Resident Evil

Recently I saw the theatrical trailer for Resident Evil: Extinction and it occurred to me, I have never seen the first two Resident Evil films, and I always wanted to see them. So I rented the first two Resident Evil films and watched them last night. I had a lot of fun watching Resident Evil, it was very high action and kept my heart racing on what would happen next. This is a great movie based on a video game, this is the kind of movie that we need if we are talking about basing it on a video game. I haven't seen a good one since Mortal Kombat. The action and effects were so awesome not to mention that there are some very awesome scares in here. Very cool make up for the zombies; and the story was excellent.

A virus breaks out in a lab called the Hive where everyone is held in captivity and dies. All of a sudden we see a woman passed out in a shower, she has no idea who she is, she meets two other men who have no idea who they are, but they are taken by soldiers who take them underground to the Hive. There the three learn that they are fighters for this out break and that also they might be part of what happened. The main thing is that they control the Hive, but that gets more difficult when the virus has turned the people it killed into the living dead, zombies. The woman, Alice, turns into the leader and must find out why this happened and also how they can get out alive without contaminating the world.

Resident Evil was an awesome movie to watch and I would highly recommend this movie for anyone who loves action movies. If you loved Mortal Kombat I'm sure you'll love Resident Evil. There are so many great scenes, but my favorite was when Alice saw the evil dogs and they chased her throughout the lab, it was really scary but so awesome to watch. Well, you'll just have to see what I mean. Milla Jovovich was just a perfect choice for Alice, she is such a cool character and now I'm really looking forward to seeing Extinction.

7/10

First things first, I really like "Resident Evil". While I can't comment on the success of the conversion to a movie as I've never played any of the numerous video games, the film is beautifully shot and has an urgent pace. It also has a great looking cast, a thumping soundtrack and plenty of boys' toys.

Milla Jovovich is stunning as the heroine, Alice. Whoever thought of casting Jovovich in this role deserves a bonus. Watching this beautiful star kick various forms of zombie butt while wearing a short red dress is a wonderful experience.

Anderson's movies may be accused of being style over substance but there's no doubting that "Shopping", "Event Horizon" and "Resident Evil" are fantastic examples of eye candy. Every shot is beautifully composed and the film has a high-budget sheen.

8 out of 10. Casio G-Shock fans will be in their element watching this movie.

Exactly the right movie at exactly the right time. The music and atmosphere, the sets and costume design, the special effects, the cast. Everything lined up perfectly for a young shaggy. That kid was a gothy nerd with love for video-games, horror, industrial music and Mila Jovovich. This movie managed to check all the boxes. Watching it now, it still pretty much holds up. Maybe a little cheesy but stylish and entertaining. 6 stars for watchability, one for nostalgia.

I originally watched "Resident Evil" at a movie theater when it was first released in 2002. I hadn't played the games. There was no Rotten Tomatoes and I didn't read reviews back then so I went in blind. And I utterly enjoyed the movie: the story, the action sequences, the underground "Hive," Mila Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez kicking serious ass, and more.

Panned by critics (36% RT) but liked by users (67% RT), Resident Evil was one of the first examples of how mainstream critics just don't "get" horror. Movies that try to be artsy get great reviews even as key elements fall flat for the rest of us. The recent "Beach House" is a perfect example of this -- it was loved by critics (81% RT) and panned by users (28%).

Unfortunately, the rest of the "Resident Evil" sequels except for a few moments, rarely captured that first movie's originality and allure. Instead, check out the writer/director's excellent previous outing "Event Horizon."

I was generally surprised that I liked this movie, not being a fan of either of it's stars. I decided to give the movie a try since it does deal with one of my favorite horror topics...zombies!

As a horror movie Resident Evil fails miserably, it's not scary and contains only small amounts of suspense. It is much better as an action film although much of the action is chaotic, accompanied by lame heavy metal/thrash music. But seeing as it is based on a video game and made primarily for teenage boy video game addicts it is quite good in and of itself.

The movie plays well, even though it is apparent that some scenes have been cut to achieve an R-rating. The characters do what they need to do in order to survive.

One small problem with the movie is the relative lack of zombie screen time. They do appear in two major scenes but most of the time the hallways are clear. This hive was supposed to employ thousands of people but you only ever see 100 zombies at the most. Also, the humans seem to be able to travel easily wherever they have to go until it is time for another action sequence. It would have been better if they constantly ran into single zombies which they were able to easily dispose of, but this is nit-picking on my part.

Overall I enjoyed the movie and I have never seen, let alone played, the video game. I'm not sure if this movie will have the staying power over multiple viewings for me (like Aliens) but it's a very good single viewing action picture. Easily the best movie I have seen based on a video game. Despite it's flaws Resident Evil rates a 7 out of 10, if taken more seriously this could have been a really good movie. It would have been nice to see a George Romero version.