DOOM

 

THE MOVIE-                    1.5 stars out of 5

 

Doom has to be my least favorite film starring The Rock. It is definitely the weakest of the three films included in this collection. The film is based on the popular video game of the same name. About a decade or so prior to the beginning of the film, a gate was discovered buried in the Nevada desert that is able to transport people directly to Mars in seconds. The government uses the gate and establishes a research center on Mars known as the Olduvai Research Center where scientists have been exploring the planet as well as an archeological site of an advanced civilization that once inhabited Mars and who, it is presumed, built the gate. However, after several years, something goes wrong and a group of scientists at the station disappear. As a result, an elite team of Marines, lead by The Rock, travel through the gate to Mars with a mission to find the scientists and eliminate the creatures responsible for their disappearance and above all, not let any of the creatures return to Earth through the gate. There is really little in the way of a plot here and the film is a series of battles inside the station in the shadows. If you like a mindless film with battle after battle, this is the film for you. I for one, like a plot and got bored with this firm quickly. Rated as a rental only and a tepid recommendation at that.

 

THE VIDEO-                    4.35 stars out of 5

 

Encoded with AVC, Doom is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2:35:1. All in all, it is a solid transfer although I must admit it is a bit of a disappointment given how spectacular the recent Universal releases have been. On the plus side, the film features accurate colors and deep blacks. The issue of the deep blacks is significant given how large segments of the film take place in dark and supposedly spooky places deep under the Martian surface. Where this transfer fails for me is in the level of detail. While the brightly lit scenes have excellent detail, the interior shots in darkness and shadows lack the detail of the rest of the film and looks flat and soft in comparison, robbing the film of the clarity and depth that I had been expecting. Given that significant portions of the film take place in dark and gloomy interiors, this is a significant problem and mars what is otherwise a fine looking film.

 

THE AUDIO-            5 stars out of 5

 

As it always the case with Universal releases, the audio on Doom is presented in DTS HD master Audio and is fantastic. The film boasts are wide and deep soundstage with excellent use of the surrounds to given you a totally immersive sound field, placing you right smack dab in the middle of Olduvai station. Dialogue is well recorded and well placed in the mix. Dynamics are excellent as well with rich and deep bass and with gun blasts that really fill and shake the room. If you like films with soundtracks that rock your room, this is the track for you.

 

EXTRAS

 

Doom is BD-Live enables and features several featurettes including Basic Training where you join The Rock and cast for combat training, Master Monster Makers where you are shown how the creatures in the film are created, First Person Shooter Sequence where you see how this scene was created, Doom Nation which allows you to explore the Doom video game and Game On!, which offers strategies and tips on how to play the Doom video game.

 

IN CONCLUSION  

 

If you are a fan of the Doom video game, you may be interested in this release. However, if you aren’t, you may want to skip this baby in its entirety.

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THE RUNDOWN

 

THE MOVIE-                4 stars out of 5

 

While I am not a fan of Doom, I love The Rundown which is my favorite film starring The Rock. This is a funny film with plenty of action that will appeal to all fans of action films. The plot finds The Rock playing the role of Beck, a bounty hunter who wishes to open his own restaurant and is enlisted to go on one last hunt to find the son of his loan shark, to clear up his debt to the man and secure seed money for his restaurant. He travels to Brazil to track down the rebellious Travis (Seann William Scott) where he enlists the help of the owner of a local gold mining company (Christopher Walken) who owns and controls the town where Travis is located. Beck pays the owner a large sum to allow him to catch and remove Travis but the owner reneges on the deal when he learns that Travis has located a priceless gold statute in the jungle known as The Gato which he wants for himself. I have this film on the late and lamented D-Theater DVHS format and now Blu-Ray and it is always a hoot to watch. Highly recommended.

 

THE VIDEO-            4.75 stars out of 5

 

The Rundown is encoded with AVC and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2:35: 1 and looks fantastic on Blu-Ray. The film boasts a bright and colorful color palette with varying shades of green throughout the film showing off the beauty of the jungle. While the film is bright and colorful, skin tones look rather orange which is how I recall the film in the theater. While the color palette on this release is true to the source material, it is far from accurate, at least as far as skin tones are concerned. Black levels however are deep and inky, giving the film an excellent sense of depth and three dimensionality. Detail is very good as well although fall a bit short of the very best looking films on Blu-Ray, hence the slightly reduced score. With a slightly better level of detail, this would release would be worthy of a 5 star rating. As it is, it is a fine looking release in its own right, suffering only in comparison to the very best looking Blu-Ray releases.

 

THE AUDIO-            5 stars out of 5

 

The Rundown is encoded with DTS HD Master Audio and without question deserves a full 5 star rating. This is one dynamic sound track and is a real joy to experience in the home. The overall sound is rich, smooth and open with excellent imaging and transparency, with an excellent sense of depth both front to back and side to side. Sound effects are perfectly placed within the sound field. Bass is just off the charts being deep, rich and tight. The sequence in the bar in Brazil near the opening of the film where Beck first encounters Travis is a case in point with very convincing gun blasts, cracking of whips and thuds as the characters fight and fall to the floor, through chairs and over the bar. As one would surmise from my description so far of the sound here, excellent use is made of the surrounds creating a total sense of immersion, placing you right in the center of the action during the entire film. As you can tell, I really loved the audio on this release.

 

EXTRAS

 

The Rundown comes equipped with  several extras including deleted scenes and feature commentaries by The Rock and director Peter King as well as with producers Kevin Misher and Marc Abraham. The extras also include several featurettes including Rumble in the Jungle, The Amazon, Hawaii Style, Appetite for Destruction, The Rundown Uncensored and Walken’s World. The Rundown is also BD-Live enabled.

 

IN CONCLUSION

 

The Rundown is a funny, fast paced and action packed film that is run for the whole family. The fact that is features excellent video and reference audio doesn’t hurt either. Highly recommended.

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THE SCORPION KING

 

THE MOVIE-                    3 1/2 stars out of 5

 

The Scorpion King is a bit of a prequel taking place several thousand years before the action that forms the basis of The Mummy and The Mummy Returns. In fact, the character the Scorpion King was introduced in The Mummy Returns and marked the film debut of then professional wrestler, Duane Johnson, a/k/a The Rock. The Rock ‘s performance was so well received that a full length motion picture was created for him. As is frequently the case in professional wrestling, he Rock’s character undergoes a change in The Scorpion King, where he represents the triumph of good over evil whereas he was evil in The Mummy Returns. In this film, The Scorpion King is hired by a the remnants of several tribes to kill a sorceress who was assisting the warlord Memmon of the city of Gomorrah who was killing off their tribes and occupying their land. However, The Rock discovers that this sorceress is in fact a beautiful woman who is being forced by Memmon to do his bidding. As you would expect,  The Rock falls for her and turns his attention on killing Memmon to save her and the people Memmon has been ruling with an iron fist. While this film is not quite up ,to the level of The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, it is filled with some excellent action scenes and a bunch of laughs. It is well worth a rental.

 

THE VIDEO-                    4 3/4 stars out of 5

 

The video on this release is every bit as good as that on The Mummy Returns which I have previously reviewed. If you want to get a handle on how this film looks, I direct you to that review. In fact, all three of The Mummy related films reviewed here look very similar in design, with The Mummy Returns and The Scorpion King having the clearer more detailed image. Both of these films have excellent color reproduction, black level, depth and detail and are a joy to watch.

 

THE AUDIO-                    4 3/4 stars out of 5

 

As is the case with the video on The Scorpion King, the audio reproduction on this release is excellent and on par with that of The Mummy Returns. The audio here has excellent dynamics with deep bass and a totally immersive sound field. The dialogue track is well recorded and well rendered here, never getting lost in the mix. The overall sound is smooth and open, creating a nice three dimensional sound stage. As was the case with The Mummy Returns, the audio presentation here will thrill fans of The Scorpion King.

 

EXTRAS

 

The Scorpion King features U-Control which enables you to access interactive features such as cast and crew interviews and behind the scenes footage via PIP without requiring you to leave the actual film. In this case, the only feature is a director’s commentary with the director, Chuck Russell.The film is also BD-Live enabled. Bare bones extras to be sure.

 

IN CONCLUSION

 

While not up to the level of either The Mummy or The Mummy Returns, The Scorpion King is a fun film in its own right and one that is well worth a rental. The fact that it is included with The Rundown makes this three pack worth a look. Recommended.