Doom: Extended Edition (HD DVD) (2005)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Science Fiction	Main Menu Audio & Animation Featurette-Behind The Scenes-Basic Training (10:31) Featurette-Making Of-Rock Formation (5:36) Featurette-Making Of-Master Monster Makers (10:53) Featurette-Making Of-First-Person Shooter Sequence (5:55) Featurette-Doom Nation (14:38) Featurette-Game On! (6:45)
Rating
Year Of Production	2005
Running Time	112:36
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Language Select Then Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Andrzej Bartkowiak
Studio Distributor	Universal Pictures Home Video	Starring	Karl Urban The Rock Rosamund Pike Dexter Fletcher Ben Daniels Al Weaver Richard Brake Yao Chin
Case	Amaray Variant
RPI	$44.95	Music	Clint Mansell Trent Reznor

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 French Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 German Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 Italian Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 Catalan Dolby Digital Plus 5.1
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English French Italian German Catalan Korean Swedish Danish Finnish Dutch Norwegian Portuguese	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	Yes

    Got some flesh-eating zombie mutants terrorising your top-secret, secluded, fortress-like scientific lab? Who ya gonna call? The Rock, of course! (Dwayne to his mom).

    When an isolated archaeological lab loses much of its staff to an unknown assailant and places itself in high-level quarantine, the RRTS (Rapid Response Tactical Squad) are called in to check it out. Led by an imposing figure known only as Sarge (The Rock), they're a little miffed initially, having had their impending holiday leave cancelled at the last minute. They're dispatched at speed to a Mars-based research facility at Olduvai, where one of the RRTS team members, John (Karl Urban), has a sister, Samantha (Rosamund Pike), stationed. The RRTS team breaks down as follows:

• Sarge (The Rock) - A 'by-the-book' leader who clearly puts the mission before his men. Likes big guns.
• John "Reaper" Grimm (Karl Urban) - Karl's stupendous talent for eyebrow acting is put to the test with this moody character who spends much of the film agonising over his long departed parents. His sister, Samantha (Rosamund Pike), actually works in facility where their parents died, continuing their legacy, she says.
• Portman (Richard Brake) - A slimy, unlikable character whom viewers desperately want to see meet a violent end.
• The Kid (Al Weaver) - The young, nervous newbie in the team with a reliance on psychotropic substances.
• Duke (Raz Adoti) - A big man with a heart made of play-dough. Has a humorous aversion to nano-walls and spends much of the film trying to hit on John's sister, Sam, to no avail.
• Destroyer (Deobia Oparei) - A loyal soldier, a man of few words.
• Goat (Ben Daniels) - Enter the lone fanatical Christian with a dedication to sweet Jesus that transcends lunacy. You know, the type who carves a crucifix into his arm with a bowie knife every time he blasphemes. From early on in the film, you know this nut job is going to bite it, big-time. We need more characters like this in contemporary cinema, just so we can watch them die violently.
• Mac (Yao Chin) - A 'barely there' character, no sooner dispatched after he is introduced.

    If there's one thing the film does have going for it, it's the creatures. Bendy-dude extraordinaire, Doug Jones (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth), climbs into several scary suits in this film and lives up to his reputation as a great performer, with a very eerie physicality. Creature effects and make-up are equally amazing – perhaps if they had invested the same amount of effort in the film's screenplay, the result would be more satisfying.

    Based on the popular first-person shooting game of the same name, Doom is a great bit of mutant-slaying fun, but it is hardly memorable. There are no passages of witty dialogue that you can quote to your friends, nor are there any truly shocking moments of gore. Any potential for a clever, truly entertaining screenplay has been replaced with repetitious blurting of "f***" for no apparent reason, on a scale that I have never seen before. In a nutshell, this film has been done already, and it's been done better. It's no Alien or Predator, but it'll kill a few hours of your time without too much trouble.

Video

    Doom has been transferred to HD DVD at 1080p in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1. HD DVD content is presented in a native 16x9 frame.

    Being such a recent production, I was prepared to have my socks blown off by this transfer. Sadly, I was left a bit disappointed. The overall image is a little on the soft side at times, but I'm not entirely convinced this is the fault of the transfer. During a scene at 47:13, the shots cut between characters Sam and Portman while they are in conversation. In these shots Sam is quite sharp, while Portman is slightly blurry, suggesting there may have been a focus-pulling issue on set. Similarly, at 54:57 a close-up on Reaper's eyes should be much sharper than it appears. These soft moments are contrasted by sharp, jagged edges on the text in the closing credits. The text should be smoother, so this is an artefact I wouldn't expect to see on HD DVD.

    Doom is a dark film. I'm not just talking about a few shadowy scenes, I mean a lot of the film is situated in virtual darkness. This is relatively well handled in most situations, however there are some scenes that had me squinting at the screen, trying to decipher from the inky blackness what the hell was going on. A good example of strong shadow detail can be found at 42:14, as the crew make their way through dark tunnels and sewers.

    Colours are bold and well saturated. Skin tones are particularly realistic; from Rosamund Pike's pasty-pale complexion to The Rock's dark tan, there were no problems in that department. Bold yellows and purples can be found in the laboratories, but it's the blood-reds that stand out most. Every drop that's spilled literally leaps off the screen and looks great.

    The video stream has been compressed using the VC1 codec, however it appears that the transfer might have benefited from a two-disc release, allowing more room for the feature. I noted what seems to be compression issues on the crew's torch beams as they move through dusty, smoky-dark tunnels. The dust and smoke highlighting the torch beam should be smooth, but the image clearly has lines and stepping in the fades of brightness between the light and dark areas of the image. I suspect this is a compression artefact, given the number of soundtracks and featurettes we have on the disc. As far as film artefacts are concerned, a few positive and negative specs can be seen on the source intermittently, but the transfer is otherwise very clean.

    Unfortunately, I noted a slight haloing and what appears to be edge enhancement around actor's faces in some scenes. The edge enhancement is minor, and may not be as much of an issue on a smaller display, but it is most certainly there.

    An English subtitle stream for the hearing impaired is provided and appears to be accurate to the spoken word and well paced.A plethora of other languages are accounted for.

    This disc is the dual layered, HD-30 format. There was no noticeable pause on my equipment.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There are no dire issues to report here. The film's original English language soundtrack is presented in Dolby Digital Plus 5.1. The default soundtrack is dependant on the viewer's language selection from an initial setup menu. Alternate dubs in French, Italian, German and Catalan Spanish are also presented in Dolby Digital Plus 5.1.

    The English dialogue is crystal clear, always distinct in the mix and never overpowered by effects or score. The ADR is seamless throughout and there are absolutely no audio sync issues.

    This is a great action-oriented soundtrack, with a lot going on. A lossless soundtrack, such as Dolby True HD, would have been really nice, but this Dolby+ version does a good job. Gunfire, in particular, and other effects are very crisp and rattle from all directions. The use of the surround channels extends from subtle, spooky atmospherics and creature noises to mechanical sounds such as passing vehicles and the like. Voices are generally confined to the front centre channel most of the time.

    The score by Clint Mansell is true to the vibe of the original game, with heavy distorted guitars and electronic beats reminiscent of bands like White Zombie or Marilyn Manson. Nine Inch Nails also make a contribution to the soundtrack, which can be heard in the closing credits.

    The LFE channel is actively used to augment a range of effects such as gunfire, explosions and the like, as well as building tension in the appropriate moments.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    This is a good selection of EPK-standard extra material, all presented in standard definition video.

Menu

Featurette- Basic Training (10:31)

    Looks at the intensive military training the cast were put through prior to filming, overseen by expert Tom McAdams, who himself had recently left military service.

Featurette- Rock Formation (5:36)

    There were a number of concept drawings made for The Rock's make-up, for use in the film's final scenes. The make-up artists talk us through the materials that are used, and how they are applied to particular scenes.

Featurette- Master Monster Makers (10:53)

    From conceptual art to modeling and fitting, we're shown Stan Winston's creatures that were designed for the film. Doug Jones (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth) discusses his casting and how the suit feels on set.

Featurette- First-Person Shooter Sequence (5:55)

    The First-Person Shooter scene occupies five-and-a-half minutes of screen time and is intended to replicate game play, in a way. A special unit took two weeks to complete the scene and its director explains some of the tricks that were applied.

Featurette- Doom Nation (14:38)

    Looks at the evolution of first-person gaming, from Wolfenstein 3D onwards. Includes interviews with ID Software employees and founders, as well as the film's producers.

Featurette- Game On! (6:45)

    Offers some handy hints on playing Doom 3, for beginners.

    There is censorship information available for this title. Click here to read it (a new window will open). WARNING: Often these entries contain MAJOR plot spoilers.

    The North American HD DVD release omits the Italian and German audio options and includes an additional Doom 3 demo for the X-Box 360. Judging by positive reviews of this disc, I suspect there may be less compression applied. Their cover art also differs from ours, depicting the team of soldiers in a pose rather than a hideous mutant head. I prefer ours, even though the hideous mutant monster's head manages to distract attention from the hideous mutant ratings logo.

    The video transfer is average, as far as HD transfers go.

    The audio transfer is good.

    The extras are simply transferred from the SD DVD.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall