Resident Evil

I had to sift long and deep for a good comment on this. Why all the hostility? I think there was great chemistry on this production and it shows; the actors and crew involved loved the game and had a good time making this. This movie successfully recreated the feel of the game, and because it kept exposition to a minimum of what you needed to know for this particular story and didn't borrow from or revise any of the original characters or settings, it supported and strengthened the franchise. No story is retold here, no words are wasted, the setting, feel and pace is familiar to fans of Resident Evil and yet it's perfectly accessible to those unfamiliar with the broader storyline. Not giving the fan-boys their favorite characters was a good choice since characters tend to get mangled in adaptation, and yet the fan-boys still complain. With this film you have a good, watchable story that can partake of the Resident Evil cosmology, showing it due respect.

It did an excellent job establishing characters without too much unnecessary background, developing them just enough to make you want to know what they'll do next, to make you care before the sudden and gruesome happens to them. The acting was above par for a Resident Evil, certainly much better than the first game. The plot was no more comic bookish than any of the games. My one complaint was that the characters were too battle-trained, too slick, too good at fighting for them to be sympathetic horror subjects. This could've been balanced out with more reaction shots showing the soldiers wetting themselves. But Alice's over-the-top commando-style action made her too much of a super heroine to really make anyone concerned about her survival; characters made of Teflon make good action but apathetic horror subjects.

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.

Not sure why I never watched this film...I grew up playing the games and seen a few of the newer sequels...this is definitely better than those sequels and is shot really nicely. Only thing is, the regular zombies were a bit 80s looking lol. But the huge deformed ones were great looking

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 wasn't waiting to see anything amazing when I started watching for this movie, since almost all the license movies have been terrible... Fortunately, my opinion was to change! Movie was great, actors were good enough, and there was actually a plot (whoa!). Director has done a great job by having that videogame atmosphere by use of light, but still keeping the movie tense. Marilyn Manson has also made a great job by composing some of his greatest soundtrack titles which really fit for this movie. I have played both Resident Evil and Resident Evil 2, and recognized many of the scenes which were kind of similar to games. What can I say? For the people who have played games, this one gives good vibes and they are going to love it. For regular people the movie might be above the average. This was one hell-of-a-movie, and I'm waiting for the sequel.