Take fair warning, this movie is not for the faint of heart.

In the not too distant future, a team of archeologists and other scientists and their families have been studying the remains of humanoid life on Mars.  The research outpost was set up after discovering an ancient portal leading to Mars in the Nevada desert on Earth.

But now an area of the research center has now been cut off from the rest of the facility and the six scientists that were in that section are missing.  The call for help has now gone out to an elite group of marines.  Led by Sarge, the marines quickly proceed to the quarantined area with orders to discover what happened, collect any data from the computers, and contain any threat that could pose a danger to Earth.

To help recover the data from the computers, they take a civilian archeologist, Dr. Samantha Grimm, in with them.  Grimm, however, happens to be the estranged twin sister of Reaper, one of the marines on the team.  The two split ways after their parents died in an accident years earlier on the facility.

Grimm reveals that bone analysis of some of the Martian skeletons they’ve discovered has revealed the presence of an additional chromosome pair, not present in humanoid life on Earth.  It’s a revelation that could have a profound effect on human life as we know it. 

However, as the team starts searching for the missing scientists, some of them start dying as they are attacked by demonic creatures.  Where did the creatures come from?  Are they Martians?  Well I don’t really want to give that away, now do I?

Suffice to say the danger does not stay contained on Mars and when Sarge starts making irrational decisions, it is left up to Reaper to see that nothing escapes the compound built around the portal in the Nevada desert.

Anyone who has ever played the Doom video game will recognize much in the film and should be eminently satisfied.  That said, playing the video game first is far from a requisite for seeing this movie.  In fact, if anything the film gives more of a backstory on the characters and setting than the video game probably does.

Probably the best camera work of the film, and what should please video gamers the most are the shots near the end when Reaper’s hunting down all the demons.  The shots are nearly entirely from his point-of-view where all you see is his weapon out in front and what he’s killing with it.

The pace of the film works perfectly.  It is easy enough to follow the complexities of the backstory without slowing down the thrills of the main action.  Of course those of you who get squeamish at the sight of blood might want to steer clear as this film doesn’t hold anything back when it comes to the graphic portrayal of gory blood and guts.

Karl Urban (The Bourne Supremacy, Ghost Ship) does a fantastic job as Reaper, a man faced with overcoming demons of his past, on the research station, and in his commanding officer.

Rosamund Pike (Pride & Prejudice, Die Another Day) also does an excellent job as Dr. Samantha Grimm, a woman wanting to help ease her brother’s pain, while not being afraid to do or try anything.

As for the famed wrestler-turned-actor The Rock (The Scorpion King, The Mummy Returns), he actually turns in probably one of his better performances as a commanding officer who takes no nonsense, loves the new experimental Bio Feed Gun he finds, and verges on insanity when it comes to differentiating between following orders and doing what’s right.

As long as you don’t mind the gore, this film should definitely be worth your money at the box office.  If you don’t care for the gore or extreme violence, you probably should steer clear.