Doom: Unrated
Starring: The Rock, Karl Urban, Ben Daniels, Razaaq Adoti, Richard Brake, Al Weaver, Dexter Fletcher, Yao Chin, Robert Russell, Daniel York
Directed by: Andrzej Bartkowiak

Doom: Unrated Reviewed by Paul Heath

Set in the future (2046 to be exact), DOOM tells the story of a group of an elite squad who are summoned to Mars to save a group of scientists and their work, while at the same time exterminate the creatures that threaten it. The Rock plays 'Sarge', the leader of the group of Marines, which is named the Rapid Response Tactical Squad (RRTS). Karl Urban plays 'Reaper', a soldier who is also conducting a personal mission as we discover that his parent died on the Olduvai settlement on Mars, and that his twin sister (Rosamund Pike) still remains there.

Well, I didn't expect all that much from DOOM. It's had a very negative response from audiences in the US, and the film did even worse when the critics got their mitts on it. Ten minutes into the film, and we're in familiar territory, and a journey that we feel that we've traveled on before. The dire video-game adaptation, ALIEN VS PREDATOR is a perfect example, a film I must add that I despised.

We have a perfect setup, with a bunch of scientists trapped on a remote planet, and some bad-ass creatures terrorizing them. We the are transported back to earth to find that The Rock and his 'crew' have been summoned to travel to said Mars research centre to exterminate the problem and bring back the scientists and their years of work alive. So, off 'Rock' goes with his team of Marine. Here we see Karl Urban in one of his first leading roles (although judging by the cover, you'd think that The Rock has top billing with his face plastered all over it, though Urban indeed does get that honour in the credits). Urban you will recognize from his roles in GHOST SHIP, the LORD OF THE RINGS sequels, and more recently THE BOURNE SUPREMACY. We also have Richard Brake (BATMAN BEGINS) as Portman (the dude you're supposed to hate in this) and The Kid, played by Al Weaver, the wimp of the group who we're all supposed to root for. Once we get to the facility, we're greeted by another recognizable face, Dexter Fletcher, who plays the character of Pinky (with American accent). Fletcher is known for his roles in the recent South African heist film STANDER and more commonly for LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELLS. Rosamund Pike as I said earlier, pops up as Reaper's sis also. So we have a reasonable cast, but is the flick actually any good?

Well, go back and look up all the reviews from the cinema runs and you will find that critics mauled it. Hook it up on the IMDB and you'll see something quite different on the 'user comments' section. What does that tell you. Well, from my point of view it seems that the fans are digging this movie, despite the film flopping at the box-office (budget to BO take terms). What did I think? Well, I drop myself somewhere in between, edging slightly towards the positive. DOOM is actually a really entertaining little flick, and has more to thanks films like DAY OF THE DEAD for rather than the likes of ALIENS VS PREDATOR. The setup of the film is rather drawn out, but once you get to around half way in, things take a turn for the better. The action comes thick and fast, and there's enough blood on show o drown the planet. The Rock continues his Arnie takeover bid and is really good as 'Sarge'. His character is the centre point of the whole film despite his second billing, and he also provides some truly dark, dark areas of the movie too. Urban is also decent as the wannabee action hero and carries his role off very well. Pike provides the only real female character in the film, but she's good (though safe) in her role as Sarah Grimm (we're along way from Pride and Prejudice here!).

There's always a really cool actin set piece in any good action flick, and DOOM is no different with the first person shooter, or FPS sequence. This is a huge nod back to the video game, and an inclusion that indeed as a must. The fans would have gone mad if they left this out. It's well executed and original in this environment. If not a huge cinematic achievement, then it's certainly a huge visual effects and cinematographic one. At five minutes long it's a scene to push you home cinema equipment at the very least.

Not being a fan of the game, or indeed pretty much of any of director Andrzej Bartkowiak's work in the past (this dude is responsible for films like EXIT WOUNDS and CRADLE 2 THE GRAVE), DOOM was actually a big surprise, as I did actually really enjoy it. I remember turning to my partner towards the end of the film and saying - '...It's quite good isn't it.' It's fun - mindless fun albeit, but one of those films that is sure to do well on the home formats.

Don't listen to those stuck-in-the-mud critics, DOOM is well worth a watch.

Onto the extras. Well, we have a few here. The disc opens with a couple of trailers. We have promos for other upcoming Universal releases Jarhead, First Descent, Battlestar Galactica and Brick.

We have "Basic Training", a look into the training that most of the principal cast went through to prepare for the movie, This is basically a boys with their toys feature. See The Rock and co. playing with guns and learning how to move lke a real Marine. It's quite entertaining to see the cast away from the movie, and there are interviews with most of them, including the British ex-miltary guy, Tom McAdams, who trained them.

Next up, "Rock Formation", a short little feature to show who the make-up guys transformed the ex-WWE wrestler into the monster that he becomes in the end. We have an interview with chief make-up guy, John Rosengraft, and makeup artist Jeff Dawn who stand before the camera detailing how they did the stages of the transformation on The Rock as he sits in the chair before them. Good little feature if you're into prosthetics and special effects make-up.

Next we have a look at the creature effects, provided by the famous Stan Winston Creature Workshop, the guys that worked on Jurassic Park and Terminator 2. In "Master Monster Makers", we get a 10 minute look at how these guys came up with the designs for the many creatures in the movie. There are interviews with all of the team that made the creatures for the movie, and the actors that got to wear the masks and body suits on set. Another good little featurette.

Next is the "First Person Shooter Sequence". This is basically a look behind the scenes of the centre piece action sequence in the film, and features interviews with Lorenzo Di Bonaventura and visual effects supervisor Jon Farhat who also directed the entire sequence. There's a good little technical information here as to how they pieced together the whole sequence, and we're also treated to the entire segment from the movie afterwards too. I couldn't tell if this was different from the one contained in the film. It looked the same to me.

We have another 15 minute or so look at "Doom Nation", which explores the roots of the game back to 1993 with the original game developers ID. There are interviews with some of the games creators and presenters from the TV show 'G4'. A good insight if you've never heard of Doom and want to know more.

Then we have "Game On", which features some dude talking over footage from DOOM 3. Here, some handy hints are dished out as well as strategies as to how to kick arse on the latest version of the game.

Lastly, for all those folk out there who have an X-Box, here's a playable level of DOOM 3. All you have to do is bung the DVD into your console and you can play away!

That's it. A good little package considering that the type of viewer that rents or buys Doom will not be all that demanding on extra features. From a movie enthusiast's point of view, I was a little surprised to see absolutely ZERO input from director Bartowiak on the disc. Not one little comment or interview. Weird.

So, to roundup. DOOM is a rental must and a retail recommendation too as there's a little something fro everyone. This UNRATED edition is a little longer than the original version (I suspect it has something to do with the amounts of gore involved), but I'd push for this version if I had a choice. Better than expected.

GRADE: B

Paul Heath