In the not-so-distant future a portal has been discovered leading from Earth to Mars where the government operates a research base to examine the ruins of a lost civilisation; scientists are studying it conducting experiments they perhaps shouldn&t be & trying find out what happened Answer nothing good That&s what Sarge (The Rock) & his unit of high-tech Marines find out the hard way when they&re sent to investigate a disturbance on the base which turns out to be nothing less than an infestation of terrifying evil flesh-eating monsters DOOM based on one of the most popular video games of all time knows exactly what it wants to do & wastes no time in doing it Andrzej Bartkowiak the director of lean effective action flicks like ROMEO MUST DIE & EXIT WOUNDS gets right to the meat of the movie marines versus monsters in dark dank corridors The Rock brings just the right balance of bad-ass attitude & deadpan humour to the role of Sarge while the cast&s other standout is Reaper (LORD OF THE RINGS& Karl Urban) who tries to repair his strained relationship with his sister Samantha (Rosamund Pike) one of the base&s scientists They&re joined by a motley crew including the twisted Portman intensely religious Goat affable Duke & newbie The Kid While the plot differs from that of the game in a few key ways it remains true to the spirit of the original a no-frills fest of shooting explosions gore & vicious zombies The game was of course a first-person shooter & in an inspired moment the movie turns itself into one for a stretch It&s exhilarating as are several surprising twists that separate this fun streamlined action extravaganza from lesser video game adaptations