Doom (2005) Review

Action Horror based on the widely popular Doom games.

Doom was directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak and stars Dwayne Johnson (from The Scorpion King), Karl Urban (from Priest, And Soon The Darkness and Ghost Ship) and Razaaq Adoti (from Resident Evil: Apocalypse).

No one gets out alive.

Directed by Andrez Bartkowiak and starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson back when he was still credited as The Rock, Karl Urban, Rosamund Pike and Doug Jones, Doom falls into the category of another terrible game to film adaption and feels more like Resident Evil in space than a Doom film. By taking more inspiration from Doom 3 and creating a new storyline separate from the games the film tries to be more horror with action elements instead of action with horror elements. In doing this the film falls flat in almost every way.

Cheesy dialogue with a ridiculous plot prevents this film from being so bad it’s good and not even the cast can save it. This is one of the last films that The Rock did where he wasn’t just playing himself and he actually felt like a Sargent despite the over acting and the bad lines. Karl Urban is fantastic as “Reaper” and is one of the only good things about the film, proving that in video games/comic adaptations he is the go to man. One of the best scenes of the film comes from Karl and a homage to the games that the film is supposedly based on. Rosamund Pike is wasted and serves only to create conflict for Reaper and to spout exposition to keep the audience clued in on the not so difficult to understand plot.

While featuring many references to the game, and including trying to give a back story to the demons, which makes the demons feel boring and cliché and takes away from the dread you felt when coming up against them in the game, and the sense of power you got when finally defeating them. Even for 2005, the effects aren’t that well done, and looked horribly outdated making the sequences very jarring to watch. Most of the characters, minus Reaper and to an extent, Sarge, are not fleshed out and serve only as cannon fodder, not evolving past their basic personalities, which the film even references by use of their names, meaning that when they are killed off, you don’t feel anything for them, or even notice that they are no longer there.

Worth Watching?

Doom serves as a Doom film in name only, with few references scattered throughout, and isn’t worth watching if you are a fan of the Doom games, nor is it a good starting point if you want to experience anything Doom like. I’d Give Doom (2005) a miss.

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