Resident Evil

Rating:
Summary: Better than I expected
Review: I'm not even a big fan of this genre of video game -- or of gorefest flicks -- but a friend convinced me to watch it. The special effects were good overall, and there was plenty of beefcake (especially the now-hunky Eric Mabius) which made it worth watching.

Overall worth a rental , maybe even a purchase for a repeat guilty pleasure.

Rating:
Summary: You want a thirll? PLAY THE GAME!!!!
Review:

Lame, shallow and dumb, are just a very few words I will mention to describe this movie. This movie's is basically a bunch of speical effects strung together by a shallow story line that really does not end with any real resolution other than to look out for part 2.

On top of that you may notice that this movie "samples" ideas from other movies such as Andromeda Strain - compare the Hive to Andromeds's underground installation as well as the Hive's computer system to the automatic self-destruct mechanism in Andromeda Stain. Speaking of computers, where else have you seen a computer go on a killing spree? Here's a hint 2001. Another steal was from Night Of The Living Dead where dead bodies are hijacked and commissioned to wreak havoc on the living.

If you want a real thrill get your self the game and start playing. You will get 10 times the substance and all of your money's worth.

Rating:
Summary: A pretty good action movie...
Review: I'm a BIG fan of the Resident Evil games,so I was very much looking forward to seeing the film.Of course,movies are rarely as good as the original material,be it a game or a book.So I was prepared to hate the movie.I didn't.As an action movie,it's quite good (although the music was loud and annoying).It didn't have much in the way of horror in it; unlike the games,it didn't scare me all that much.So if you keep your expectations low in comparing it to the games,it's an enjoyable enough action flick.
I really wanted to give it a 3 1/2 stars,as it's not really THAT good,but so be it...

Rating:
Summary: It's ok
Review: Resident Evil is yet another movie based on a video game and I must say I don't think it was that bad. Sure the Zombies are no where as scary as the ones in Romero's films, just seem more like people with rabies than the living dead, lol. What I was surprised about though was the acting, it wasn't all that bad. Think Milla Jovovich (The Fifth Element) gives her best performance yet, Michelle Rodriguez (The Fast & the Furious) is pretty good too. Getting rid of George Romero was the biggest mistake though as I was really looking forward to a come-bat. Mean the director of Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead doing Resident Evil would of been a dream come true. Sure his scrpt that was canned was much better too.

Well anyway despite that let down, besides the acting I also liked the action, especially the train sequence at the end. Think there's a little too much confusing in the very end though, leaves too many loose ends. For instance there's a certain character whose fate really isn't clear and who you don't see again, guess they're planning a sequel. As long as they have a better script, scarier zombies and the sexy Milla Jovovich returns I'll have no problem with that.

Rating:
Summary: There are better video game movies
Review: Yeah this movie is terrible. This film relies completely on those slit second scare tactics. Where it's really quite one second and then there's a loud noise which usually turns out to be nothing. When there is something, such as a zombie, it's not scary. The zombies are very boring. They stumble slowly to their victims. They're so frail you'd think they could just be pushed over. Which is how it is in the 'Resident Evil' video game. Which is why this game never should have been made into a film. I do like the games but the plot just isn't strong enough for the big screen. If they want to make a scary game into a movie they should have chosen 'Silent Hill.' It's not so corny. Not all video game movies are completely stupid. 'Tomb Raider' managed to faithfully bring Lara Croft to the big screen and actually improve her image. Sorry Capcom, 'Street Fighter' failed and so did 'Resident Evil.'

Rating:
Summary: Critics....
Review: When one critiques a movie they should stick to the movie and not stereotype people that would watcch it and then also call it trash on top of that. Also people who are "hardcore" Resident Evil fans should grow up and stop complaining that the movie was nothing like the book OR the video game. What kind of movie is that? It would be entertaining but just a rehatch and nothing more. Opinions are fine but one should not have to sit through others bashing on someone elses work. Paul Anderson is great admirer of the series and he knew how to translate the video game with flare.

This movie however, created something new that did not steal from the video game and still kept the edge which fuels such a movie or video game. "the only thing I found upsetting was that too many people died too quickly in the "Cube" scene. Oh well. And for everyone who thinks the movie didn't fallow the video game the next movie sticks itself a little more to the setting we are all used to.

I recommend this movie to anyone: fans of the game, horror, or zombie flicks. After this movie is not suppose to be the next big take on Zombie movies.

Rating:
Summary: Daaaay-am!
Review: Oh-KAY! Resident Evil got a little more hardcore and bleak than I was prepared for, but that's a good thing. I was expecting a mediocre, derivative action movie where I'd be able to predict every single shock and plot twist, with maybe a few cool money shots or zombie gore thrown in that made it worth a rental (I'm a sucker for zombies). If you'd told me before I saw it that I'd be giving it 4 stars afterwards, I probably would have laughed. I ain't laughing now.

I can't compare the game to the movie that well, since I've only played the game once or twice in the arcade and didn't last very long before I got eaten. (Check the trivia section on the IMDB if you want more info on that, though beware of many spoilers) I don't know if the game has any more of a backstory than the DVD box did: a virus is accidentally unleashed at an underground biological research facility that turns all the employees, lab animals, and experiments into flesh-eating undead. A rescue team discovers too late they are stuck in there with them; they have 3 hours to get out without getting eaten or, worse, infected before the 'Red Queen' master computer permanently shuts down all the exits.

On the negative side, it was a little longer than an action movie needs to be-- 10 minutes could have been trimmed, I caught myself wanting to hit forward and skip scenes in the first half hour of people wandering warily around deserted areas. I've never wanted to do that with a Romero movie. It does take a little too long to get going, but when the action kicks in, trust me, it doesn't let up, to the point where I felt kind of battered after the movie-- really unrelenting. I couldn't stand the industrial/techno soundtrack, but then I don't usually listen to bands with song titles like 'Fistf*ck" and "My Plague (New Abuse Mix)". I guess it was appropriate for the movie; I didn't exactly expect, say, Oingo Boingo (though that would have been kind of cool, now that I think of it) but it was grating after a while. Several shots were extremely derivative of Romero, but since I haven't watched the featurettes or commentaries, I'm not sure if the filmmakers intended them as a tribute/in-joke (like the newspaper headline blowing around a deserted street proclaiming THE DEAD WALK! which, as far as I'm concerned, should earn a movie 3 stars right there) or just ripped them off with the plan to say they were 'inspired by' the other movie if anyone pointed out the similarities.

The end seemed to be setting up for a sequel (according to the IMDB, one is planned but not even in pre-production), though at least not in an extremely cliched way, and it mainly irritated me because it was a cliffhanger. There's also several CGI shots where the monster looks about as realistic as the one in the actual game; I did not for a moment forget I was watching CGI, and it was VERY easy to tell where the animatronics ended and the CGI began. Oh, and terrible tagline, at least on the poster art ("Survive the horror"? C'mon, marketing team, you can try a little harder).

OK, enough of what didn't work. On the plus side, Milla Jovovich has proven herself to be one of the few genuinely talented model-turned-actresses, and gives a great performance. I was kind of disappointed in Michelle Rodriguez's acting, mainly because she was so good in Girlfight, but she was acceptable and at least can really look like a badass. There's quite a few fun--and sick--shots. There were plot twists that I actually didn't see coming--sorry to say, I could see most of the jumps walking up 5th Avenue-- and the plot was a lot more brutal and downbeat than I expected (for a movie based on a video game, and for a modern zombie movie, anyway)--good for them. They did definitely outright steal some ideas from Dawn of the Dead (and, as everybody has already probably pointed out, Cube) but at least had some originality by putting a slightly new twist on them. There was a much higher body count than I thought (not counting all the zombie employees, of course, I mean among the heroes), most of which was pretty b-llsy. Characters did not die in the order I expected them to. Things got pretty cold-blooded (so to speak).

I'd recommend it for a rental, if you want a mindless, scary action movie with some real suspense. Big fans of the game, it's probably a good investment to purchase (though I'm sure everyone that was going to buy it did so a long time ago) . You could do a lot worse (like rent the director's Mortal Kombat, for instance) Bonus/deleted/alternate scenes, and easter eggs (yes, you can stop hunting for them now), are conspicuously absent on the DVD, which leads me to believe the talk about releasing a 2 disc set a few months down the line of an 'unrated director's cut'. I'll rent that to see that extra gore (hey, I ain't above that, and I'll gladly admit to it), and I wouldn't mind seeing the flick again, either.

Not bad at all for a mainstream studio movie based on a game.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, but ultimately decomposes swiftly...
Review: Caught this one in a Belgian cinema with a friend. I had no idea what to expect. I played the video-game a few times, but never really took the time to sit down for it. I saw the trailer, it looked good to me. Milla Jovovich? Oh yeah, I remember her from "The Fifth Element"; the girl wrapped in toilet-paper.

Resident Evil starts well. The underground laboratory known as "The Hive" is sealed when a deadly (sort of) virus is released. A team of S.E.A.L.s is sent in to rescue possible survivors.
How does Milla Jovovich fit in? She can't remember a thing, but she's been inside the Hive before. As the team advances through the hive, the computerised defence-system mercilessly sets out to destroy them. And that's before the zombies are unleashed!

The good part of the movie is the atmosphere. I really like the dark rooms, the beautiful scenery. And it's got plenty of GORE! And I really enjoyed this movie at the time, but I don't really feel a need to watch it again. ...

Rating:
Summary: RESIDENT EVIL was entertaining
Review: To call RESIDENT EVIL "workmanlike" and/or "competent" would be to do Anderson a huge disservice. Anderson displays both a technical maturity and a confidence unseen in his previous works. He displays an amazing amount of control -- especially considering the origin of the source material -- and his decisions behind the camera are rock-solid. Framing, composition, lighting, movement...all good.

There are only a couple of areas where RESIDENT EVIL falters, and that is in Anderson's direction to the actors -- several missteps there -- and in the editing. The pacing was all over the map; one sequence would flash by almost before you've had a moment to wrap your mind around it, followed by another sequence that would drag on so long that you could not help but to check your watch. The pacing goes back and forth like that for a while, before the film's pacing evens out near the end.

The story had some problems, but nothing insurmountable. I had no problem looking past the few minor plot holes and inconsistencies that snuck into the finished film.

Finally, as an avid gamer and as someone who was elbow to elbow with my friend and fellow writer, Kip Ward, while he was writing the RESIDENT EVIL and RESIDENT EVIL 2 player's guides, the film pays a huge homage to the games; RESIDENT EVIL the film does, indeed, honor RESIDENT EVIL the game(s). Trust me.

NOTE: As to why Milla's character is named Alice --

1. Alice
2. The Red Queen
3. White rabbit(s) in the lab flashback scenes

Any of that setting off the ol' "Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass" recognition bell? Like when the commandos first enter The Hive? Notice the lighting and framing? Just like a big hole...or a rabbit hole, eh?

In "Through the Looking Glass," the Red Queen is constantly barking out, "Off with her head!" So, what's the first thing the RESIDENT EVIL Red Queen does when the virus escapes? That's right, she uses the elevator like a guillotine. Off with her head, indeed.

I say, nice touch, Paul Anderson. Much better than your first film: now, you're actually incorporating themes.

Anyway, that's why Milla's character is named Alice.

Rating:
Summary: Really enjoyable
Review: Being a hard core Resident evil fan, I was dissappointed hearing about how the story was going to end up, but it was still a good movie. People who are not familiar with the game should love this movie even more, game fans like me though some will, and some wont. And there are only 3 monsters in the film, and the hunters are not. There are Zombies, Cereberus(the zombie dogs) and a licker (was in the 2nd RE game) which is supposed to be the major killing machine filling in for the tyrant, which is pretty lame really if your a fan of the RE game as well as the novel. I thought the special effects done on the licker where a little too computer fetched too, and it didnt even kill the victims right. According to the game the lickers had a certain way they killed their victims, which was by twisting the victims heads off with its tongue. Coulve been better gore effects as well, if anyone thinks this is the best zombie movie ever made, then you have only seen the original night of the living dead, or no other zombie movie.

The acting is good, as well as the excitement. I really cant believe Anderson didnt just read the novel, because it went by the game so well, and was made up as a story. But if he did do it that way, the film wouldve had to at least be 3 hrs. long, but it wouldve been worth it. The actors were perfect though if they still had the same characters: Milla Jovovich couldve played jill. Michelle Rodriegiez couldve played Rebecca Chambers. Eric Mabius(guy who played in the great independent film black circle boys and the crow:salvation) couldve played chris redfield, and they couldve just found other people to play Barry and Wesker.

They shouldve gone exaclty by the original story. Some fans of the re game say they wouldnt want to see the same thing over again, but that is something that would be great to see. The game Resident evil had a great story, while the movie was though original. If anyone reads the Resident Evil novel, I think they will be very angry when viewing the movie of how it turned out. But I gave it 4 stars for the entertainment, the acting, and the monsters effects. However the story couldve gone by the original and the soundtrack couldve been better. Static X and slipknot do not fit this kind of film, it isnt even real music, if you disagree then learn how to play a guitar properly. Anyway the movie is worth viewing. It was good, but could've been amazing. Hey its a really good movie, and I plan on buying it, but I say this,"Everyone play the first Resident Evil video game from beginning to end, then read the novel. If your not a fan of video games, then just read the book, and to people who dont like to read either, read it anyway, youll love it".