unbrokenmetal

'Resident Evil' from 2002, meanwhile over 20 years old, begins as a classic exploration flick. A team is sent into an underground lab after a virus outbreak that killed all the scientists there to find out more about the nature of the disaster. Room by room, they open doors to new dangers. We find all the typical plot elements here: a countdown ticking, a traitor within the team, an infected person everyone still tries to save, but looking really good with stylish pictures (cold blue delivers the background for Jovovich's red dress), it's all in all a watchable movie, elegantly preparing the ground for the sequel already.

I know about half of the games, played some old ones on PS1 long ago and some new ones on PS4. However, I will strictly ignore that and rate the 6 movies only as movies, not judging whether they are close to the games or wildly different, because they have to stand for themselves as movies. A cinema-goer is not tested for gaming knowledge before taking a seat. Besides, there'll surely be bigger experts than me around for the games. That in mind, I voted 8/8/9/6/4/6 for the six movies.

The wonderful cliffhanger from episode 1 introduced us to the apocalyptic scenery of episode 2 already, and that the Nemesis would appear to challenge Alice. Out in the city, there is more action, but we get better characters, too, because it's more about the team, less about Alice. Sienna Guillory as Jill Valentine and Oded Fehr as Carlos are added to the cast as well as a comical sidekick (Mike Epps). The rescue mission, when a scientist sends them to fetch his daughter, is a clear objective, so the plot is less mysterious or convoluted.

This sequel is at least as good as the first one, although one might argue it is less horror, more action flick. I voted 8/8/9/6/4/6 for the six movies.

Visually, the third episode takes a totally different approach. After the underground lab corridors of part 1 and the dark night-time streets of part 2, we are now facing the zombies in the sunlit desert. The story is well developed further with the whole world conquered by the virus, while Umbrella attempts to control 'Project Alice' via satellite. For me, 'Extinction' is the most underrated part of the series, not only because of the new look. Some ideas are great, for example the bird attack, the conflict between Isaacs and Wesker adds suspense when the bad guys aren't on the same side anymore, or the convoy through the desert which brings a Mad Max vibe to the movie. 'Extinction' feels more real than the later sequels because it used mostly real sets: Las Vegas in the desert is amazing. I voted 8/8/9/6/4/6 for the six movies.