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A ministry of the ChildCare Action Project: Christian Analysis of American Culture (CAP Ministry) A 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Christian Ministry. www.capalert.com/ Entertainment Media Analysis Report A service to His little ones through you in His name by His Word MAR25078  (2005), R [R*] (1hr 37min) The #1 Christian entertainment media analysis service on the Internet. We give you OBJECTIVE tools NO ONE ELSE CAN to help YOU make an informed decision for yourself whether a film is fit for your family. Over 1000 analyses for parents, grandparents, pastors, youth leaders and more. |
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(This section may be and sometimes is somewhat subjective.)
 Cast/Crew Details Courtesy Internet Movie Database Production (US): Di Bonaventura Pictures, John Wells Productions, Stillking Films, Universal Studios, Warner Bros. Distribution (US): Universal Pictures (2004) Director(s): Andrzej Bartkowiak Producer(s): Laura Holstein, David Minkowski, Henning Molfenter, John D. Schofield, Jeremy Steckler, Matthew Stillman, John Wells, Lorenzo di Bonaventura Screenplay: Dave Callaham, Wesley Strick Story: Dave Callaham Cinematography/Camera: Tony Pierce-Roberts Music: Clint Mansell Film Editing: Derek Brechin, Peter Dansie, Chris Lloyd, Toby Lloyd Casting: Julie Hutchinson, Jina Jay Production Design: Stephen Scott Art Direction: Peter Francis, Dominic Masters Viewed At: Driftwood Theater 6 While the CAP Ministry has begun phasing out doing analyses of R-rated films I have elected to conduct analysis of Doom because of its popularity among the teen crowd just so you, mom/dad, will objectively know what they get if your teens set themselves down before this flick. More than half of all moviegoers are minor children under 17 (Source: Loews Movie Trivia) and more than half of all films generally available to the public are rated R (See Where's the G?). You do the math of what approximate percentage of Doom viewers are likely underage. "R" is not a lock. It is no more than a signal. Doom, yet another video-to-screen film, is a cussfest, gorefest and killfest on Mars. If this film is a true representation of the video game, it is no wonder why so many have such low value for life and contempt for noble behavior and wholesome language [Col. 3:8]. Maybe video games are even more corruptive than films or music. Music just lets you hear about killing. Films let you hear and see killing. Video games let you hear the killing, see the killing and DO the killing though it be fantasy. A bad influence does not have to be real to influence badly. God knew what He was talking about when He old us about bad influences. [1 Cor. 15:33] We've been saying for years that video games may be more corruptive than even films. Maybe if we say this long enough Harvard will echo us on this, too, just as they echoed us four years after we proved the decay of the rating standards of the MPAA (See Harvard Agrees with Us). At the time of this report, Doom (R) is #1 of the top five films. Dreamer (PG) immediately follows Doom and has brought in about one fourth the box office revenue Doom has raked in. A sign of the times. As I told our newsletter subscribers, on screening night of the three films showing Doom drew the largest number of reviewers. Dreamer drew three, myself included. A sign of the times, indeed. Doom is certainly a film of reasonable workmanship, reasonable performances (except for the one-dimensional Rock who cannot break out of the gun toting action character mold) and sometimes dazzling creative CGI but the caliber of the work and performances do not excuse the content. The Marine Rapid Response Tactical Squad (RRTS) transports to Mars to fight the beasties created by genetic experimentation using the super DNA from the leavings of the Martian population: DNA which enables the host to be super in many ways strength, intelligence, etc. The trouble with the results of the experimentation is that people are victimized by the walking undead critters mutated from the human hosts. The undead gruesome growlers try to pass on their mutations to others, selectively. There is more detail to this scenario but who cares? Leader of the pack is Sarge (The Rock), mindlessly bent on following orders. Even if it means the deaths of many humans and the destruction of the Ark - the transporting device without which the team and the resident scientists cannot get back to Earth. The orders for the RRTS is to salvage the research data the scientists have accumulated. Oh, and the scientists, too, if any are still alive. One of Sarge's top troopers is John Grimm, a.k.a., Reaper (Karl Urban). As the team prepares to embark on their mission, scientist Samantha Grimm (Rosamund Pike) bullies her way into going with the team since her father was the lead scientist of the research. Though Sam and John 's parents were killed some time ago, who other than his like-father, like-daughter daughter who has followed and continued her father's research is better fit to know what to salvage? She is the only female to participate in the mission. And she is the sister of Reaper. Double trouble. First, the ingrained "women and children first" chivalry might jeopardize the mission, then the fact that Sam is Reaper's sister might lead to cowboy heroics as well. The rest of the pack: Destroyer (Deobia Oparei); Goat (Ben Daniels); Duke (Razaaq Adoti); The Kid (Al Weaver); Hell Knight (Brian Steele); Portman (Richard Brake); Mac (Yao Chin). Most of them are killed during the mission. Then Sarge is killed. By John. No matter that Sarge has turned into one of the gruesome growlers. One of the innovative and maybe creative features of Doom is the sequence at the end of the film where the perspective is not that of the audience but of John as he mutilates the mutants. Always centered in the screen is his firearm. The gun does not move, the scenery does. As beasties move into the crosshairs, they get blasted. A nice touch to smooth the line between video and big screen. I guess. Another innovative feature of creativity was the transporter. A glob of silvery goo was generated by the Ark and the passenger was dissolved into it then propelled to the destination where the passenger materialized, vomited and went about his/her business. One more rather ingenious feature of this film is Pinky (Dexter Fletcher). Pinky is a victim of the Ark. His upper half was transported to Mars while his lower half (not the term used in the film, of course) was transported to some other galaxy. The contraption created to enable Pinky to move about and continue life was indeed a work of a creative mind. When Pinky was mutated by the sting of one of the mutants, his mobility contraption was incorporated into the resultant critter and appeared to be motorized. Doom earned a CAP final score of 36 which is a long way from the lowest score earned out of the more than 1000 films we have analyzed, but a score of 36 places the content of this film squarely into the middle of the scoring range earned by R-rated films (54 and below out of 100) in the comparative baseline database. If it were not for the relatively "lite" sexual content, limited mainly to a repeated views of a life-sized poster of a nude woman [1John 2:1, Matt. 5:28], innuendo, rude comments [Eph. 5:4] and ghosting of female anatomy through thin clothing, and if it were not for the also relatively "lite" use of drugs, this film would have earned a much lower final score. By far violence was the strongest content in Doom. Murder, beast attacks, eating live animals, defensive killings, gore and more galore. At a rate of 58.8 examples of violence per hour, that is very near an average of one example of violence per minute. [Prov. 3:31, 3John 11] The bottom line? Killing. It's all about killing. And more killing. The ones killed may be "bad guys" but it is still killing. It may be mostly defensive killing, but it is still killing. Killing takes something out of the one doing the killing ... and replaces the something taken out with something else. Please look to the listing of observations in the Findings/Scoring section to help you make up your own mind about the content of Doom. SCRIPTURAL APPLICATION(S) If needed to focus or fortify, applicable text is underlined or bracketed [ ] or bold. If you wish to have full context available, the Blue Letter Bible is a convenient source. If you use the Blue Letter Bible, a new window will open. Close it to return here or use "Window" in your browser's menu bar to alternate between the CAP page and the Blue Letter Bible page. CHAPTER/VERSE ***Selected Scriptures of Armour against the influence of the entertainment industry*** As always, it is best to refer to the Findings/Scoring section -- the heart of the CAP analysis model -- for the most complete assessment possible of this movie. |
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(The objective heart of the CAP Analysis Model, independent of and insulated from the Summary/ Commentary section.)  Wanton Violence/Crime (W) Impudence/Hate (I) Sexual Immorality (S) Drugs/Alcohol (D): Offense to God (O) Murder/Suicide (M) |
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| There are some in the entertainment industry who maintain that 1) violent programming is harmless because no studies exist that prove a connection between violent entertainment and aggressive behavior in children, and 2) young people know that television, movies, and video games are simply fantasy. Unfortunately, they are wrong on both accounts." And "Viewing violence may lead to real life violence." I applaud these associations for fortifying 1 Cor. 15:33. Read the rest of the story. From our more than eight years of study, I contend that other aberrant behaviors, attitudes, and expressions can be inserted in place of "violence" in that statement. Our Director - Child Psychology Support, a licensed psychologist and certified school psychologist concurs. For example, "Viewing arrogance against fair authority may lead to your kids defying you in real life." Or "Viewing sex may lead to sex in real life." Likewise and especially with impudence, hate and foul language. I further contend that any positive behavior can be inserted in place of "violence" with the same chance or likelihood of being a behavior template for the observer; of being incorporated into the behavior mechanics and/or coping skills of the observer. In choosing your entertainment, please consider carefully the "rest of the story" and our findings. |
| In the name of Jesus: Lord, Master, Teacher, Savior, God. Tom Carder President ChildCare Action Project (CAP): Christian Analysis of American Culture 100% dependent on your tax-deductible financial support |  |
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