Karl Urban's career began long before The Boys – his filmography includes The Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, Xena: Warrior Princess, as well as one of the most disastrous video game adaptations ever.
In 2021, James Wan, creator of Insidious and Saw, decided to bring Mortal Kombat back to its former glory. The movie, released four years ago, received mixed reviews. In the meantime, Mortal Kombat II is on its way to the big screen – it will be released on October 24, 2025.
The sequel's trailer broke the record for most views of an R-rated film with 106 million views in the first 24 hours, according to Deadline. And the main star of it is Karl Urban, who played Johnny Cage.
While fans debate whether this miscast is disastrous or just slightly bad, we recall another adaptation of a cult game in which Urban played one of the main roles – Doom.
What Is 'Doom' About?
Something very bad has happened at a remote research facility on Mars. Development has stopped, and communications are down. The facility has been placed under strict quarantine, and only a squad of eight battle-hardened Marines are allowed in.
Led by Asher Mahonin (Dwayne Johnson) and John Grimm (Karl Urban), the team is sent to Mars. They discover that the geneticists' experiments have gone wrong, and the station is filled with mutants rushing toward the portal to Earth.
'Doom' Was Released on the Heels of the Original Game's Wild Popularity
Released in 1993, Doom is one of the most influential games of all time, forever changing the world of first-person shooters.
The idea for a Doom film adaptation was conceived in the mid-1990s, when the second game in the series was tearing up the charts. However, production on the movie did not begin until 2004, with Andrzej Bartkowiak as director.
'Doom' Was One of the Biggest Video Game Adaptation Flops
Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg wrote the initial script, but they were replaced by Wesley Strick, known for Arachnophobia and Cape Fear. Perhaps this reshuffle was the first step on the movie's path to hell.
The presence of Rosamund Pike, Karl Urban, and Dwayne Johnson in the lead roles couldn't save the movie – from start to finish, it is a mediocre and boring piece of work.
The only thing that justifies the existence of the Doom movie is the scene shot entirely from the first person perspective.
What Did Critics & Viewers Think of 'Doom'?
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Doom has 18% from critics and 34% from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes.
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On IMDb, the movie has a score of 5.2/10.
Where to Watch 'Doom'?
Doom is available to stream on Prime Video.
