2008 Woodie Awards
You Call This Doom? Where Are the Hell Demons?
Christopher Erat
Issue date: 10/24/05 Section: Entertainment
Doom can be summed up with two comments I heard while walking out of the movie theater.
As the credits were rolling and the line of teenagers were pushing their way out, a middle-aged couple sat calmly and talked about the film. "What a disaster," the husband declared. His wife laughed, shaking her head at the last 100 minutes of her life. They proceeded to put on their fur coats and shawls and walk out.
A short while later, I overheard a group of teenage guys "discussing" the film. "Yeah, man. That was $%#*ing cool. When he took out that gun...that was hardcore. And that $%#*ing chainsaw? Off the hook!" They all nodded in agreement - and then threw up peace signs.
There you have it. The only two perspectives anyone can possibly take on Doom.
The reason for this is simple - those who have played the games before will at least find the movie mildly entertaining, while those who have not will wonder why the heck they wasted their money on such rubbish.
However, some who love both the Doom videogames and movies in general (like myself) find themselves in a dilemma - what side do you take? Do you forget the fact that the movie is incredibly sub-par in almost every aspect, or do you embrace the fact that Doom has finally made it to the big screen and, like the games, is an all-out gore-fest?
I am sorry to say that the movie-lover inside of me has won. Doom sucks.
Now, I won't go into much detail with the plot. If you do not already know what Doom is all about, you shouldn't see the movie, plain and simple. Alas, here's a quick summary: guys, guns, monsters, Mars, The Rock, the BFG, death, death, and more death. I hope that helped.
Honestly, Doom could have been so much worse. But it could also have been so much better! Why bother with uninteresting characters, corny one-liners, and bad actors? And why did the writers deviate from the videogame storyline so much? The film is supposed to be about a gate to Hell being opened and, quite literally, all Hell breaking loose. It isn't. What happened?
As the credits were rolling and the line of teenagers were pushing their way out, a middle-aged couple sat calmly and talked about the film. "What a disaster," the husband declared. His wife laughed, shaking her head at the last 100 minutes of her life. They proceeded to put on their fur coats and shawls and walk out.
A short while later, I overheard a group of teenage guys "discussing" the film. "Yeah, man. That was $%#*ing cool. When he took out that gun...that was hardcore. And that $%#*ing chainsaw? Off the hook!" They all nodded in agreement - and then threw up peace signs.
There you have it. The only two perspectives anyone can possibly take on Doom.
The reason for this is simple - those who have played the games before will at least find the movie mildly entertaining, while those who have not will wonder why the heck they wasted their money on such rubbish.
However, some who love both the Doom videogames and movies in general (like myself) find themselves in a dilemma - what side do you take? Do you forget the fact that the movie is incredibly sub-par in almost every aspect, or do you embrace the fact that Doom has finally made it to the big screen and, like the games, is an all-out gore-fest?
I am sorry to say that the movie-lover inside of me has won. Doom sucks.
Now, I won't go into much detail with the plot. If you do not already know what Doom is all about, you shouldn't see the movie, plain and simple. Alas, here's a quick summary: guys, guns, monsters, Mars, The Rock, the BFG, death, death, and more death. I hope that helped.
Honestly, Doom could have been so much worse. But it could also have been so much better! Why bother with uninteresting characters, corny one-liners, and bad actors? And why did the writers deviate from the videogame storyline so much? The film is supposed to be about a gate to Hell being opened and, quite literally, all Hell breaking loose. It isn't. What happened?