Doom

You played the game - now go see the movie. If you dare.

This isn't a good year for Hollywood. They themselves think it's been a terrible year. Now they have Doom; it had the biggest box office over the weekend; but things are still slow.

James Berardinelli is not fond of the flick. He gives it one star out of four (unusually low for him) and writes:

'(Insert appropriate remarks about how Doom is the perfect name for this motion picture.)

'Playing the game has to be an infinitely preferable experience to watching this pathetic excuse for a movie. Doom (the movie) is a dreadful, hackneyed piece of cinema - a D-grade mess that's more a rip-off of Alien than an attempt to tell a compelling story. It's unfathomable how many times Hollywood has struck out in attempts to convert popular video/computer games into movies. This is the kind of misfire that reinforces negative stereotypes.

She wasn't in the game.

'Doom's box office receipts will be a testimonial to the popularity of the game, whose position near the top of the pyramid has been supplanted by newer, hotter titles. Undoubtedly, there will be a game based on this movie, which creates an environment that is part-recursive and part-cannibalistic.

At any rate, crossover appeal is minimal. There's almost nothing here for an average movie-goer, even one who likes dumb action and bloodsoaked horror. Doom is a waste of time and money. Of course, there is one element of the movie that invites interactivity: talking back to the screen about the stupidity of the characters, the screenwriters, the director, and yourself for wasting $10 and two hours.'

Doom stars Rosamund Pike and The Rock. Neither were in the video game. But they'll probably be in the new one.

Where's Lara Croft when we need her? Off doing the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen?