Doom

History has shown us not to expect much from movies based on videogames. If you are an adolescent male, a fan of the game, or someone who gets excited by loud noises, read on. If you do not fit into one of these categories, save yourself the trouble and run as if you were being chased by a re-animated corpse.

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Doom pits a squad of futuristic marines against a bevy of bothersome beasts. Leading the team is the aptly named Sarge (Dwayne Johnson, alias The Rock). Although Johnson proved his acting chops in movies like Be Cool, it is really hard to call the collection of poses and one-liners that seep out of the ex-wrestler's burly frame as acting. Karl Urban co-stars as John Grimm, aka "Reaper", whose name pretty much sums up his character. Urban's role is just as prominent as the Rock's, and he even manages to get out a few lines that don't sound like they came from an Xbox.

You don't go to see a videogame adaptation and expect award-winning cinema. You go for the action and violence, and there's plenty of both in Doom. Still, director Andrzej Bartkowiak (Thirteen Days, The Devil's Advocate) intermittently mixes fast-paced thrills with some scenes that are so slow you'll be saying, "Are we there yet?" The effects are decent and the monsters are appropriately grotesque, but they aren't in the frame long enough for their creepiness to have full impact.

Fans of the game should be pleased with Doom, but it is worth mentioning that the plot of the movie doesn't really follow the game's storyline. In the game, the monsters are demons from hell, but the movie explains that they are products of genetic mutation gone awry. Apparently, demons from hell would have been offensive, but ripping off people's limbs makes for fine family entertainment.