The Story
After a nifty subversion of the Universal logo, Doom kicks off in the year 2046, two decades after the discovery of a portal between the Nevada desert and the planet Mars. The portal now leads directly into a genetics lab where something has gone horribly wrong, resulting in a pile of corpses.
Sarge (The Rock) seals off the portal back to Earth and takes his elite group of Marines in to kick some monster ass. He’s helped by pretty Dr Sam Grimm (Rosamund Pike), who also happens to be Urban’s sister. This sets up a back story that wouldn’t be out of place in Team America.
The Good
The moment you set eyes on the BFG (a very large gun to put it politely), it’s clear where Doom’s priorities lie. As such, it’s a decent tribute to the game itself. There are also several nods toward video games in general.
The script itself is fairly dull and could have used a bit more humour. The Rock is as watchable as ever but the biggest surprise is that Pike and Urban manage to transcend their thinly written roles and emerge as genuinely human characters. Although, that said, Pike is still forced to wear a tight-fitting top / no bra combo and run around in chilly corridors.
The Bad
The film isn’t especially scary and the suspense evaporates once we see the monsters, but there are some good moments and the BFG is a joy to behold – the sequence where the camera lovingly pans around it as Sarge checks it out is a classic of its kind. Similarly, the nano-walls are a brilliant idea that should immediately be incorporated into all future sci-fi flicks.
The Conclusion
In short, Doom could have been better but it could also have been a whole lot worse. As such, it’s an enjoyable, instantly forgettable shoot-em-up flick with a nice line in gore and a couple of decent twists. Worth seeing if you like that sort of thing.
Ryan O'Nan, Michael Weston, Arielle Kebbel, Andrew...
Jennifer Lawrence
Billy Clarke, Jack Gordon, Jonathan Hansler, Harry...
,
James Franco, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz
This week Matthew Turner gives us his thoughts on the Total Recall film trailer, the A Kid with a Bike DVD release and all the latest film releases.
A comedy drama slash musical about a pair of musicians going on a road trip.
The director behind Killer Joe talks about working with Matthew McConaughey and the notorious fried chicken scene.