Doom 2: The Awakening

Back in 2002 JP released the second movie in his critically acclaimed Doom series. The Awakening not only was, but still is, one of the most well directed 3DMM movies to date. It is intriguing how such a movie, when broken down both technically and storywise, is so simple yet so astounding at the same time. Not to say that The Awakening is a one track movie however. Oh no, it goes well beyond that. What The Awakening represents is a benchmark that most 3dmm directors have yet to achieve.

The story picks up 3 years after the events of the first movie. Michael Durden is in Manhatten now living with his wife trying to get away from the Mars incident. I really liked the way JP set this up having Mark still lingering on the incident yet he can't seem to get away. The other side of the story was set up well also with Keaton and his team. From the moment the first scene opens up you can tell JP knows where he's taking this story. Even the way the whole thing unfolded was an accomplishment many directors haven't achieved quite yet. I really liked the way JP used minimal dialogue to express his point but moreso the actions of his directing talents to convey the TRUE feeling behind what he was trying to do, which is not only hard to accomplish but requires an amazing eye for cinematography, both of which JP has seemed to master.

Along with the storytelling comes the atmosphere and my god did The Awakening ever have atmosphere. I have never seen a darker, more intense film than this one in terms of the atmosphere, except for maybe Gnomes. The most apparent thing is that the movie is dark, very dark. To accomplish this most of the scenery constructed was to convey a bleak, desolate mood that worked beautifully in the grand scheme of it all. While JP's color palette ranged from grey to black to red, the use of those limited amount of colors alone worked on levels that JP himself probably didn't imagine he would reach. Every scene was consistent, one not really being more overpowering than the other which is good in a sense that you can see and comprehend the setting of the movie yet there's nothing flashy about it that takes away from what is going on. JP also uses several special effects to pull off the creepy feeling, especially when characters see themselves flashing down the hallway or their face appears in the floor. This very surreal and sadistic atmosphere was definitely what I think JP was trying to accomplish to say he succeeded is an understatement.

There was also some small problems with The Awakening that I found rather distracting at some points but not too much to the point where it took too much away from the movie. First off it was I think Gaj whose voice acting I wasn't all that fond of. She just didn't seem to really, well, act. The rest of the performances, Eric's in particular, were really well done, possibly some of the best "serious" work ever done in the program, with the except of Men Of Seattle 2. This section also brings up the much debated music selection. While the title track and orchestral pieces were woven wonderfully throughout the suspenseful parts of the movie, the other two selected tracks (I don't really believe I need to mention which ones they are) seemed a little out of place, but not to a devestating degree. They just didn't feel right in the scenes they were in, at least to the extent that JP utilized them. But in essence they really didn't hinder the viewing experience to any level of drastic unwatchability.

To call The Awakening a great movie would a bit of an understatement. While only clocking in at 15 minutes, JP exhibits some of the finest direction and cinematography in the history of the program, not to mention his ability to tell a story while conveying a wonderful sense of atmosphere. With the ending in place and a whole new set of paths the series could go in, D3MONS could prove to be the best directed movie 3dmm has ever seen.

9/10