Mimicking Camera Angles
Doom
Just because a property stands as one of the most well-regarded and prestigious titles in one medium doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll succeed in another. Case in point: Andrzej Bartkowiak’s big-screen rendition of Doom in 2005. Starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in one of his earlier forays into cinema, Bartkowiak’s CG-heavy feature had the former wrestler play the part of Sarge, a member of the famed Rapid Response Tactical Squad.
Putting all of its failures to one side for the time being, the one scene in Doom that resonated the most with fans of the original video game was when it flipped filmic conventions on their head and entered first-person. Channelling the spirit of id Software’s seminal series, the gloriously violent segment boasted all of the qualities of a corridor shooter — jump scares, pulse rifles and a pulse-pounding soundtrack.
It proved to be a delightful, overly bloody slice of fan service that was ultimately bookended by a mediocre B movie. Would Bartkowiak’s feature have benefited from sticking with the POV angle for the entire film a la Cloverfield? Who knows?
– Michael Briers
