Resident Evil

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Ryan McCluskey, Indra Ove, Anna Bolt, Joseph May, Eric Mabius, Jason Isaacs (uncredited)
Directed by: Paul W.S. Anderson
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Science Fiction
2002

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: A deadly virus is accidentally unleashed in an underground research facility called The Hive under Racoon City. A team is dispatched to search for survivors, but find everyone inside was infected by the virus, turning them into zombies. Based on the popular video game.

Review:

Tim: First off, any movie that tackles a topic like zombies will keep me interested. With zombies, it's so easy to make a cheesy B movie that actually hurts to watch. So first of all, my attention has already been grabbed. Next off, the film is based on the popular video game, which was both fun and scary to play (you try to fire a gun when every time you turn around the undead are right there breathing down your throat with their rotten breath). So before I ever watched the film, it already had two things going for it.

I am happy to say fans of the video game will find the transition to the big screen occured smoothly. Fans will see familiar sights like Racoon City and the Hive, and of course, the zombies (which include dogs and a gigantic monster), exactly like the video game.

I should reiterate my earlier statement about how hard it is to make a decent zombie movie. That being said, this movie does have a number of flaws... but is a ZOMBIE movie for gawd's sake, so that is to be expected. Resident Evil really isn't that scary at all. It should have been more frightening, but it is more of an action film than a horror one, so this can all be expected. The film isn't all that intense either, but it will keep you mildly interested from start to finish.

Although Resident Evil stays fairly true to the video game, I should also warn fans of that they might be a tad bit disappointed. Anyone that knows anything about "Resident Evil" the video game (or its sequels), will know that the game is intense- so much so that it will really make you sweat. You fire off round after round into zombies that just won't bloody die, and if you accidentally get too close, they rip you to freakin shreds. That is some incredibly involving stuff, and the movie just doesn't measure up to it. If you're ever in some quasi-dimension and you're forced to choose between either the movie or the game, take my advice, and go with the game.

I should mention that Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez are very good in the film. They are actors involved in a zombie movie, after all, but they play their roles as seriously as possible and as if they believe it themselves.

Finally, most zombie movies immediately go to the bottom of the movie bin, begging to never be seen again. It says something that this film is not only watchable, but might be worth a second viewing as well.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
Tomb Raider, Super Mario Brothers, Street Fighter, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, He Got Game, The Fifth Element, Resident Evil: Apocalypse