Doom (2005)
Directed by: Andrzej Bartkowiak
Premise: An adaptation of the popular video game. A group of Marines, led by former wrestler The Rock, are sent to a space station on a rescue mission and encounter alien monsters.
What Works: Those looking for their fix of professional wrestlers using foul language and big guns will be more than happy.
What Doesn’t: The film fails at nearly every level and is a walking cliché. The scares are very predictable. The action is shot in such low lighting and edited together so sloppily that it is hard to tell what is going on. The story, which in the video game genre is generally thin anyhow, makes no effort to create a dramatic rise and fall or even make sense. The filmmakers also get an F for their biology research; the crux of the story’s mystery is in the assertion that humans have twenty-three chromosomes and the aliens have introduced a twenty-fourth. In truth, humans have forty-six chromosomes. What finally really sinks the picture is that it apparently believes that it is a serious science fiction film and the lack of humor kills any enjoyable elements.
Bottom Line: Doom is rip off of films like Aliens and Resident Evil but it’s not nearly as entertaining. The Rock has made some good pictures (The Rundown) but this is not one of them.
Episode: #74 (November 6, 2005)