Doom: Annihilation (2019)

Streaming Service: Netflix

Movie Name/Year: Doom: Annihilation (2019)

Genre: Action, Adventure, Horror, Sci-Fi

Length: 96 minutes

Rating:  R

Production/Distribution: Battle Mountain Films, Di Bonaventura Pictures, John Wells Productions, Universal 1440 Entertainment, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, Universal Pictures, Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Nordic

Director: Tony Giglio

Writer: Tony Giglio

Actors: Amy Manson, Dominic Mafham, Luke Allen-Gale, James Weber Brown, Clayton Adams, Nina Bergman, Amer Chadha-Patel, Gavin Brocker, Chidi Ajufo, Hari Dhillon, Katrina Nare, Arkie Reece, Jemma Moore, Louis Mandylor, Gina Philips

Blurb from IMDb:  Follows a group of UAC Marines as they respond to a distress call from a top secret scientific base on Phobos, a Martian moon, only to discover it's been overrun by demons who threaten to create Hell on Earth.

Cat’s Point of View:

When this title popped up on Netflix, I will admit that I gave it a little side-eye. I get the seductive pull for Hollywood to make bank over famous video game properties when at all possible – but didn’t we already do this?

Doom (2005) gave us the thrill of seeing elements of the cult-classic game to the big screen – and with Dwayne Johnson (Moana, Skyscraper, Ballers), Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl, 7 Days in Entebbe, Radioactive), and Karl Urban (RED, Acts of Vengeance, The Boys) no less. Of course, that only scratches the surface. There was a story there. I can’t remember if it was similar to a game storyline. I last played the very early incarnations of the game well over 30 years ago. (Ugh saying that hurt.) The point is, there was a discernible plot.

If this new movie had been some sort of continuation or prequel, that would have been one thing. Doom: Annihilation seems to be a reboot, however. I don’t think it was as successfully entertaining as the first cinematic treatment for this gaming property. As it stands, the game creators and also the minds behind the 2005 movie both declined involvement with this project. 

It had all the little bits you’d expect, yet lacked the charisma and polish of its predecessor. It’s possible that part of the ‘polish factor’ comes from a comparison of budgets, but that doesn’t fix the overall vibe of the cast and story in general.

The overall plot this time around seemed a bit more flimsy. I didn’t feel the full arc of a story. It was as if there was a good idea, to begin with, but somewhere along the line there were some hiccups in the execution. At the same time, I’m glad they didn’t try to make a cookie-cutter remake.

I guess sometimes I’m just hard to please with my sci-fi.

Doom: Annihilation isn’t horrible if you’re bored or haven’t seen the 2005 movie. Otherwise, I’d recommend watching that one instead. 

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 60%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 16%

Metascore – None

Metacritic User Score – None

IMDB Score – 3.6/10

CinemaScore – None

Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 2/5

  

Movie Trailer: