Doom

I used to play "Doom" back in the day and I have to say that the film adaptation is not as bad as I thought, but on the other hand it has significant untapped potential. On the plus side are great make-up effects, the "passable" performance by Karl Urban, enough suspenseful moments. The (major) downside is the plot and the acting planks around, hence I give it about 5 out of 10. (11/15/2009)

I can't think of a more useless 4/5 of a movie than the ones in Doom. It's the most generic action/horror hunting D-film with a couple of likeable guys, a couple of goons/slimeballs ripe for elimination, cliches along the lines of I go everywhere alone etc. The more than boyishly oversized satisfaction (especially for Doom players) comes in the finale by throwing in first-person POV, admittedly a bit warped (and nowadays worse looking), but sparing no carnage even with weapons so legendary in Doom mythology as the motorcycle. The charming mercenaries played by The Rock and Urban also add points to the film. While it doesn't make up for the hour of endless tedium, I'll gladly throw in an extra star for the ending. (10/14/2020)

The approximately five-minute game-like sequence is something truly novel, and undoubtedly a great experience for fans of this classic game. However, for the rest of the movie, not much really happens. The beginning is solid, with a good atmosphere, but as time goes on, the film reaches a stage where it steals from all of its more famous and better counterparts (Predator, Aliens, Resident Evil, etc.). Atmospherically, it's quite good (dark modern laboratories – a safe bet), and the actors are somewhat decent. Karl Urban is truly excellent, but The Rock is surprisingly not that good. The action is solid, although at times it's a bit confusing and unclear. What stands out the most, however, is the excellent sound design, because no matter what anyone says, Doom is made solely and exclusively as a proper sound spectacle, then it truly becomes a blast...a mindless blast... (04/10/2006)

Even after watching it a second time, it just doesn't do it for me, and the film still doesn't entertain me. Besides being incredibly drawn out and having no real story to tell, it's boring in terms of action and completely unoriginal as a horror film. Sure, the monsters are nice, but the digital effects are average, and the POV shots are absolutely dreadful. It might look a little better today, but there's no reason to film this again. It's not anywhere near as good as the game. (06/30/2015)

While the game is brimming with a sweetly dark atmosphere and a dense presence of monsters of all kinds, the film adaptation is an incredibly dull affair, devoid of atmosphere and even the monsters were surprisingly bland. Here, not even The Rock's charisma could improve the resulting poor impression. Carmack, when you meet Bartkowiak, smack him for me too. (01/05/2006)