is a movie which is by no means perfect, is a decent film for what it is. A video game.
The level of action was decent and I was happy that the film branched out a bit further than the 90 minute restriction. Furthermore I particularly enjoyed the fact that the makers decided to use models and suits, similar to Alien rather than rely on CGI. It again shows a level of originality that implies the makers wanted the film to stand out and was not there just to make money.
The cons were that overall the acting was not great. The other marines for example, other than The Rock and Urban, did not put in great performances and Rosamund Pike, I think was particularly bad. They seemed an ordinary group of guys thrust into battle. They just didn't seem to act like a group of elite, disciplined soldiers. It just didn't feel realistic.
Another con is that the film was not particularly scary. The actual game is deemed to be one of the scariest games out there to play. So it feels an opportunity missed that the film was not a terrifying roller-coaster ride filled with suspense and was more like a variety of action sequences containing grim monsters.
All in all Doom is a movie which is by no means perfect, is a decent film for what it is. A video game.
- AdderCowley
- May 28, 2007
- Permalink
In a film world where so little video games are made into films with some kind of quality, DOOM is exceptional! It's not fantastic but it's not bad either as it has a few twists in it and the creatures really aren't bad. As a matter of fact a few of them really do represent what is in the video games. Especially the 1993 and 94 - 3.5 games you played on the pc back in the day. And the actors where very good as well.
You'd think filmmakers would be able to make some really good stories out of these games, but for some strange reason the majority of video game films are basically lousy! I would site the Resident Evil films that came from the video game concept, they seemed to have mastered a look and story of those games.
You'd think filmmakers would be able to make some really good stories out of these games, but for some strange reason the majority of video game films are basically lousy! I would site the Resident Evil films that came from the video game concept, they seemed to have mastered a look and story of those games.
- hdismuke-14274
- Apr 20, 2022
- Permalink
And I don't mean that in a bad way. If you wanna watch Aliens but you last watched it a bit too recently, then watch Doom. Firstly, it will satisfy your xeno-bloodlust. Secondly, the next time you wanna watch Aliens, you will REALLY wanna watch Aliens. And that's a good thing right? Damn right!
- SaltburnMikeTV
- Mar 23, 2021
- Permalink
- Professor_Mamba
- Jul 1, 2006
- Permalink
- BigHardcoreRed
- Oct 20, 2005
- Permalink
I must say I expected a lot worse, given all the very indecent films being made inspired by computer games, and especially this one, cause it is a game I played to death - pardon the pun - 10 years ago.
I was entertained, and I didn't crumble my toes as much as I usually do.
I usually dislike The Rock, cause I usually see him as a boneheaded wrestler with no acting potential what-so-ever, but in this film I must say he works out fantastically. Granted, it doesn't take a DeNiro to play the part, but he does it well and very convincingly. Cudos for that, I am even thinking about checking some of his new films out as well not.
Of course, I have to find something that annoyed me, and it was called "Rosamund Pike"....my god, how can an actress this boring and express less ever get a part in a film? I grabbed myself several times wondering this question. He seriously stinks.
But - to be honest, I think she was the only downer in this film. I didn't expect Oscar material and obviously that's not what I got either, but I got a lot of action and enjoyed all of it, especially the game-inspired shoot'em down/up scene, quite awesome carried out.
Cudos to everything...apart from Rosamund Pike 7/10
I was entertained, and I didn't crumble my toes as much as I usually do.
I usually dislike The Rock, cause I usually see him as a boneheaded wrestler with no acting potential what-so-ever, but in this film I must say he works out fantastically. Granted, it doesn't take a DeNiro to play the part, but he does it well and very convincingly. Cudos for that, I am even thinking about checking some of his new films out as well not.
Of course, I have to find something that annoyed me, and it was called "Rosamund Pike"....my god, how can an actress this boring and express less ever get a part in a film? I grabbed myself several times wondering this question. He seriously stinks.
But - to be honest, I think she was the only downer in this film. I didn't expect Oscar material and obviously that's not what I got either, but I got a lot of action and enjoyed all of it, especially the game-inspired shoot'em down/up scene, quite awesome carried out.
Cudos to everything...apart from Rosamund Pike 7/10
- filmfreak-5
- Nov 11, 2005
- Permalink
OK, where must I begin. I might as well point out the bad things first in respect to the game. Now, what the hell was with the whole 24th chromosome thing? Makes sense to me, yes. However, what the hell happened to, well, HELL? These monsters in the movie were respectable enough to relate to the imps and hell knights in the game, but WHERE THE HELL ARE THE FIRE AND PLAMSA BALLS?! Where are the flying lost souls? Where are the CACODEMONS? where's the F**kin demon lord and spider demon for crying out loud. Maybe I'm being a little vain and asking for too much, but the monsters in the game were different breeds, and all came from hell, not mutated. The whole plot was actually somewhat too similar to Resident Evil. It p*s*e* me off. They completely abandoned all that the game was based on plot wise.
Now, as for the characters, I'm glad that they made it a team effort in this, and the characters were funny at times, but they seemed so underdone, except for of course, Reaper and Sarge, even Rosamund Pike couldn't add to anything in the film. I know I'm being picky, but blood and guts game? One man fighting to stop hell (or team effort)? Hello?
The good things were that they stayed on Mars, they had the BFG in it, but it was so underused. I think the highlight of it was the first person thing, which I feel quite gypped on because of the short amount of time that we see it. I feel like they just put it in there for the game fans so they'd have their glory, and I am a die hard doom fan, but i feel somewhat insulted by it. They have had plenty of technology available to them to make this so much better, but they didn't use what they could've had available to them. Maybe if ID worked with them on it, it wouldn't have been such a disappointment, but this was just insulting to us gamers once again. however, a SMALL improvement when it comes to other VG movies. The action was however enjoyable, and the fight at the end made it fun, but I almost felt like Rock had to do it to show off that he still has his smack-down glory. Oh well, lets see if they don't butcher Halo. (God Forbid)
5/10
Now, as for the characters, I'm glad that they made it a team effort in this, and the characters were funny at times, but they seemed so underdone, except for of course, Reaper and Sarge, even Rosamund Pike couldn't add to anything in the film. I know I'm being picky, but blood and guts game? One man fighting to stop hell (or team effort)? Hello?
The good things were that they stayed on Mars, they had the BFG in it, but it was so underused. I think the highlight of it was the first person thing, which I feel quite gypped on because of the short amount of time that we see it. I feel like they just put it in there for the game fans so they'd have their glory, and I am a die hard doom fan, but i feel somewhat insulted by it. They have had plenty of technology available to them to make this so much better, but they didn't use what they could've had available to them. Maybe if ID worked with them on it, it wouldn't have been such a disappointment, but this was just insulting to us gamers once again. however, a SMALL improvement when it comes to other VG movies. The action was however enjoyable, and the fight at the end made it fun, but I almost felt like Rock had to do it to show off that he still has his smack-down glory. Oh well, lets see if they don't butcher Halo. (God Forbid)
5/10
- SnakeEclipse
- Oct 22, 2005
- Permalink
I never got to see this movie in the theater and recently got a chance to see the uncut edition. Honestly my very first impression of the movie was "this is cool". Then my fanboyism got a hold of me and realized it was not doom. Honestly if this movie would have been called "UAC Marines", "Viral Apocalypse" or something else random, this movie would have done A LOT better. It was actually really good for a sci-fi movie. Much in the vein of Resident Evil meets Mission To Mars. The thing that really made this movie not a movie about DOOM however was the lack of cohesive elements to the game story. In the game it's all about hell and demons and weird psycho doctors wanting to be more psycho. The movie focuses on an ancient race designing a machine called the ARC, this machine makes direct transport to mars possible. There seems to be a problem on mars and the UAC Marines are sent in to investigate. The next about an hour and forty five minutes is all about trying to figure out what happened and destroy the threat if any. It's your very standard sci-fi story but it achieves what it's meant to do. Entertain you for a moment. The movies main downfall is it is only LOOSELY based around the game that everyone wanted to see on film. However to appease the fanboys(girls?) out there DOOM does have a very unique experience visually in the form of a (about 5-10 minute) segment where the camera is completely shot in first person perspective. Which having never seen this EVER done in a film was really neat. A bit out of place where they chose to do it in my opinion but cool nonetheless. Overall if you want to see a really interesting take on a sci-fi movie checkout DOOM, if you are wanting a direct translation of the video game, I suggest you just keep playing the video game.
Visuals: 7 Sound: 9 Gore To Idiocy Factory: 3 (It's there and does what it needs to do. Not over the top or retarded to the point you just wonder why it's there in the first place) Cliché Catch Phrases: 5 (Standard Sci-Fi) Overall Score: 6
Visuals: 7 Sound: 9 Gore To Idiocy Factory: 3 (It's there and does what it needs to do. Not over the top or retarded to the point you just wonder why it's there in the first place) Cliché Catch Phrases: 5 (Standard Sci-Fi) Overall Score: 6
I have to say for a movie based on a video game it was not bad. Acting is pretty much what you'd expect, special effects are a little better than the actual game :/ Surprisingly though they did manage to come up with some semblance of a plot, so it wasn't a complete waste of time. Interesting direction, and if you've played the game before you can't help but laugh at how well cast the main character is, the resemblance is undeniable. Whatever, any excuse to look at The Rock for awhile will do. The gore was not at all believable (what did I expect?)a good movie for younger teen boys though, as they kept the content appropriate for their target market. I wouldn't watch it again, but it was alright.
- themullenfamily
- Apr 4, 2006
- Permalink
I, unlike other people, did not find this movie to be a disappointment. I didn't go into this movie with high expectations. A movie based on a video game will never have an amazing story, or exceptionally good acting worth an academy award. A movie like this will have good action, reasonable suspense, and be the type of movie you can watch again and enjoy it just as much as the first time. For the most part, this movie lives up to those expectations. It has good action sequences, it is a re-watchable movie, and the storyline isn't quite as bad as I thought it would be. Sure, they changed stuff from the video game during the transition, but it still worked, and you cant expect everything in the video game to work as a movie, they had to change some things to help the cinematic view of it. I would recommend this movie to anyone who wants to watch a movie with solid action sequences and anyone who is looking for some fun with their friends.
- boolya3456
- Jan 28, 2006
- Permalink
My expectations for this one were quite low: Just a cheap remake of a shooter computer game. Watched it on Netflix because "I had already paid for it". But it was not so bad at all. Cast was interesting with some good picks, the character buildup of the marine team better and more carefully don than in the average action/horror flick and the atmosphere of the game well captured. Looked a lot like Doom 3 from the good old days.
- raoul-naegele
- Oct 4, 2021
- Permalink