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Doom (film)
Encyclopedia
Doom is a 2005 science fiction
horror film
, loosely based on the Doom series of video games created by id Software
. It was directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak
.
After option deals with Universal Pictures
and Columbia Pictures
expired, id Software
signed a deal with Warner Bros.
with the stipulation that the movie will be done greenlit
within 12 months. Warner Bros. lost the rights, which were subsequently given back to Universal Pictures who started production in 2004.
In an interview with executive producer John Wells
, he stated that a second film would be put into production if the first was a success at the box office
. Ticket sales for the opening weekend totaled more than US$
15.3 million, but promptly dropped to $4.2 million in its second weekend and the story for a sequel was never written.
in the year 2046, in the Union Aerospace Corporation
(UAC) Olduvai Research Facility, scientists are attacked and pulled into the darkness by an unseen monster. Doctor Carmack (Robert Russell
) transmits a warning about a Level 5 security breach before the door behind him is torn open. He turns around and sees something through the gap.
On Earth, a team of eight Marines - (Sarge, Reaper, Duke, Destroyer, The Kid, Portman, Goat and Mac) known as the RRTS (Rapid Response Tactical Squad) are preparing to go on leave. Their leave is cancelled when the squad leader, Sarge (Dwayne Johnson), receives new orders. Contact with Olduvai has been lost and the RRTS is being sent to investigate. The Mars station is quarantined and the 85 UAC employees on Mars are not allowed to return to Earth. As the men suit up, Sarge pulls aside John "Reaper" Grimm (Karl Urban
) and asks him not to go because Reaper's sister is on the station. Reaper suits up anyway, and their team is deployed to Mars via a teleportation
device called the "Ark", located at Area 51
. The Ark was discovered in 2026, and scientists have been studying it. The team meets an early victim of the Ark system, Pinky (Dexter Fletcher
), who "went to one galaxy while his ass went to another" during an Ark teleportation event (his lower torso is now a two-wheeled engine resembling a Segway
). They meet up with Dr. Samantha Grimm (Rosamund Pike
), Reaper's sister.
Their mission is simple: eliminate the threat, secure the facility and retrieve UAC property. Reaper converses with his sister and learns that they discovered humanoid remains on Mars, which unlike humans have an extra chromosome pair which granted them invulnerablity to disease as well as advanced cellular regeneration. The team locates Carmack, who has gone mad to the point of tearing off his own ear. They return him to the lab and Grimm tries sedating him. The Marines explore the facility, encountering creatures intent on killing them. An Imp slays Goat (Ben Daniels
) before being killed by Reaper and brought to Dr. Grimm. Blood samples taken from two hostile creatures reveal that they were human. Dr. Grimm determines that their genetics have been altered by the addition of the Martian chromosome; however, the chromosome seems to "choose" whether it causes the person to be superhuman or a monster, apparently able to determine on a genetic level whether a person has the capacity to be evil. The chromosome is spread by the ovipositors of those infected. The Marines discover that Carmack deliberately injected the chromosome into an "evil" subject (prisoner Curtis Stahl, a multiple murderer), who later transformed and broke loose.
Multiple attacks by the Hell Knight monster kill Mac, Destroyer and Portman, reducing the squad to Sarge, Reaper, The Kid (Al Weaver
), and Duke (Raz Adoti). The surviving team realize that the Hell Knight has escaped through the Ark to the Earth due to Pinky's refusal to trigger a grenade Mac left with him to destroy the Ark. Sarge takes the Bio Force Gun
, dubbing it the "Big Fucking Gun."
The group finds the UAC facility on Earth full of corpses. Sarge orders his men to kill anything alive in order to prevent the infection from spreading. The Kid finds a group of non-infected humans, and Sarge kills him for insubordination when he refuses to kill them. Pinky reappears, aiming a pistol at Sarge, but is dragged off by the Hell Knight.
Zombies attack, killing Duke and dragging Sarge through a malfunctioning bulletproof screen. Reaper is hit by a ricochet. To save his life, Dr. Grimm injects Reaper with Chomosome 24. Instead of becoming a monster, Reaper awakens as a superhuman with enhanced strength and healing abilities.
Following Reaper's transformation and the discovery that Dr. Grimm is missing, the movie takes on a first-person shooter
perspective. Within a few minutes, Reaper slays an array of monsters, including the Hell Knight and Pinky, who has mutated into a Demon.
Switching back to a standard camera angle, Reaper emerges at the facility's exit. Bodies are scattered everywhere, and a melted blue hole in the wall, the mark of a BFG blast, is still cooling. Reaper encounters Sarge and an unconscious Samantha lying on the floor. Asked what happened to the non-infected survivors, Sarge replies that he "took care of that problem"- he has killed them. Reaper notices the same injury on Sarge that Carmack had before he turned into an Imp, something Sarge has been hiding. After spending their last ammunition- Reaper's half of a magazine and Sarge's one round in the BFG, the two Marines battle hand to hand. As he pins Reaper against a wall, Sarge begins transforming, developing features such as a prominent skull structure, sharp teeth and white eyes. Reaper throws Sarge into the Ark, followed by a grenade. Sarge and the Ark are obliterated. Reaper retrieves Dr. Grimm, who is conscious but unable to walk, and holds her in his arms as he returns to the Earth's surface.
Wells also revealed that "we were all very concerned that we make sure that it was exactly the kind of experience that we [the crew] remembered so fondly from the game: turning the lights off at midnight, cranking it up and scaring the hell out of yourself!"
Wells further stated that there is a balance between CGI
and prosthetics in the Doom movie, and he, for the first time as a producer, admitted that "we didn't wanna rely on the CGI. Those effects still haven't quite got to the level where you fully believe it — certainly not for long periods of time," and that the crew used Stan Winston
's Creature Shop and that his work is only "enhanced with CGI." He also admitted that "if you rely too much on CGI it can look cheesy: it doesn't quite work. It'll get there, but it's not there yet."
Wells has stated that the crew insisted that the Doom movie be made into an R-rated movie and that he didn't "think it was possible to do a PG-13 version—and that's been the mistake made by a couple of other computer game movies," and that "a lot of studios didn't want to do it. But we made a conscious decision that we'd prefer not to make it any other way."
Wells also revealed that if this first Doom film is successful, a second one could be made, and that "we certainly have some ideas for the next one, if there is gonna be one. We'll have to wait and see: the audience will have to tell us ..."
One of the most noteworthy aspects of the film is a short sequence near the end of the film where the camera follows the progress of Grimm from a first-person perspective in homage to the original game. In the words of Karl Urban
, the actor who plays Reaper:
says, "Doom is like some kid came over and is using your computer and won't let you play." Richard Roeper
has also stated, "The performances are awful, the action sequences are impossible to follow, the violence is gratuitous, the lighting is bad and I have my doubts that the catering truck was even up to snuff on this project." One apparently good review came from Richard James Havis from The Hollywood Reporter, stating, "There's so little to go wrong that those who like their entertainment mindless and violent will find little fault." In 2009, Time
listed the film on their list of top ten worst video games movies.
The response from fans of the video game was mixed. Many expressed disappointment because the film did not follow the plot of the game, as the games dealt with an invasion from hell instead of a virus, and over the movie's failure to reproduce the game's most essential quality: the killing of large numbers of enemies. It did well on its opening weekend, taking in $15.5 million. However, it quickly dropped in its second week in theaters and the final gross of the film was only $28.2 million domestically and almost $56 million worldwide, with a budget of $60 million. Dwayne Johnson was nominated for a Razzie Award as Worst Actor.
. A remix of the Nine Inch Nails
song You Know What You Are? appears at the beginning of the first person shooter ending credits. Switchback by Celldweller
was used in the trailer.
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
, loosely based on the Doom series of video games created by id Software
Id Software
Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack...
. It was directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak
Andrzej Bartkowiak
Andrzej Bartkowiak, A.S.C. is a Polish cinematographer and director.In the early 1980s, Bartkowiak was cinematographer on three films that received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture: The Verdict, Terms of Endearment, and Prizzi's Honor.As cinematographer he has collaborated with several...
.
After option deals with Universal Pictures
NBC Universal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is a media and entertainment company engaged in the production and marketing of entertainment, news, and information products and services to a global customer base...
and Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
expired, id Software
Id Software
Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack...
signed a deal with Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
with the stipulation that the movie will be done greenlit
Greenlight
To green-light a project is to give permission or a go ahead to move forward with a project. In the context of the movie and TV businesses, to green-light something is to formally approve its production finance, thereby allowing the project to move forward from the development phase to...
within 12 months. Warner Bros. lost the rights, which were subsequently given back to Universal Pictures who started production in 2004.
In an interview with executive producer John Wells
John Wells (TV producer)
John Marcum Wells is an American theater and television producer, writer and director. He is best known for his role as executive producer and show runner of the television series ER, Third Watch, and The West Wing. His company, John Wells Productions, is currently based at Warner Bros. studios in...
, he stated that a second film would be put into production if the first was a success at the box office
Box office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
. Ticket sales for the opening weekend totaled more than US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
15.3 million, but promptly dropped to $4.2 million in its second weekend and the story for a sequel was never written.
Plot
On MarsMars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
in the year 2046, in the Union Aerospace Corporation
Union Aerospace Corporation
The Union Aerospace Corporation is a fictional conglomerate focused on military-industrial research in id Software's science fiction video game series Doom. The corporation is depicted to be involved in advanced weapons development, biological research, space exploration and teleportation. The...
(UAC) Olduvai Research Facility, scientists are attacked and pulled into the darkness by an unseen monster. Doctor Carmack (Robert Russell
Robert Russell (actor)
Robert Russell is an actor. He played Dr. Wellington Yueh in the Sci Fi Channel's 2000 miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune.-Selected filmography:*Doom - Dr. Carmack*Anne Frank: The Whole Story - Mr. Keesing...
) transmits a warning about a Level 5 security breach before the door behind him is torn open. He turns around and sees something through the gap.
On Earth, a team of eight Marines - (Sarge, Reaper, Duke, Destroyer, The Kid, Portman, Goat and Mac) known as the RRTS (Rapid Response Tactical Squad) are preparing to go on leave. Their leave is cancelled when the squad leader, Sarge (Dwayne Johnson), receives new orders. Contact with Olduvai has been lost and the RRTS is being sent to investigate. The Mars station is quarantined and the 85 UAC employees on Mars are not allowed to return to Earth. As the men suit up, Sarge pulls aside John "Reaper" Grimm (Karl Urban
Karl Urban
Karl-Heinz Urban is a New Zealand actor.He is known for playing Éomer in the second and third installments of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in the 2009 film Star Trek and Julius Caesar on Xena: Warrior Princess...
) and asks him not to go because Reaper's sister is on the station. Reaper suits up anyway, and their team is deployed to Mars via a teleportation
Teleportation
Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
device called the "Ark", located at Area 51
Area 51
Area 51 is a military base, and a remote detachment of Edwards Air Force Base. It is located in the southern portion of Nevada in the western United States, 83 miles north-northwest of downtown Las Vegas. Situated at its center, on the southern shore of Groom Lake, is a large military airfield...
. The Ark was discovered in 2026, and scientists have been studying it. The team meets an early victim of the Ark system, Pinky (Dexter Fletcher
Dexter Fletcher
Dexter Fletcher is an English actor. He is best known for his role in Guy Ritchie film, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels as well as television roles in such shows as the dramedy Hotel Babylon, the critically acclaimed HBO series Band of Brothers and earlier in his career, the children's show...
), who "went to one galaxy while his ass went to another" during an Ark teleportation event (his lower torso is now a two-wheeled engine resembling a Segway
Segway PT
The Segway PT is a two-wheeled, self-balancing transportation machine invented by Dean Kamen. It is produced by Segway Inc. of New Hampshire, USA. The name "Segway" is a homophone of "segue" while "PT" denotes personal transporter....
). They meet up with Dr. Samantha Grimm (Rosamund Pike
Rosamund Pike
Rosamund Mary Elizabeth Pike is a British actress. Her film roles include villainous Bond girl Miranda Frost in Die Another Day, Jane Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, Helen in An Education, Lisa in Made in Dagenham, Miriam Grant-Panofsky in Barney's Version and Kate Sumner in Johnny English...
), Reaper's sister.
Their mission is simple: eliminate the threat, secure the facility and retrieve UAC property. Reaper converses with his sister and learns that they discovered humanoid remains on Mars, which unlike humans have an extra chromosome pair which granted them invulnerablity to disease as well as advanced cellular regeneration. The team locates Carmack, who has gone mad to the point of tearing off his own ear. They return him to the lab and Grimm tries sedating him. The Marines explore the facility, encountering creatures intent on killing them. An Imp slays Goat (Ben Daniels
Ben Daniels
Ben Daniels is an English actor. A graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art , he has taken on roles in numerous productions...
) before being killed by Reaper and brought to Dr. Grimm. Blood samples taken from two hostile creatures reveal that they were human. Dr. Grimm determines that their genetics have been altered by the addition of the Martian chromosome; however, the chromosome seems to "choose" whether it causes the person to be superhuman or a monster, apparently able to determine on a genetic level whether a person has the capacity to be evil. The chromosome is spread by the ovipositors of those infected. The Marines discover that Carmack deliberately injected the chromosome into an "evil" subject (prisoner Curtis Stahl, a multiple murderer), who later transformed and broke loose.
Multiple attacks by the Hell Knight monster kill Mac, Destroyer and Portman, reducing the squad to Sarge, Reaper, The Kid (Al Weaver
Al Weaver
Alex "Al" Weaver is an English actor.Weaver studied acting at Guildhall School of Music and Drama. His first paid theatre role was in Trevor Nunn's 2004 production of Hamlet, at the Old Vic theatre in London...
), and Duke (Raz Adoti). The surviving team realize that the Hell Knight has escaped through the Ark to the Earth due to Pinky's refusal to trigger a grenade Mac left with him to destroy the Ark. Sarge takes the Bio Force Gun
BFG 9000
The BFG 9000 is a futuristic weapon found in the video game series Doom. The BFG 9000 is a huge, solid metal gun that fires balls of green plasma. The most powerful weapon in the games, it is capable of destroying nearly any player or enemy in the vicinity with a single hit...
, dubbing it the "Big Fucking Gun."
The group finds the UAC facility on Earth full of corpses. Sarge orders his men to kill anything alive in order to prevent the infection from spreading. The Kid finds a group of non-infected humans, and Sarge kills him for insubordination when he refuses to kill them. Pinky reappears, aiming a pistol at Sarge, but is dragged off by the Hell Knight.
Zombies attack, killing Duke and dragging Sarge through a malfunctioning bulletproof screen. Reaper is hit by a ricochet. To save his life, Dr. Grimm injects Reaper with Chomosome 24. Instead of becoming a monster, Reaper awakens as a superhuman with enhanced strength and healing abilities.
Following Reaper's transformation and the discovery that Dr. Grimm is missing, the movie takes on a first-person shooter
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
perspective. Within a few minutes, Reaper slays an array of monsters, including the Hell Knight and Pinky, who has mutated into a Demon.
Switching back to a standard camera angle, Reaper emerges at the facility's exit. Bodies are scattered everywhere, and a melted blue hole in the wall, the mark of a BFG blast, is still cooling. Reaper encounters Sarge and an unconscious Samantha lying on the floor. Asked what happened to the non-infected survivors, Sarge replies that he "took care of that problem"- he has killed them. Reaper notices the same injury on Sarge that Carmack had before he turned into an Imp, something Sarge has been hiding. After spending their last ammunition- Reaper's half of a magazine and Sarge's one round in the BFG, the two Marines battle hand to hand. As he pins Reaper against a wall, Sarge begins transforming, developing features such as a prominent skull structure, sharp teeth and white eyes. Reaper throws Sarge into the Ark, followed by a grenade. Sarge and the Ark are obliterated. Reaper retrieves Dr. Grimm, who is conscious but unable to walk, and holds her in his arms as he returns to the Earth's surface.
Cast
- Karl UrbanKarl UrbanKarl-Heinz Urban is a New Zealand actor.He is known for playing Éomer in the second and third installments of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in the 2009 film Star Trek and Julius Caesar on Xena: Warrior Princess...
as Staff SergeantStaff SergeantStaff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in several countries.The origin of the name is that they were part of the staff of a British army regiment and paid at that level rather than as a member of a battalion or company.-Australia:...
John "Reaper" Grimm: Grimm is the son of UAC scientists who were killed in an accident during the early excavation of a Martian dig site. He abandoned his scientific heritage and joined the military to forget about this personal disaster. He is the twin brother (younger by two minutes) of Dr. Samantha Grimm. - Rosamund PikeRosamund PikeRosamund Mary Elizabeth Pike is a British actress. Her film roles include villainous Bond girl Miranda Frost in Die Another Day, Jane Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, Helen in An Education, Lisa in Made in Dagenham, Miriam Grant-Panofsky in Barney's Version and Kate Sumner in Johnny English...
as Dr. Samantha Grimm: A scientist on Mars, and John Grimm's twin sister. - Deobia OpareiDeobia OpareiDeobia Oparei is a London born actor perhaps best known for his role as the Gunner in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and as Thundarian in Your Highness. His acting career in the early 1990's included minor television roles he spent the mid 1990s performing as a Drag Queen in Sydney...
as Sergeant Roark "Destroyer" Gannon: The heavy weapons specialist of the squad. His best friend is Duke. - Ben DanielsBen DanielsBen Daniels is an English actor. A graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art , he has taken on roles in numerous productions...
as Corporal Eric "Goat" Fantom: A senior member of the squad. Fiercely religious, he is prone to quoting scripture and performing acts of self-harm in response to his own sins. - Raz Adoti as SergeantSergeantSergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
Gregory "Duke" Schofield: Sergeant Schofield is obsessed with two things - girls and games. He is the best friend of Destroyer. - Richard BrakeRichard BrakeRichard Brake is a Welsh/American actor.-Early life:Brake was born in Ystrad Mynach, Hengoed, Wales and brought up in the United States...
as CorporalCorporalCorporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....
Dean Portman: Portman is amoral, and frequently voices his inner thoughts and desires. - Al WeaverAl WeaverAlex "Al" Weaver is an English actor.Weaver studied acting at Guildhall School of Music and Drama. His first paid theatre role was in Trevor Nunn's 2004 production of Hamlet, at the Old Vic theatre in London...
as PrivatePrivate (rank)A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
Mark "The Kid" Dantalian: The youngest member of the squad, on his first mission. - Dexter FletcherDexter FletcherDexter Fletcher is an English actor. He is best known for his role in Guy Ritchie film, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels as well as television roles in such shows as the dramedy Hotel Babylon, the critically acclaimed HBO series Band of Brothers and earlier in his career, the children's show...
as Marcus "Pinky" Pinzerowski : A technician on Mars assigned to coordinate the squad's communications. - Brian SteeleBrian SteeleBrian Steele is an American actor best known for playing many of Hollywood's favorite monsters and creatures.-Roles:On television, he played the Bigfoot called Harry in the series Harry and the Hendersons before moving on to play creatures in theatrical motion pictures, with roles like Mr. Wink in...
as Hell Knight (Baron of Hell)/Curtis Stahl. - Dwayne Johnson as Gunnery SergeantGunnery SergeantGunnery Sergeant is the seventh enlisted rank in the United States Marine Corps, just above Staff Sergeant and below Master Sergeant and First Sergeant, and is a staff non-commissioned officer...
Asher "Sarge" Mahonin: The leader of the squad. - Yao ChinYao ChinYao Chin is a British film, stage, television actor and presenter. He is best known for his role as Mac in the Hollywood film Doom.Chin was educated at Dulwich College and London School of Economics, from which he did not graduate....
as Private First ClassPrivate First ClassPrivate First Class is a military rank held by junior enlisted persons.- Singapore :The rank of Private First Class in the Singapore Armed Forces lies between the ranks of Private and Lance-Corporal . It is usually held by conscript soldiers midway through their national service term...
Katsuhiko Kumanosuke "Mac" Takahashi: The squad's technical expert, he left university to join RRTS. - Robert RussellRobert Russell (actor)Robert Russell is an actor. He played Dr. Wellington Yueh in the Sci Fi Channel's 2000 miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune.-Selected filmography:*Doom - Dr. Carmack*Anne Frank: The Whole Story - Mr. Keesing...
as Dr. Todd Carmack: The base's chief scientist. - Daniel York as LieutenantLieutenantA lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Hunegs: The leader of Mars security. - Ian Hughes as Sanford Crosby, UAC's public relations representative.
- Sara Houghton as Dr. Jenna Willits: Dr. Willits' wife.
- Vladislav Dyntera as Dr. Steve Willits: Another scientist.
- Doug JonesDoug Jones (actor)Doug Jones is an American film and television actor best known to science fiction, fantasy, and horror fans for his various roles playing non-human characters, often in heavy makeup, in films and television series such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth and Fantastic Four: Rise...
as Carmack Imp and Sewer Imp: Dr. Carmack in his transformed state. He also portrayed the Imp encountered within the sewers.
Production
The film's producer, John Wells, admitted in an interview that "many" video game movie adaptations had "sucked." He revealed that the crew was able to get "a lot of financial support from Universal" and that it wasn't "done on the cheap." Wells also revealed that the Doom movie would have a sequence shot in a first-person perspective because "Doom without that would be a miscarriage of justice!"Wells also revealed that "we were all very concerned that we make sure that it was exactly the kind of experience that we [the crew] remembered so fondly from the game: turning the lights off at midnight, cranking it up and scaring the hell out of yourself!"
Wells further stated that there is a balance between CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
and prosthetics in the Doom movie, and he, for the first time as a producer, admitted that "we didn't wanna rely on the CGI. Those effects still haven't quite got to the level where you fully believe it — certainly not for long periods of time," and that the crew used Stan Winston
Stan Winston
Stanley Winston was an American visual effects supervisor, makeup artist, and film director. He was best known for his work in the Terminator series, the Jurassic Park series, Aliens, the Predator series, Iron Man, Edward Scissorhands, and Avatar...
's Creature Shop and that his work is only "enhanced with CGI." He also admitted that "if you rely too much on CGI it can look cheesy: it doesn't quite work. It'll get there, but it's not there yet."
Wells has stated that the crew insisted that the Doom movie be made into an R-rated movie and that he didn't "think it was possible to do a PG-13 version—and that's been the mistake made by a couple of other computer game movies," and that "a lot of studios didn't want to do it. But we made a conscious decision that we'd prefer not to make it any other way."
Wells also revealed that if this first Doom film is successful, a second one could be made, and that "we certainly have some ideas for the next one, if there is gonna be one. We'll have to wait and see: the audience will have to tell us ..."
One of the most noteworthy aspects of the film is a short sequence near the end of the film where the camera follows the progress of Grimm from a first-person perspective in homage to the original game. In the words of Karl Urban
Karl Urban
Karl-Heinz Urban is a New Zealand actor.He is known for playing Éomer in the second and third installments of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in the 2009 film Star Trek and Julius Caesar on Xena: Warrior Princess...
, the actor who plays Reaper:
- "In some ways, it makes cinematic history in that, for the first time, the audience becomes the hero of the film."
- "When we go into FPS, the audience is doing the rampage, the audience is doing the work and that is so cool. It’s insane!"
Production history
- November 27, 2003 — Computer Gaming World printed an article on their website regarding the Doom movie. It states that Warner Bros. is indeed working on the Doom movie and has placed it on the fast track. A revised script was submitted to id Software and approved; John Wells (producer of ERER (TV series)ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
) and Lorenzo di BonaventuraLorenzo di Bonaventura-Life and career:He spent the 1990s as an executive at Warner Bros. Pictures, eventually rising to President of Worldwide Production. His production company di Bonaventura Pictures is based at Paramount Pictures. His tenure at Warner Bros. included discovering and shepherding The Matrix into...
(who introduced The MatrixThe MatrixThe Matrix is a 1999 science fiction-action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving...
to Warner Bros.) have signed on to work on the Doom movie. Concept art and storyboards have been drawn by Federico D'Alessandro, who has worked on various movies, music videoMusic videoA music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s, and video game covers and advertisements. - May 15, 2004 — the Associated PressAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
(AP) released a news article regarding video game to movie adaptations that mentions the Doom movie. Here's an excerpt that mentions the Doom movie: "Soon, more blockbuster game franchises, such as Halo and Doom, are expected to become the basis of movies." - June 2, 2004 — Variety reported that Warner Bros. has lost the rights to Doom and Universal Studios has acquired rights to Doom and Variety confirms that Doom will be based on Doom 3.
- August 9, 2004 — A Doom 3 article in an issue of Time Magazine mentions that Universal is set to film the Doom movie in PraguePraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
in the winter of 2004–2005. - August 10, 2004 — The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood ReporterFormerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
released an article that mentioned release dates for 8 movies and the third movie listed was the Doom movie. It states that Doom will have a wide release on August 5, 2005. - August 15, 2004 — The Hollywood Reporter reported that John Wells Productions is currently in pre-production for the Doom movie.
- August 18, 2004 — a website, Box Office Prophets, made the Doom movie project their movie of the day and they list the release date for the Doom movie, August 5, 2005. The article also confirms that Universal has Doom on a production schedule of Winter 2004–2005 in Prague's Barrandov StudiosBarrandov StudiosBarrandov Studios is a famous set of film studios in Prague, Czech Republic. It is the largest film studio in the country and one of the largest in Europe.Several of the movies filmed there won Academy Awards...
. The planned release date was mentioned as August 5, 2005. - September 15, 2004 — major news has been revealed by both Variety and The Hollywood Reporter on the Doom movie. Karl UrbanKarl UrbanKarl-Heinz Urban is a New Zealand actor.He is known for playing Éomer in the second and third installments of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in the 2009 film Star Trek and Julius Caesar on Xena: Warrior Princess...
has been cast for the Doom movie as the star, John Grimm, a leader of a special ops team. It has been revealed that he will dealing not only with alien demons but also the organization known as the United Aerospace Corp that is responsible for the death of his parents. It has also been revealed that Enda McCallion has dropped out of the project and PolishPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
director Andrzej BartkowiakAndrzej BartkowiakAndrzej Bartkowiak, A.S.C. is a Polish cinematographer and director.In the early 1980s, Bartkowiak was cinematographer on three films that received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture: The Verdict, Terms of Endearment, and Prizzi's Honor.As cinematographer he has collaborated with several...
has signed on to be the director. It has also been revealed that production will start in mid-October with an October 21, 2005 release date. Also noted is that Universal Pictures is talking to The Rock regarding a role in the Doom movie. - September 22, 2004 — The Hollywood Reporter reported that Universal Pictures has cast Rosamund Pike opposite of Karl Urban as a scientist named Samantha.
Reception
Doom received mostly negative reviews by critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 19% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 128 reviews. Roger EbertRoger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
says, "Doom is like some kid came over and is using your computer and won't let you play." Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Richard E. Roeper is an American columnist and film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times and now a co-host on The Roe Conn Show on WLS-AM...
has also stated, "The performances are awful, the action sequences are impossible to follow, the violence is gratuitous, the lighting is bad and I have my doubts that the catering truck was even up to snuff on this project." One apparently good review came from Richard James Havis from The Hollywood Reporter, stating, "There's so little to go wrong that those who like their entertainment mindless and violent will find little fault." In 2009, Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
listed the film on their list of top ten worst video games movies.
The response from fans of the video game was mixed. Many expressed disappointment because the film did not follow the plot of the game, as the games dealt with an invasion from hell instead of a virus, and over the movie's failure to reproduce the game's most essential quality: the killing of large numbers of enemies. It did well on its opening weekend, taking in $15.5 million. However, it quickly dropped in its second week in theaters and the final gross of the film was only $28.2 million domestically and almost $56 million worldwide, with a budget of $60 million. Dwayne Johnson was nominated for a Razzie Award as Worst Actor.
Soundtrack
The film's score was composed by Clint MansellClint Mansell
Clinton Darryl "Clint" Mansell, is an English musician, composer, and former lead singer and guitarist of the band Pop Will Eat Itself....
. A remix of the Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
song You Know What You Are? appears at the beginning of the first person shooter ending credits. Switchback by Celldweller
Celldweller
Celldweller is a Detroit, Michigan-based Electronic Rock project that was created by multi-instrumentalist Klayton, former frontman and songwriter of the bands Circle of Dust, Argyle Park, Angeldust . Celldweller's music is multi-faceted, often labeled electronic rock and more commonly being...
was used in the trailer.