Doom: Annihilation (2019)

(In French, On Cable TV, November 2021) I’ve been playing Doom or its sequels even since the original’s 1993 debut on then-BBSes, so I was surprised to find out that an entire movie based on that franchise had slipped unnoticed past me. Although, thinking of it, it’s not as if Doom: Annihilation called attention to itself in the first place: A low-budget film from the “Universal 1440” direct-to-video division (whatever this means now in a streaming-first age), it’s a stablemate with an amazingly long list of sequels and spinoffs whose very existence will surprise you. Minimal effort is the commonality between all of the Universal 1440 productions and Doom: Annihilation is no exception. Put together with threadbare means and the most basic elements of Doom’s mythology (Mars-based research opening a portal to hell — yup, we’re done here), it’s a film that moves through rote and boring scenes all the way to an amazingly botched non-conclusion. There’s a willingness to do something different in making the protagonist of the film a female lieutenant rather than the mute faceless doomguy, but that’s roughly all that’s worth noticing about writer-director Tony Giglio’s bland execution. The videogame creators were not involved in the production, and the entire thing feels like a rethread of other films with a Doom label slapped on the result. The special effects are plentiful but generic, and the same goes for the character interactions — none of which raise the film above mediocrity. I did like Katrina Nare, but considering that I’m down to complimenting the looks of an actress in a marginal supporting role, that should give you an idea of how far away Doom: Annihilation is from anything worth watching by itself. I suppose that eventually, we will get something like a good Doom film. Or not — it’s not as if we need a film to appreciate the games.