Doom (Widescreen\Unrated Edition)

Before you watch a film that was based on a videogame, do you get that feeling of hesitation gnawing at the back of your brain?  Well that’s because as a sub-genre, those movies don’t give good, long lasting results.  Well don’t get your hopes up, because Doom does nothing to defy the odds.  The film itself belongs in that throwaway reputation that the Mortal Kombat’s, and Resident Evil’s joined long ago. But that’s not to say that this DVD offering has no worth to it. In fact, this might be the shining example of how a DVD can make a bad movie worth the buy.

If you’ve seen Resident Evil, Aliens, and Predator, then you’re already seen Doom.  After a few minutes you can see how Doom pulls influence from each of the aforementioned titles.  The helicopter ride that The Rock and his team of marines take is almost identical to a scene in Predator.  One marine looks up a ceiling tile in an identical shot to the one Michael Biehn does in Aliens.  And if you can’t see the similarities of a combat team entering a desolate lab to face killer mutated zombies, then you’re on your own. 

Videogame films are B movies at best, so throw the acting out the window.  The Rock really overdoes it as his character “The Sarge”, as well as most of the supporting players as his marine unit.  I think Karl Urban is the only talent that gives the film some substance.  Still, the movie is a decent ride when the action gets underway and the blood a gore lets loose.

First up is the image quality, which I would say in Doom’s case is not very good.  The film (like the game) plays in dark rooms, where visibility to what is going on is low.  The DVD transfer doesn’t do much to enhance this experience either, but the film is still viewable.  The shining jewel in the package is undoubtedly the sound, which pleasures your speakers in all the right ways.  This is, hands down one of the best English Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks I’ve ever listened to.

This single disc offering is really crammed with more Special Features than one would expect to find, and they’re all pretty decent to watch.  Basic Training is pretty self-explanatory, as we watch the actors on the marine team, get trained by a military expert before filming begins.  In Rock Formation, you get a makeup effects lesson as The Rock is made up for his scenes near the end of the film (the downside to this feature is that it gives away a plot point about his character, so make sure you watch the film first), and Master Monster Makers goes even further into the design and execution of the costumes for the creatures for the film.  Too bad there’s no commentary to be found by Karl Urban or The Rock, who tends to be funnier on interviews than he is in a scene.

Then we get to what all the hype was about for this movie in the first place, the First Person Shooter sequence.  Doom, the game, essentially was the first game to utilize this style of game-play, so as a nod to gamers, the filmmakers incorporated a five minute sequence into the film from a first person shooter perspective.  The special feature delves into the creation, and the filming of the sequence, followed by the sequence itself (which was supposed to be the extended version, but I personally didn’t see a difference).  Although the sequence is neat in idea, I don’t think it belongs in a film.  It feels too artificial, and breaks you away from the suspension of disbelief.

For gamers, DOOM Nation explores the history of the Doom games, and its impact on fans and videogames in general.  There is also a segment called Game On!, which shows clips of Doom 3 with tips and funny commentary from someone who is obviously a Doom fan.  Then there is the demo of Doom 3 which is pretty cool to play (if you have an Xbox, fortunately I did) considering that they give you a good portion of the game already crammed with other DVD footage.

So, there it is.  It’s got some good.  It’s got some bad.  Image is below average, but the sound is killer.  Movie is bad, but the features come through for you.  It’s a DVD enigma.