DVD Review: Doom- Unrated Extended Edition
When I first heard they were making a DOOM movie, I was excited. Movies based on videogames usually come out pretty crappy, but I figured if any videogame had potential to become an awesome movie, DOOM would be it. Once they finally had the commercials and previews out, I still remained hopefully that it would kick some serious butt, because they didn't look all that bad. Of course, we all know that a good commercial does not make a good movie, but at least it wasn't one of those commercials that when you see them, you instantly put the film into the man-that-looks-like-a-terrible-movie-that-I-never-ever-want-to-see category. Unfortunately, once it was released, word spread that it wasn't that great of a movie, so that just plummeted my excitement straight into the ground.
And I'm glad. I'm really glad, because when I went into this DVD, I wasn't prepared to see anything other than a crap-fest, and what I got exceeded my expectations. Now, it's definitely not going to be winning any awards, and there were definitely some parts that I didn't care for too much, but overall it kept me entertained and emersed in their little universe for 110 minutes. I didn't care to much for any of the characters, as we were never really given too much of a reason to care, but I was interested to find out what was going happen next. Also, I thought most of the special effects were well done, especially physical effects such as the creatures' body suits. Oh, and unlike the game that the film is based on, the guns actually have flashlights attached to them.
Anyway, so the back story goes that in year 2026 AD, archaeologists discover a portal somewhere in the Nevada desert. This portal, which they call the Arc, leads to an ancient city on Mars. Nobody knows why it was built, or what happened to the beings that built it. We then flash-forward 20 years. The answers still remain a mystery, however there is now a new question... what's strangeness is happening on the Mars base? We get to see a bunch of scientists in a classified research section of the base being mauled by... something, yet the only message that Dr. Carmack is able to get out tells of a Level 5 breach and orders for quarantine procedures to be put into effect.
Enter the marines, or more specifically, the Rapid Response Tactical Team (RRTS)! Currently stationed at Twentynine Palms, California (hey, I used to live there!), these seven tough hombres, Destroyer, Mac, Portman, Goat, The Kid, Duke, Reaper, and Sarge, strap on their weapons and head through the arc to figure out exactly what's going on. Once on Mars, the Arc is locked down, suspending all travel to Earth for the 76 individuals stuck in the atrium. But those people are of little concern at the moment, as the squad's objectives are to rescue the handful of scientists thought to be trapped in the classified research section, and retrieve the scientists' research data.
Accompanying them is the beautiful Dr. Sam Grimm, sister to Reaper. She's in charge of downloading and recovering the UAC research data. So overall, it sounds like an easy enough mission for our magnificent seven, but then again they never expected to encounter giant monstrous creature intent on wiping them out. So while most of the squad goes from trying to figure out what they're up against to trying to stay alive, the good doctor begins to uncover exactly what kind of research was being done, and how it all ties to these monsters. What she discovers will... well, nah, it probably won't shock you. But for those of you who haven't figured it out already, I don't want to give it away.
All-in-all, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it after all the horrible things I heard. There were some parts that I didn't care for too much, especially near the end at the final showdown. Didn't really like that much at all. The five-minute first-person perspective meant to emulate the videogame was kind of cool and unique, though I thought pieces of it could have been done a little better. The whole chain saw battle there was a bit on the bland side. On the other hand, the whole making of the FPS sequence featurette was pretty interesting, as were the other special features on the disc, such as seeing the actors go through basic training, and the history of the Doom videogame franchise. So besides the extra footage that was added to the movie, this DVD definitely gives more than what you could have seen in the theater.
Doom- Unrated Extended Edition was released by Universal Studios Home Video on DVD starting February 7, 2006. It stars Karl Urban, The Rock, Rosamund Pike, Deobia Oparei, Ben Daniels, Razaaq Adoti.
