Resident Evil

Rating:
Summary: Slick film that offers plenty of chills and jolts!
Review: Resident Evil is one of those films that I said, "Ah, I'll wait until it gets to video to see it." I didn't expect it to be any good - not really. How could it be? It is based on a video game. Now, I actually liked Mortal Kombat, which is also based on a video game (it wasn't great, but it was fun) - and I didn't know that the same director was responsible for it. So, I was expecting the worst. I was wrong.

As someone completely unfamiliar with the video game on which the film is based, I didn't know what to expect. In short, Resident Evil is about a group of "security" personnel who work for a huge conglomerate that is doing all sorts of research - some of it suspect. One of their more sinister viruses is released and they must go into the secret facility where it is created to try to fix things. Little do they know that they will be facing all sorts of creepy security devices and ... zombies.

Milla Jovovich is the female lead and she manages to carry the film well. I'm really not that informed on her background, but I will say that while she probably doesn't have a great depth of talent at her disposal, she is a capable actress and I liked her in her role. To say that she was believable would be impossible, as I don't know that such a person could exist (how many zombie fighters do you know?).

Sadly, the men in this film are almost interchangeable. I really didn't know who was who until names started getting fired off and I actually bothered to pay attention. They all sort of look the same. There are two other women in the film too, and I didn't realize it until one of them gets injured - they look the same as well.

The interesting thing in this sci-fi/horror film is that the horror aspects were not the ones I found frightening. It was the sci-fi stuff. The whole zombie aspect seems to be ground better covered by George Romero in Dawn of the Dead. In fact, the zombie mythos seems to be taken directly from Romero's film: they move slowly, they look terrible, and they eat flesh of the living. If you get bitten, scratched, etc. by one of the undead, you, too, will become one of the undead.

The sci-fi angle worked better for me (and I don't really like sci-fi). I found the security devices and the assorted set pieces to be very intimidating and frightening. I definitely was feeling the suspense.

Part of the fun for me was that I DIDN'T know about the video game. Why? I didn't know what was going on. The beginning of the film was very confusing as I didn't understand what was happening or why it was happening. Fortunately, the screenwriters did a very good job of having a few of the characters actually explain the subject to me - and it was done well - as a few of the other characters were designed to be as confused as I was.

The script, the sets, the make-up, and the actors made this a very enjoyably scary film. I actually recommend it and give it four stars when compared with other films of this genre.

The DVD extra features are rather standard and I didn't avail myself of all of them. However, as DVD extras become the norm, I think we'll see more and more added features for big budget films and more of the "standard fare" extras, such as these, offered: Director and actor commentary, subtitles, music video, biographies of the actors, etc.

Have yourself a good scare and watch this film.

Rating:
Summary: Wheres the Ketchup?
Review: A Zombie film with no gore?...surely not!!
However, it almost works...almost. Paul Andersons not done too bad a job with it considering i thought they were gonna turn it into a pg13 when Romero left the production, but far too many movies have been pillaged in it (Matrix, Dawn of the Dead, Aliens, Cube) so if you seen any of these films youll be seeing the same thing but in a slightly different way. Acting is occasionally dodgy but bearable. Overall a good film, if youre a fan of RE of course. Sequel should be better.

Rating:
Summary: [Good] DVD for an amazing movie.
Review: So there are a lot of you who are very critical of this movie. That it wasn't an accurate portrail of (in my opinion) the greatest video game series ever, sans Final Fantasy. I throughly enjoyed this movie. It has a great premise, even though it's not based directly on one of the games. But I believe that Paul W.S. Anderson did an amazing job on this movie. The casting was outstanding, to say the least. You can't ask for anything more than for an actor to truly love what they are doing, and both the amazing Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez love the game. One of the greatest things about this DVD is the commentery by Anderson, Jovovich, Rodriguez, and Bolt. I've watched it about 5 times already. I truly hope there is a sequel to this movie because I really loved it and I'm looking forward to seeing how Anderson incorporates the characters from this film with the characters from the actual game. So go out and get this DVD now, you will not be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: HERE COME THE ZOMBIES!
Review: It's so refreshing to see a horror movie that actually takes itself seriously. I'm old enough to remember when scary movies actually believed they could frighten you and not show their insecurities through self-parody. The closest movie I can remember to this one is Aliens by James Cameron, in which the action takes turns with fear.

Of course, this movie is based on the video-game series which I know only by reputation. Probably one of the reasons behind the movie is a marketing one, which works, because now I want to play the game.

In the world of Resident Evil, the world's largest corporation is secretly conducting genetic experiments and developing biological weapons. A problem develops when one of these biological weapons, called the T-virus, is released in one of the company's underground labs. The lab, called The Hive, is controlled by a super computer called The Red Queen. She kills all the employees in one manner or another in order to contain the virus. A team of paramilitary soldiers is sent in to shut her down, not knowing that they will release zombies who have a taste for living flesh. Milla Javovich plays a soldier who guards the entrance to The Hive, and due to her proximity to the lab, was knocked out by nerve gas, and has lost her memory.

I really liked this movie. It reminds me very much of the George Romero movies, but with more style and more of a budget. There are a lot of frightening moments. You don't ever get a tongue-in-cheek comment or a moment of goofiness that you see in Wes Craven movies. In fact, what horror director can you name these days besides him? It's pretty sad about the poor lack of quality AND quantity in horror. Witness the idiocy of the new Halloween movie, or Jason X. They would make Ed Wood roll in his grave. Resident Evil is grim, gruesome, bloody, apocalyptic, sad, brutal, entertaining, and invigorating. The look of it is beautiful, lots of greys, blacks, and whites, with Milla's red dress of blood flashing through it all.

The director, Paul W.S. Anderson, has really outdone himself with this film. It moves and pulses and oozes, and creeps around you. This is greatly helped by the soundtrack recorded by Marco Beltrami and Marilyn Manson. I really liked the Alice in Wonderland references. That's how you feel, as though you're in the land of the videogame, where only it has any reality. Anderson shows us what John Carpenter or George Romero could have become instead of sinking into obscurity and B-movies.

Now, for the DVD quality. The picture is beautiful and the menacing ambience of keyboards and guitar is really good. It features 5 short featurettes: "The Making of Resident Evil", "Scoring", "Costumes", "set Design", and "Zombie Make-up Tests". The making of the score is interesting because we find out that Marilyn Manson is actually a pretty intelligent guy.....uh, girl.....uh whatever. It also includes a video from the Black Sabbath/Texas Chainsaw Massacre band Slipknot, if that means anything to you.

Something pretty disappointing about the DVD is the movie commentary. It features Milla Javovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Producer Jeremy Bolt, and Paul Anderson. It's disappointing because everytime the two filmmakers start to discuss something interesting in the movie, Milla comes in and interjects "nobody cares about that" or "that's not very interesting" and goes into some rambling that has nothing to do with the film. In fact, at the beginning, it seems as if Milla doesn't even know what a commentary is: "you mean we're going to comment on the whole movie?" She comes across as an immature valley girl. You can always just never listen to it.

If you long for the days of a real horror movie, check this dvd out.

Rating:
Summary: I can't believe this was such a good movie
Review: First off, you should realize just by the title that this is a popcorn flick. It focuses on horror, suspense, gore, big guns, and the occassional naked Jojovich. I watched this movie on a whim, expecting it to be horrible drek. After all, it's based on a computer game (which I've never played) and the previews were AWFUL. However, against all odds, I found myself absolutely LOVING this movie. Great beginning, great suspense, great pacing, great soundtrack, and a great ending that keeps on giving you more just when you're afraid it's over. Let's put it this way: I have a little under 200 movies in my collection, and this has just become one of my favorites. This is not intellectual or deeply moving -- but it is fun as heck.

Rating:
Summary: Not what I expected...
Review: First of all, I'm a big Resident Evil fan, the game that is. But this movie is just a little disappointing. The sound is off somehow, sounds like they are far away or something. One would think that they would at least spend a bit more money to help support one of the best game series ever created. I did like seeing Milla kick some ass in a skirt though.

Rating:
Summary: It is what it is.....
Review: If you are looking for a deep story, social commentary, or an intellectual masterpiece please look elsewhere as this title will not satisfy you. However, if like me you enjoy an over the top action movie that pulls no punches and relies on adrenaline-filled sequences that never let up then you've picked the right film. This movie just doesn't stop, and is by far the best "zombie film" I have seen. The acting is mediocre (not bad, mind you) and the characters work in the context of the film. The music is very well done, the general theme of which is borrowed heavily from the George A. Romero films.

Not being a fan of the game is irrelevant (I wasn't, but this film has gotten me hooked), you'll still enjoy it if you have any love of the sci-fi/action genre.

This film is what it is...a rollercoaster, so turn your brain off and don't overanalyze it! Enjoy the ride!

Rating:
Summary: True To The Game
Review: This movie starts off slow, but take heart...it takes off in a whirlwind of action. A group of scientists, working in a secret installation known only as "The Hive", play God, experimenting on DNA and creating a mutating virus. When an attempt is made to steal the virus, the thief unleashes the virus. The Hive's security defenses, in an attempt to prevent the virus from spreading, seals off the facility, killing all within. A special military unit is sent to discover the reason behind the deaths at the facility, and to shut down the "murderous" main computer controlling the security defenses within the hive. What they don't know is that the virus that was unleashed mutates the dead into nightmarish zombies.
Although the action is slow in coming, when it hits you're in for a rollercoster ride! The movie is very true to the game. The zombies move exactly like those in the game, even when they are being shot. Milla Jovovich is every bit the action heroine. At the beginning of the movie she appears to be a helpless damsel in distress, but we soon learn that she's anything but. And there are even some genuine surprises in the end.
My only gripe with the movie is that it reminds me all too much of Aliens. A slow start, followed by extreme action and bloody deaths, a strong female lead. Even the military unit reminds me of the Marines in Aliens. The character played by Michelle Rodriguez is reminiscent of Vazquez from Aliens. And the plot twist is also similar. However, all-in-all this was a pretty decent movie inspired by a great video game.

Rating:
Summary: Derivative Filmmaking
Review: Some fans of the Resident Evil video game complained that the film was not true to the game; I have never played the game, so I can't comment on that, but in a sense such a criticism is neither here nor there. It's more important to know that Resident Evil is as much an homage to George Romero films as it is to its video game origins, although I am sure many tried and true Romero fans won't like Resident Evil for its somewhat poor and certainly imitative borrowing of Romero's zombie ideas. Resident Evil doesn't stop there, as it borrows from other sci-fi and horror films; the method the Red Queen uses to kill several characters trapped in a corridor is lifted right out of the low-budget, cult favorite (and successfully eerie) film Cube. Paul Anderson is a talented filmmaker, to be sure, and Resident Evil is a slick looking film with sparkling clear photography. Anderson's screenplay isn't as simplistic as one might expect from this type of movie and it proceeds through a series of flashbacks to tell part of it story. Milla Jovovich, whose energy, presence, and looks always out-pace her acting, is just the type of actress to play Alice. Add to that the nice touch of giving the Red Queen the voice of a young British girl, and you have a film that rises above mediocrity ... even if it never really impresses.

It doesn't help this film that zombie movies in general are difficult to take seriously these days, unless the zombies are tounge-in-cheek. But Resident Evil is fun and slightly scary. Just remember that this is derivative, not original, filmmaking and that you too can own this DVD for less than full price. That would be the justification for actually owning it.

Rating:
Summary: The next big step in horror!!!! Resident Evil is a killer!!!
Review: A lot of my friends saw Resident Evil. They said it was great, so I had to go see it whatever the cost. This is by far the best movie to be based on a popular video game. If you like Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, then see Resident Evil.