The Rock kicks alien ass in sci-fi horror Doom by Polish director Andrzej Bartkowiak. It was dubbed "the best videogame-to-movie adaptation ever made" although there isn’t much competition for that title and when it came to unleashing the movie, it only scared up $28m against a $70m budget. It seems the world has yet to be convinced of The Rock’s action hero credentials.

Spaced Out

Along with his onscreen comrades, The Rock spent two weeks being bossed around by military advisor Tom McAdams. The Basic Training featurette chronicles this arduous regime, which included a course in handling AK47s. McAdams explains that some of the actors were "a little intimidated by the weapon," namely Razaaq Adoti who plays Duke. He couldn’t pull the trigger without flinching, but denies that it had anything to do with fragile nerves. "Sometimes air comes out of the barrel of the weapon," he says, "and it makes you blink a bit.."

Talking of prissy actors, Rock Formation finds Dwayne in the makeup chair as he undergoes the transformation into a beastlier version of himself. Master Monster Makers goes into more depth about similar visual effects used to create "meaty, organic looking" creatures evolved from the videogame. CGI is kept to a minimum with the emphasis on animatronics and actors running around in scary rubber suits. Actress Rosamund Pike also talks about the many "pots of Ultra-pus and Ultra-slime" that enhanced a general mood of stinking putrefaction on the set.

Shoot To Thrill

Perhaps the boldest scene in the film is the First Person Shooter Sequence, which replicates the videogame experience in a five-and-a-half minute continuous shot. Third unit director Jon Farhat reveals all the preparation and choreography that went into the sequence as well as pointing out the hidden seams.

We’re told that the 'first person' approach was a groundbreaking innovation for the gaming world in the featurette Doom Nation. As well as hearing from the fans, the software designers talk about their contribution to the decline of western civilisation. Lastly, the featurette Game On offers tips to the joystick jockeys on how to stay alive while playing Doom III.

There’s not a peep out of Andrzej Bartkowiak and even The Rock doesn’t say much in this cluster of featurettes. Still, there’s enough inside information on this DVD to appeal to a cult audience of gaming geeks and monsterphiles.

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