Review: Doom

doom_cov.jpgYear: 2005
Director: Andrzej Bartkowiak
Starring: Karl Urban, Rosamund Pike, The Rock
Kaboom Review Action Movie Rating: 21

Plot
A Marine squad is sent to Mars to gain control of an isolated research facility where an unknown entity has attacked the staff.

Quick Review
Doom bored me. On every important aspect of an action movie, this film fails. The simple plot doesn’t work. Much of the film is too dark. The pace stutters. The horror emphasis is poorly executed. The acting carries little emotional force. The film does little to make us care about the characters. The action is repetitive, and the improvement at the end comes too late to save the film. Please, give me back these two hours of my life.

Full Review
Films depicting a squad of soldiers fighting aliens are common in the action movie world. Maybe because of the fun I had with the poorly reviewed Alien vs. Predator, I was thinking I might enjoy Doom, despite its overall mediocre reviews. Unfortunately, where Alien vs. Predator gets much of the mood right, Doom falls flat on its face. By any standard, this is a poorly executed film.

First, the pacing is terribly out of whack. Doom essentially stuffs ten minutes of content into the first 40 minutes of the doom_1.jpgmovie. Despite having the thinnest of plots at the start, it takes Doom an eternity to generate any velocity. The first chunk of the movie is spent getting to the research facility, talking about where stuff is in the facility, and then walking around in the dark with flashlights, doing the “scan-the-light-around-the-corner” horror trick over and over. Even my DVD player got tired of this, as it crapped out and gave me an “unable to read disc” error as soldiers searched yet another empty room. Unfortunately for me, I was able to clean the disc and get it to work again.

After the slow start things pick up somewhat, but with so little character development and characters who are as likeable as rocks (pardon the pun), it’s hard to care about what happens in the movie. And that’s not all that’s wrong with this movie. Doom makes the same mistake as Starship Troopers 2, in that it bills itself as an action movie, but in doom_2.jpgreality is mostly a graphic, bloody horror film. There is precious little action in the middle section of the movie, and what there is consists mostly of shooting at shadows in the darkness. Done well, they could have generated some tension here, but a lot of the scenes are so dark that I couldn’t see what was going on. This is a shame in itself, because the set looked fairly impressive when you could actually see it. All in all, both the action and the horror elements are just plain boring. Also, after the movie takes time to attempt to describe the layout of the facility and the squad’s mission, all this vanishes in the middle of the movie. The soldiers split up and walk around in the darkness, so you have little idea of who is where. Then they see a shadow so they all come back together to chase it, then they split up again, and so on. Sigh. Mostly they seem to split up to make it easy to get killed, but who am I to complain. By this point I was rooting for an alien massacre so the movie would end quickly.

Surprisingly, the film’s story takes on some substance in the back half of the film. However, the actions of the characters don’t make sense given the situations, the story takes weird and unconvincing plot turns to justify setting up the final battle, and there is little attention to the premise. At times, characters do inexplicable things. Take for example, this situation. The squad rescues a critically wounded researcher and brings him back to the facility hospital, doom_karl_urban.jpgwhere researcher Samantha Grimm (played by Rosamund Pike) and a solider are stationed. After examining his incoherent, frothing condition, they roll his gurney off to the side. A few minutes later, the guy gets up and walks away, with blood dripping all over the floor. Nobody decides to look for him, and Samantha casually remarks that he has disappeared. Huh? You just spent a half hour trying to save the man, he’s having spasms and near death, and you don’t bat an eye when he vanishes from the hospital?

The action as well picks up substantially toward the end of the film, but it gets repetitive fast. How many times can we watch a soldier shoot a lumbering zombie? By the time the movie finally gets twisted to accommodate the ending, the action is actually fairly good. The cheesy visual effects that dominate the movie take a step up in quality at this point. The amazing set provides for some solid mini-scenes. But where was this stuff for the first hour and forty-five minutes? There is a creative yet ultimately unimpressive segment shot to resemble a first-person gaming experience, but the final battle is fast, powerful, and entertaining. I still don’t know why they didn’t take this focus for the first 80 percent of the movie. The last fifteen minutes actually felt more like the game Doom than anything preceding it.

Overlaying the entire film is a downright bland script and uninspired acting. I am one of the few people who liked the Rock in Scorpion King, but here he is simply way off target. He yells lines forcefully enough, but they just don’t carry any conviction. He gets generally crappy support as well from a cast that never rises to life. The one exception is Rosamund Pike, who manages to capture the mood of an intelligent researcher caught in a situation out of her element. At times they give her some nearly undeliverable lines and stupid situations to play, yet she survives them to give the impression doom_rosamund_pike.jpgof some acting talent.

As for Babes and Hunks, I found Rosamund Pike intelligently attractive as the research scientist, but the film does little to promote a sensual side to her in the film. From a Hunk perspective, Karl Urban looks great as John Grimm. It’s hard to believe that this is the same Karl Urban that looked so uninspiring in Pathfinder. The Rock is strikingly handsome as well. Elsewhere, things are a mixed bag.

All in all, Doom bored me. On every important aspect of an action movie, this film fails. The simple plot doesn’t work. Much of the film is too dark. The pace stutters. The horror emphasis is poorly executed. The acting carries little emotional force. The film does little to make us care about the characters. The action is repetitive, and the improvement at the end comes too late to save the film. Please, give me back these two hours of my life.

Related Reviews
Alien vs. Predator, Starship Troopers 2, Scorpion King, Pathfinder

Score
Pace: 42
Plot: 33
Action: 28
Consistent Premise: 38
Script/Quotes: 21
Characters: 36
Acting: 32
Villain: 17
Body Count: 68
Time to First Dead Body: 2 minutes, 13 seconds
Babes: 27
Hunks: 78
Explosions: 12
Special Effects: 36
Stunts: 47
Ending: 28

Overall: 21 (Watch Alien vs. Predator instead)

Technorati Tags: , , , , ,

Up Next: Doom

Last night I watched Doom, the 2005 action movie based on the popular video game series. I hope to post my review sometime in the next two days.

Coming This Friday: Carnival of Cinema!

That’s right! Hear ye, hear ye! Scott Nehring at Nehring the Edge has graciously allowed us to host the upcoming edition of the Carnival of Cinema. We’ve got almost a dozen submissions already, and there’s still time to add yours, if you haven’t already done so.

The Carnival of Cinema, in case you don’t know, is a once-a-week article that links to all sorts of cinema-related articles that get submitted to the Carnival during the previous week. So if you’ve got a movie review or a film-related article by all means send it in! Entering the information only takes a minute, and we’d love to have you involved.

The deadline for submissions is Wednesday at 6pm CST. That gives you almost two full days to get something written and entered. Submissions are free, of course, so jump right up and be a part of the fun!

Review: Raiders of the Lost Ark

raiders_cov.jpgYear: 1981
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, John Rhys-Davies
Kaboom Review Action Movie Rating: 95+

Plot
Indiana Jones races the Germans to find the Lost Ark.

Quick Review
Raiders of the Lost Ark is case study in the construction of an action movie. Intelligent enemies, great pace, tremendous attention to detail in the action scenes, and outstanding characters all add up to overwhelm the simple plot, negligent character development, and structurally weak ending. Simply put, this is one of the best action movies ever made. We happily present it with a Kaboom Review Gold Medal Award and include it as a candidate for Best Action Film of All-Time.

Full Review
On many movie sites, Raider’s of the Lost Ark is often cited as the best action movie of all-time. It’s easy to see why. Even after 26 years, Raiders of the Lost Ark shines as if it were made yesterday. This movie should be required viewing before making an action movie today. It’s a perfect example of how to emphasize the critical elements of escapist entertainment.

raiders_2.jpgIt’s interesting to note the weak elements of Raiders first. There is little character development, a simple plot, and an average script. Steven Spielberg, the director, said that he considered Raiders of the Lost Ark a B-movie as he was making it, and I’m guessing it was the weakness of these elements of the film that led him to believe this film was destined for mediocrity. But Raiders of the Lost Ark proves that character development, plot, and script are secondary in a great action film, and to a degree can actually hinder an action film. Raiders of the Lost Ark strikes a perfect balance with regard to action and plot, and gets the most important elements right.

The pacing in Raiders of the Lost Ark is flawless. The movie opens with a tense and exciting romp through a jungle temple, stops for a few minutes to set the story, then rockets along from that point on, stopping just enough to flesh out and explain the minimalist plot. Just as important, the movie never jumps ahead of its pace. The editing balance here is exceptional, and the film does each scene justice.

The characters in Raiders of the Lost Ark are unique and instantly likeable, and the acting is more than adequate to make them believable. Harrison Ford plays Indiana Jones, the nerdy, tough, and sensitive archaeology professor/action hero. The humanness of his character makes him so easy to relate to. He’s an ordinary guy on an extraordinary mission, who defeats his enemies through persistence and cunning. More movies would do well to copy this model for an action hero, rather than the aloof, macho type that Hollywood often uses to fill the hero role.

raiders.jpgSupporting Indiana is Marion Ravenwood, played by Karen Allen. Allen nails the female sidekick role. She hits the balance between femininity and feistiness to perfection. She can drink men under the table one minute, and tend to Indiana Jones’ injuries the next. Her character is vibrant and charismatic, and she plays the role perfectly. The rest of the cast is adequate if not exceptional. John Rhys-Davies is noteworthy in his an above average job as Sallah, Indiana Jones’ friend in Egypt.

Although it’s more accurate to say that the villain in Raiders of the Lost Ark is the entire German army, the main villain in is Dr. Rene Belloq, played by Paul Freeman. I found him relatively weak as a villain. He doesn’t have the force and presence of a truly outstanding villain. However, Raiders of the Lost Ark goes to show you that a key element to getting a villain right in an action movie is not the character, but the intelligence. Raiders of the Lost Ark is a perfect example of a movie that achieves greatness by the strength of the strategies employed by the villains. Like Die Hard, the Germans in Raiders of the Lost Ark show resourcefulness and sense in their actions. The result is a frantic game of give-and-take as Indiana Jones and the Germans struggle for possession of the Ark of the Covenant. More action movies would do well to emulate this critical element in achieving greatness in an action film.

Action movies live or die by the quality of their action, and it is here where Raiders of the Lost Ark rises to the top. The action in this film is simply superb. I could talk in length about how brilliantly edited and constructed a half dozen scenes are in the film. Of particular excellence, however, is the truck chase scene in the back half of the movie. The scene took six weeks to shoot but was well worth the raiders1.jpginvestment. The back and forth action here is thrilling, crisply shot, and stays within its premise to near perfection. This scene is of such outstanding quality that it merits inclusion in the Best Scene in Action Film History Competition. There are other scenes that nearly equal the excellence of this scene: the opening sequence, the fight in the bar, the fight around the airplane. It’s hard to think of a movie that has so many outstanding action sequences.

What’s interesting about Raiders of the Lost Ark is how well it stands the test of time. The action in this film is basic, mostly driven by simple stunts and great camera angles. The visual effects—which won an Oscar in 1981—are limited to the climax of the movie. Although they appear heavily dated today, they don’t drag the film down substantially. With the vast majority of the action separate from technology, the movie feels (until the end, that is) as if it could have been made just a few years ago. While we’re on the subject of the ending, it’s worth noting that despite the stellar special effects for their day, the ending is a disappointment from a story-telling aspect. Indiana Jones plays an insignificant role in the final scene, and that simply shouldn’t happen in a film this good.

I’d also like to mention the famous scene where Indiana Jones—when confronted by a dual-sword wielding Egyptian—proceeds to simply blow him away with his revolver instead of engage him in hand-to-hand combat. This scene goes a long way to showing how well the film stays within its premise. raiders-of-the-lost-ark-1.jpgHow many times have you seen a hero toss a pistol away out of some silly sense of pride instead of just shooting someone? How many times have you seen an army engage someone in sword combat instead of shooting him with arrows? This scene is such a long overdue, hilarious, and classic moment in action film history. This scene as well, because of its humor and attention to premise, deserves inclusion in the Best Scene in Action Film History Competition.

The attention to premise is on the whole outstanding in movie. Simply put, events and actions on the whole are believable and make sense. There are problems, however, and with a bit of scrutiny, the veil of perfection falls off Raiders of the Lost Ark. For example, in the truck chase scene, at one point Indiana Jones drives a German vehicle off the edge of an incredible cliff, but the entire chase happens on mostly flat ground. Where did the cliff come from? It’s a jarringly out of place moment in this scene. Also, in that scene, wouldn’t the Germans in the back of the truck that Indy is driving just shoot through the back of the truck? In another scene, Indiana clings to a U-Boat on what appears to be a journey of several days. How did he survive? I understand that U-Boats would likely not submerge, but it’s a bit of a stretch to travel that way. Lastly, at the end, Indiana is left to live when captured by the Germans. Wouldn’t they just shoot him? On the whole however, these issues can be explained to a degree, and don’t detract greatly from the overall attention to detail in this film.

The amazing thing about this film is that it could have been awful with any less attention to detail. In the desert dig scenes, for example, the scenes carry just enough sense of confusion and chaos to make it believable that Indiana Jones could do what he does inside the dig. If these scenes were created with raiders04.jpgthe wrong mood or slightly less chaos, the sense of believability here would be lost.

With regards to Babes and Hunks, the film shines behind the charisma and energy of Harrison Ford and Karen Allen. The sensuality of this film is minor, but there is solid charisma between the two actors, and this drives the Babes and Hunks ratings in this film fairly high, despite the family entertainment flavor to the film.

Lastly, it can’t be stated enough how fitting and enhancing the dramatic musical score is in this film.

On the whole, Raiders of the Lost Ark is case study in the construction of an action movie. Intelligent enemies, great pace, tremendous attention to detail in the action scenes, and outstanding characters all add up to overwhelm the simple plot and negligent character development. Simply put, this is one of the best action movies ever made. We happily present it with a Kaboom Review Gold Medal Award and include it as a candidate for Best Action Film of All-Time.

Fun Fact
The conversation between George Lucas and Steven Spielberg that initiated the process to create the film occurred while Lucas and Speilberg were making a sand castle in Hawaii.

Score
Pace: 90
Plot: 70
Action: 95
Consistent Premise: 88
Script/Quotes: 64
Characters: 96
Acting: 87
Villain: 76
Body Count: 39
Time to First Dead Body:
Babes: 72
Hunks: 86
Explosions: 35
Special Effects: 24
Stunts: 82
Ending: 74

Overall: 95+

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , ,

Up Next: Raiders of the Lost Ark

During the recent Deep Discount sale, I purchased the classic Indiana Jones trilogy from the 1980’s. Last night I sat down and watched the first film: Raiders of the Lost Ark. I am aiming to post the review sometime over the weekend.

← Previous Page — Next Page →