Ah yes... DOOM. One of the greatest video games ever produced by id software of the mastermind behind it all, John Carmack. DOOM was first released to the PC back in 1993 and the gaming industry has never been the same way since. Quake, the following major title game after DOOM, was also made by the same mastermind John Carmack and id software. It's what started it all for me in the wonderful world of computers. That was back in 1997. I was a rabid id gamer of the games DOOM and Quake and alot of expansion paks were added to both those games. I made a point of playing them ALL. So being a long time fellow gamer, as well as a follower of id software up to this day, the least I could do was to pay hommeage to DOOM the movie.

This movie is a clear cut winner for those fans of horror, action, sci-fi flicks. Director : Andrzej Bartkowiak does a good job holding back the mutants to be seen on the screen for the first half of the movie so you can become involved in the storyline provided for this film. The drawback is the film is based upon the videogame. The videogames storyline is different than the one portrayed in this movie.

One part Alien, one part Event Horizon and one part Resident Evil- Universal Pictures’ Doom has stolen enough from others movies to get you through the hour and thirty minutes, only it left out the one thing that would have made it something fresh… the Gates of Hell.

Uni’s Doom is an adaptation of the popular video game Doom III, only it changes the third act of the story completely. A distress call from the Olduvai research station on Mars forces a Special Ops team to investigate. What they find are creatures lurking in the darkness, killing off the survivors one by one. Sarge (The Rock) is the superior and appears to be the lead in the film, only the story really focuses on Reaper (Karl Urbane) and his twin sister Dr. Grimm (Rosamund Pike).

The movie takes a major turn for the worse when it sways from the video game’s original storyline. What are the creatures you ask? Well they certainly aren’t from Hell, I can tell you that right now... they’re genetically mutated humans with an extra chromosome injected into thier bodies to make them super human. They kill, and then the dead come back to life. Once again in the land of zombies. The downfall of the whole movie is, the movie does not follow the game in the way of storylineage. Major pitfall. Throughout the film, they kept the integrity of the game in the plot, only to change the outcome dramatically. They tease us over and over about this archeological dig on Mars, and lead us to believe they found "something", only we see nothing of the dig but remains of a genetically perfect human creature that once lived on Mars centuries ago. In the game however, in the catacombs of Mars the entrance to Hell is buried and has been unlocked by scientists. In the game these creatures ARE demons from Hell, in the movie they’re nothing more than zombies… in space. Can't they ever make a movie accurate to game adaption?

DOOM opens with brief narration telling us that in the year 2026 an archeological dig in Nevada uncovered an ancient ruin that included a portal that teleports you to Mars. This has allowed the Union Aerospace Corporation, under government contract, to establish a base on Mars where further archeological exploration has revealed the remains of an extinct civilization.

Cut to the Olduvai Mars Base and we see right away that all is not well. People in lab coats run screaming. One by one they’re picked off by something unseen until only one is left. Dr. Carmack ( Robert Russell ) makes a frantic call from his lab, ordering a quarantine of the facility. Something large and very strong is pounding on his door. It was nice to see a character incorporated in the movie giving respect to John Carmack himself.

The call goes out for the RRTS ( Rapid Response Tactical Squad ), a group of soldiers lead by Sarge ( The Rock ). They assemble at the UAC facility in Nevada built around The Ark ( the portal to Mars ) and make the jump to the Red Planet. One soldier in particular has trouble accepting this assignment. John Grimm ( Karl Urban ) is the son of the archeologists who discovered the ark. They died soon after. The soldiers arrive and try to find out what happened from the few survivors.

So they go in to the dark, metal hallways, looking very tough and professional, and look for monsters. Eventually these soldiers do manage to find the monsters and get themselves killed in inventive ways. Another disappointment I found in the movie, was the "lack" of monsters. Why only the Imp? There were many creatures in Doom the video game, and we really only see one kind in the movie. And it’s the lowest level, easiest to kill monster! Where were the Barons of Hell? Where was the Cyberdemon?

Near the end of the film, we are treated to a scene where John Grimm becomes super human himself ( watch the movie ) and goes on a mutant slaughter rampage through the corridors in First Person Shooter view. How cool is that?! I totally thought that was the best part of the movie!

The ultimate fight scene at the end between The Rock and John Grimm is also top notch. The Rock ( although I am not a fan of his acting abilities ) is a great action hero to watch. He would make for a good role in high tension action films.

Although the movie strays from the game in storyline, it's still well worth watching it. I'm a bit critical about it all, since I am a avid gamer and have played through ALL the DOOM games. Taking the movie for what it's worth in all other aspects is fantastic! I thouroughly enjoyed DOOM. I liked it enough that it's now part of my ever on-growing DVD video library. That being said, it's worthy of a purchase.

All in all, if you're a fan of action, sci-fi or horror movies, check this one out. It's got it all!

I rate it 9/10.