Rosamund Pike Movie:

		List Price: $19.98		Label: Universal Studios Home Entertainment Salesrank: 21704 Released: April 25, 2006
		Our Price: $1.48
		Used Price: $1.99
		MPAA Rating: Unrated Media: HD DVD

Editorial Review:
Universal Doom (Unrated Extended Edition) - HD-DVD
A frantic call for help from a remote research station on Mars sends a team of mercenary Marines into action. Led by The Rock and Karl Urban, they descend into the Olduvai Research Station, where they find a legion of nightmarish creatures, lurking in the darkness, killing at will. Once there, the Marinesmust use an arsenal of firepower to carry out their mission: nothing gets out alive. Based on the hugely popular video game, "Doom" is an explosive action-packed thrill ride!

Description of Doom (Unrated Extended Edition) [HD DVD]:
Grab your BFG and get ready to kick some Martian-demon butt in Doom, another entry in the increasingly crowded videogame-to-movie genre. The Rock plays Sarge, the commander of a squad of Marines sent to investigate a disturbance at a scientific research facility on Mars. Among the squad is John Grimm (Karl Urban, who played Eomer in The Lord of the Rings), who turns out to have had a previous relationship with Samantha (Rosamund Pike, Die Another Day), the scientist who's accompanying the Marines in order to retrieve some vital data from the facility. Based on id Software's legendary first-person shooter, Doom tries its best to look like a game, with dark, angled corridors, ferocious creatures appearing out of nowhere, and a variety of lethal weapons that will, like the aforementioned BFG, warm the cockles of a gamer's heart. There's also one memorable sequence that actually turns the movie into a first-person shooter; the good news is that in the context of the whole film, it's not quite as goofy as it might have been. And that's not a bad frame of reference for the film in general. Considering the game-to-movie field includes such duds as Wing Commander, if you go into Doom with low expectations, you'll probably find it a surprisingly respectable horror/sci-fi thriller in the Resident Evil vein (including its somewhat obligatory subplot of corporate wrongdoing). Also in its favor is that it's unabashedly R-rated, for the extreme gore that is a trademark of the game. After all, the purpose of the movie is to pack scares and thrills into a setting that gamers will quickly recognize. In that sense, it qualifies as a success. --David Horiuchi

Doom (Unrated Extended Edition) [HD DVD] Reviews:
dvd
2009-11-16 - This is a high action packed film from start to finish! And if you love The Rock you'll love this movie. Set in the future (great gadgets, love those nano walls) where DNA gets tampered with and not in a good way. You'll be shocked at the end and you won't be disappointed. Highly Recommend.

One of the worst pieces of crap I have ever seen
2009-11-06 - There is often something to be said for schlocky science fiction. Done right and one is transported back to childhood and watching Creature Double Feature on Saturday afternoons.

Then there is something like this that is boring, needlessly gory, bad scifi, and complete un-entertaining. You would think with Dwayne Johnson (a.k.a. The Rock) it would at least have a sense of humor about itself.

enjoyable and fun action film
2009-10-14 - Something has gone horribly amiss at the scientific settlement of Olduvai on the planet of Mars, and a panicked Dr Carmack (named after the co-founder of ID Software, which released the game) calls for assistance. Cue the Sarge (Dwayne Johnson, former WWE wrestler "The Rock", The Scorpion King (Widescreen Collector's Edition)) and his men - a Special Forces team, the RRTS (Rapid Response Tactical Squad), who are dispatched via the transport system called the "arc" to place the site under quarantine and find out what is going on. When they arrive at the settlement they discover more of a problem than they expected.

One of the RRTS team has previous experience of Olduvai - his parents were killed on an archaeological dig and his twin sister, Sam (Rosamund Pike), who followed their footsteps, is working on Olduvai. John Grimm known as "Reaper" (Karl Urban - Out of the Blue, Bones in Star Trek and Eomer in the The Lord of the Rings - The Motion Picture Trilogy (Platinum Series Special Extended Edition)) is apprehensive about going back.

People tend to fall into one of two camps where this film is concerned - you are either a fan of the games or you haven't seen/played the games.

I came to this film without knowing about the video games (in all honesty I'd never heard of the games prior to getting the film), so I came with an open mind and I enjoyed the film for what it is - an action flick with zombies thrown in. The basic story is set up in the first 10-15 minutes after that you simply hang on and watch the action.

Not having played the games before I watched the film I did not understand the problem with the demons (or lack of them), yet there is a nod to them in various places throughout the film. Nor did I understand the First Person Shooter scene towards the end of the film. Since watching the film I have purchased the games Doom Collector's Edition and Doom 3 and have started playing (well, I'm trying) and I now understand the disappointment - but it doesn't stop this being a great action film.

On the first few viewings I didn't get the First Person Shooter sequence near the end of the film, since I have started playing the games I now get it and actually jump when some of the monsters appear. For gamers it includes the Big Force Gun (BFG).

There are extras (basic training, rock formation, master monster makers, first person shooter sequence, doom nation and game on). There are also subtitles - I know from personal experience that subtitles tend to contain an edited text of what is spoken. These subtitles, however, contain out-and-out errors - for example: "on you Duke" becomes "funny Duke" (which makes no sense in the scene); "airway's clear" becomes "now he's clear"; and so on - a friend of mine does subtitling and tells me that they get a copy of the script to work from, so there is no excuse for errors like these.

If you are into film errors I spotted a couple: one error happens when they are trying to resuscitate one of their team the heart monitor is bleeping and then goes flat line - only then do they put the chest lead connectors on the patient (but still don't connect the leads); I've yet to meet a sergeant/serjeant that will accept being called "sir"; and US Marines never call each other soldier.

I tend to refer to this as Resident Evil in space. It's one of those films which can be watched without too much brain power. It is a great action film which I have enjoyed watching over and over again.

Not Very Bad At All
2009-10-05 - I'm not going to compare the movie to the game. It's surprisingly decent considering the quirky filming style the director uses to dumb down the experience for the younger fans. The acting isn't stellar, but better than other movies in the genre. I, for one, liked The Rock in this movie. He played a pretty convincing enigma of a man. The leading protagonist, played by Karl Urban, was very believable and had excellent chemistry with his do-gooder sister Rosamund Pike. This is not surprising, considering both actors have previously acted in far more well recieved films. The other actors don't entirely feel human, but I won't criticize their talents; it is clearly a kid friendly script. And it's a fairly good attempt, for that matter. For one thing, the film is actually scary. Not really terrifying, but it does do a good job of building suspense throughout by introducing the film's lead antagonists gradually through use of shadow-work, (not so) scary growls and especially the "zombies" which are a result of a supposed demonic posession. It keeps you watching. The gore is horrific. All of the film's victims are made up pretty well for the macabre, and while there are some cheesy "CGI" elements for aircraft and creature models, it's a pretty human movie. I felt for the victims. For any casual horror fan, it's not going to be as good of an experience when compared to one who enjoys Science Fiction. Because it's 2009, I can't really remember which films came first, but it's a better movie than Alien VS Preditor; probably as good Event Horizon, Resident Evil and Pandorum; but clearly not as good as Alien since this film is aimed towards teenagers. The PC game has nothing to do with how good or bad the film is. I loved that series growing up, and this film didn't let me down. C+

Overlong, unoriginal, dull, blah blah blah
2009-09-07 - I've never played the video game the movie is based on so I'm only reviewing the movie for what it was. A bunch of marines are called to a research facility on Mars that is accessed from a portal on Earth. When they get there they find that the scientists have been attacked by some kind of creature and are now transforming.

Sadly, there is nothing original in this movie. Marines going in to investigate a distress call: check. Special effects monsters: check. Scientists doing secret, ill-advised work: check. Lighting so dark you can't see what's going on: check. Humans transforming into murderous creatures: check.

There is nothing here you haven't seen before in a better movie and worst of all it's a pretty dull ride. There is no suspense, no surprises, just one rote scene after another.