Doom - The Movie Reviewed

[page=Dude! This would make an awesome movie!…]

Image Courtesy of the official Doom Movie web site
Super Mario Brothers! Tomb Raider! Street Fighter! Double Dragon! The House of the Dead! Aliens Versus Predator! Alone in the Dark! Resident Evil! Mortal Kombat : Annihilation, just a few examples of what a fantastic idea converting games into films is!. . . sorry I know, I was even struggling to keep a straight face as I wrote that.

Let’s be honest, game to film conversions are awful. The very few saving graces we’ve seen in any of those titles, can only really be appreciated by die hard fans of the subject matter, most of whom will have left the cinema before those points come anyway. Maybe it’s the crews fault that they turn out so poor, or maybe game’s just don’t make good films. Either way, no matter how many times you sit back and think “Wow, this would make an awesome movie” there’s little proof out there that that’s ever going to be the case.

Despite previous abominations made in an attempt to adapt games to the silver screen, there is still hope!

But to be frank, quality is not really an issue. Whether the script is loyal to the game (or actually any good at all) is never really going to trouble studios, when they know quite objectively that fans of the games will flock either way, just in the hope that their favorite characters and enemies will make an appearance. Face it, there is little if any need for a film conversion of a game to actually be any good. The interactive, depth and fun value are already there, installed on someone’s home PC or sitting quietly next to the latest game console.

The entire reason behind a film conversions existence is only to capitalize on the popularity a game receives, and the only way to truly do that is for the film to be attractive, released while the game is still very popular, and have ‘some’ tie in with the original title. To achieve these factors, an interesting script and quality actors are not fundamental needs, which is why so many attempts thus far have been shallow and empty. To realise a game’s potential, and accurately portray that on the silver screen takes time, effort and a true loyalty to the games style and values. For a studio that just wants to make a quick and easy buck, this is far too much hassle and expense.

Hollywood is slowly working is way through the gaming medium in search of titles it can recreate (and subsequently destroy) and it was only a matter of time before they layed their dirty, smelly hands, on Doom.

To be honest, I don't THINK we were meant to take them seriously anyway
[page=Can you smell, what The Rock is Cookin’?…. yeah, is that bacon?]

DO YOU EVER SMILE DWAYNE?!?

For many, hopes that the film version of Doom might actually be any good were pretty much shit upon when it was made public that The Rock would be making an appearance as one of the central characters. This coupled with the fact that the 3 key features of Doom:

1, Space Marines
2, Demons from Hell
3, Set on Mars

Were being replaced with SURPRISE, SURPRISE!:

1, Swat Team
2, Genetically mutated people
3, Set on somewhere other than mars

I was one of the many individuals signing the anti-doom movie online petition from as many computers as possible once I heard about these changes. The fact that Universal wanted the film shot, produced and on show within a matter of months didn’t fill us with much hope either. Eventually though after some silence, it seemed that there might be potential after all.

The script had once again been changed. They were space marines! It WAS going to be set on mars! And although the genetic factor was still there, it was promised that monsters created as a result were going to be produced in actual life constumes (by the legendary Stan Winston workshop) as opposed to constantly using CGI, and that they would be instantly recognizable as their ingame personalities. Pinky, the Imps and the Hell knight were all to feature, as well as a four minute First Person sequence and an appearance from everyone’s favorite weapon of mass destruction, the BFG.

"I swear I caught this Demon once, and it was THIS BIG!"
Early snapshots from the set also expressed a clear loyalty to the games style, with UAC logos, colour schemes and general lighting keeping in very close connection to what we were subjected to in Doom 3.

If this wasn’t enough, interviews with cast and crew that revealed everyone working on the film was an avid fan of the game, meaning there was a collective wish to keep it as accurate and true as possible. Now although this was never going to be enough to get Doom an Oscar for best picture, it was a positive sign that it might not actually be all that bad.

The waiting is finally over, Doom is here! The last couple of months have seen numerous previews and features covering expectations from the film and gaming press alike. But this is what it’s all amounted to. Is it a horrible mess (which depending on how you look at it could be a good or bad thing)? Is it loyal to the game? Does The Rock, Rock?? Let’s see!

[page=IT DOESN'T SUCK!! HAHAHA IT DOESN'T SUCK!!]

Now I'm no expert, but I'd say that looks an awful lot like Mars
If you’re not really bothered about all the nitty gritty details and just want to know how the movie is on the whole, read no further than this paragraph. It’s official DOOM IS ACTUALLY QUITE GOOD. It is by far the best game conversion we’ve yet to see (even though that’s not really saying much) and has done an admirable job of adapting Doom to the context of film, while ‘keeping it real’ for fans of the game. There is nothing in this movie you won’t have seen in a thousand others, and your bog standard movie goer won’t be won over by the lack of originality in the film. But despite that, unlike other game conversions Doom could actually stand up as a movie in its own right (be it a very generic, 'seen it all before' one), and not just an adaptation from a game. If you wish to know exactly why, read on. If you’d rather wait and see for yourself though and are just wondering whether its worth the cash, leave now safe in the knowledge that while it won’t be fighting the likes of Jaws in terms of all time classics, it definitely brings a new gleam of hope in terms of future movies based on games.

The movie kicks off in a very similar way to the Doom 3 E3 trailers of 2003. We have a nice large overview of mars (smoothly transitioned from the Universal globe), before slowly closing in on the planet and into the Olduvai research facility through a window. As soon as we’re inside, it’s obvious that things aren’t going particularly well. Scientists are running like Rats on crack through the accurately recreated industrial corridors of the facility, being torn to pieces and screaming bloody Mary along the way. Fans will rejoice when they hear the first piece of dialogue, which comes from a female scientist who’s impending death is rather more imminent than she would like, screaming “MR CARMACK!!” (for those who don’t know, Carmack is the surname of ID’s project lead and one of the brains behind the Doom franchise), and this isn’t the only little nod given towards Dooms origins. I won’t give away any spoilers, but fans should keep their eyes and ears open throughout the entire film. After locking himself into a room, it isn’t long before a distress call is sent out, and the door is torn away in a style not unlike the introduction to Pinky in Doom 3.

[page=KILL EM ALL! + Story Anyone?]

How many people are betting you'll soon see models of these guys on Quake and Doom deathmatch?

It’s a nice, straight forward way to open the film, and pretty much sets the pace for what else is to come. Andrzej Bartkowiak (known for Romeo Must Die and Cradle 2 the grave among others) might not be the ideal choice of director for films with a strong, underlying moral message in them, but this isn’t what Doom is about. It’s about big, ugly beasts, loud noises and lots, LOTS of gunfire. The latter is provided by the movies lead characters, a team of space marines headed up by Sarge (who bares a loose but apparent similarity to Sergeant Kelly from Doom 3 in more ways than just the lack of hair) played by The Rock. While The Rock may not be the most respected actor out there (thanks to the WWE, possibly the lamest acting school on the planet), he pulls this role off fantastically. Sure you may argue that there’s little character there that he could go wrong with anyway, but what he does, he does remarkably well. I got the feeling that this is the movie The Rock has really been waiting to do. He’s not the nice guy, he’s not the funny guy, he’s not the poor misunderstood guy. He’s the hardass, the take no prisoners god of death who will fill anything he must with lead in order to complete the mission, and you can tell he’s loving every minute of it.

Balance is bought to Sarge’s overkill mentality through Grimm (or ‘The Doom guy’ as gamers will recognize him) played by Karl Urban, of the Bourne Supremacy and the final two Lord of The Rings films. Grimm is uneasy about making the trip to Mars, understandably because his parents were both killed in an accident there. There’s also the fact that it’s also the workplace of his sister Sam Grimm, played by Rosamund Pike (the nice girl turned nasty in James Bond : Die Another Day). How on earth the studio ever managed to get a star from the latest incarnation of Pride and Prejudice into Doom is beyond me, but they must have some serious talents of negotiation. What’s more amazing is how she manages to pull off the difficult task of explaining what’s actually going on, while maintaining some dignity. I think I also speak for everyone when I thank the scriptwriters for not trying to incorporate some dodgy love story into the film. While there’s little room/need for character development throughout, there is a sense of genuine care and concern between Grimm and his sister. Though it might not be much, this does provide some sort of emotional balance to the film, as opposed to just being 100% muzzle flare and shrapnel all the time.

Yeah it's all well and good having a fancy wheelchair mate, but do you see any ramps?? ha! Score one for me!

Erm, story anyone?
So yeah anyway, enough about the characters, what’s actually going on? So far a distress call has been sent out, and a bunch of marines with emotional issues are on their way to mars to find out what’s going on. Well, that’s pretty much all you need to know. The story basically revolves around an extra cromosone found in some human DNA, which basically defines that persons disposition towards good or evil. While it provides people with unlimited strength, and handy things such as being able to heal instantly, there’s also a few side effects. One of which is the physical mutation some of the subjects seem to be going through, turning them into rather nasty looking monsters with an attitude problem.

William Shakespeare this is not, questionable interpretation of Aliens, Evil Dead and 28 Days Later, it very well may be. But to pick apart Doom because of it’s story is to completely miss the point. You can call that a cop out on mine and the movies part, but the fact is while some effort should be made for the film to have a decent enough story, die hard fans of Doom are there for the atmosphere, the monsters, and to feel the same adrenaline rush they got from the game from a new perspective. In this, for me Doom succeeds.

Hey if this is how you gotta look to be near this lady, Genetical mutation is fiiiine by me!
[page=What you see is what you get + Hell through the eyes of the Doom Guy]

Hmmm, this is not Beethoven's 2nd, so I'm guessing he isn't going to be content with just peeing on whoever's down there
As mentioned before, most of the monsters have been produced physically, using puppetry and costumes. Sad, pathetic, whiney little morons (most of whom are probably still waiting to get laid) will no doubt complain that the monsters look cheesy, but I for one can’t glorify the team enough for making this decision. While they do look different to their ingame counterparts, the monsters are instantly recognizable, and you get the same sense of absolute strength and power from the Hell Knight in this as you did in Doom 3 when we first saw one throw a scientist into a wall. In terms of the monsters though, my personal favourite was pinky. In human form, he’s a scientist with a rather funky, space age wheel chair (although the Pinky we’re used to had mechanical legs, I think wheels are a fair enough sacrifice to make for continuity). But when the poor bloke becomes infected and mutates, you’ll have a hard job distinguishing Pinky in the game, from Pinky in the film. The shape, the colour, the unquestionable force with which the beats attacks Grimm pays greater homage to the game than any amount story ever could. As you can imagine for obivous reasons, Pinky is generated through CGI, but they could’nt have done a better job. While Pinky was on the screen I couldn’t stop smiling, and while the reason for this may be lost on your more conventional movie goer, I don’t know how any self respecting Doom who fan could not feel complete awe while Pinky’s on screen.

The physical existence of Doom is not just in the characters though. The whole place ‘feels’ like it should. The UAC logos are accurate, the electronic door panels and computer screens bare a remarkable similarity to those found in Doom 3 (I think I might’ve even seen the Doom font once or twice throughout), and the general style of lighting is extremely loyal to the dark, dank settings of Doom 3 as well. The only thing that felt a little out of place was the section underground where the marines are walking through water, but I’m assuming that this is to compensate for the lack of DECENT water shaders found in Doom 3 (PWNED!!!). All in all though the Doom movie really has bought physical life to the game. The style, consistency and overall atmosphere are a fitting homage to the game that defined a generation of gamers.

But, it would be a strange little irony if a movie based upon a video game, contained no computer generated visual effects, like huge blue explosions. Have no fear! Big shiny things are indeed here! Although on the whole CGI has been kept to a bare minimal (whatever could’ve been actually built, has been), the few times it makes an appearance it’s of high quality. The most notable is when Sarge is finally given the chance to fire our beloved BFG (although officially named the Bio Forge Gun, Sarge fittingly refers to as THE BIG FUCKING GUN!!!), which fills the screen with an incredibly vibrant blast and leaves the surroundings tattered, truly deserving Sarge’s vocal reaction of “Holy shit!”. Although the BFG doesn’t get NEARLY enough screen time, when it’s up there’s never a dull moment, and I’d expect nothing less of ID than to insist their next version of the gun (whatever game it may appear in) is even more deadly than it is in the film.

Hell through the eyes of the Doom guy

Will Super Doom 3 look like this? I hope so!!
Doom was the game that popularized the First person shooter genre, so while in theory it’s an excellent idea to incorporate that into a film, it’s also quite a big risk.

Despite what The Rock claims I’m positive I have seen this done on TV/Film before, infact I think it may have been an episode of the A-Team, but either way, trying to make this work in a 4 minute shot was never going to be easy. Why do I say that? Because the vast majority of people will probably view it is a cheesy, desperate attempt to appeal to the gamers, and will as a result probably dislike the entire film. Call me a pessimist, but it happens. To be quite honest I wasn’t at all sure how it would work either. As much as I liked the sound of it, I couldn’t help but feel that it’d come off very cheap. This is why I’m still a student, and not at the head of a multi-million dollar grossing empire, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

It might just be me, but I feel they pulled off this sequence very well, and far better than I could have expected. It’s slick, gritty, very true to the game and could even pass off as an in game demo for a future version of Doom. Yes you may argue that it just looks like the front seat of a haunted House ride, with kids in costumes jumping out of nowhere, but really, WHO CARES?? Just ride with it!I don’t want to give away all the details of what happens, because it’s one of those things you should really just give a chance without knowing too much about. But the final section of the sequence makes the whole dam thing worth watching, and for the most part should overshadow any complaints fans of the game will have towards the film in general.

[page=The final word]

THE FINAL WORD

No, Doom is not going to convince straight forward movie lovers that game/film conversions are fantastic, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction. To be fair, it’s been a good twelve years since Doom and it’s story were released, and the number of films/games involving stories along similar lines as Doom must be in there millions, so to complain about it’s lack of originality is not entirely fair. From the average Joe perspective, Doom will probably be received as a very ‘take it or leave it’ film, but that’s like being given the Nobel piece prize in comparison to the reaction most films based on games have received.

From the gamer’s point of view, while many will be nit picking at every conceivable detail, others will enjoy the film, and accept it as a very late but welcomed ray of light, in what has up until now been the very dark tunnel, of the game to film genre. While it doesn’t stick entirely to the plot of the game, the amount of detail and effort made to bring what is the same to life more than compensates. There’s always something to be looking out for that you’ll remember from the games, and the dedication that both the cast and crew have obviously tackled this project with is what has kept Doom from just becoming another poor game to film adaptation.

Hopefully, Doom will convince studios and directors, to atleast approach game to movie concepts with a little more creativity and enthusiasm. Plans for a sequel are already well under way, and it seems Hollywood is finally taking the potential of games seriously, after Peter Jacksons production team (behind the visual splender of the Lord of The Rings trilogy) has been hired to tackle the Halo film. Doom can only come as further more encouragement that the potential and power of games doesn’t just exist on a hard disk drive, but that with the right frame of mind, dedication and perspective, they can also be adapted to the silver screen with amazing strength. While Doom may not embody this completely, despite what anyone says it is the step in the right direction we’ve all being waiting for, and that's coming from someone who was just as sceptical about the film as anyone else.

The only problem currently facing us is a certain Mr Uwe Boll, whose lack of vision and understanding of both the film and game mediums has already put a bullet in the head of Alone in the Dark and House of the Dead. While this is not the place for personal attacks and lothesome propganda, you can all rest assured that if anyone is going to totally destroy ANY faith that the general public have in films based on games, it’s him. Having already created two absolute abominations (this is not personal opinion, it's a FACT), he’s currently putting the finishing touches to Bloodrayne, aswell as pre-production work on Far Cry, Fear Effect, Hunter: The Reckoning and Dungeon Siege. Heaven forbid that he should win the rights to Half Life and Metal Gear Solid! I could be wrong, he may have learnt from his earlier mistakes, but it doesn’t seem likely. If the genre is to prove that it does in fact hold the same potential as others, it needs to be approached with qualities that his films obviously deem completely inappropriate. But you have to comend the man for his enthusiasm, and maybe with more creative input from the teams who built the original games, that could be harnessed to create something good. God dam I find it hard to be diplomatic!

But anyway, let’s not dwell on what could be. The fact is, while it's not the holy grail many wished/hoped it would be, Doom is a good sign for films based on games, from both the perspectve of average movie fans and gamers alike. Let’s just hope that future studios can continue from this with the right attitude, because if they do, we’ll have a very bright future ahead.

For more info on the Doom movie, please visit
www.doommovie.com