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A Breath of Fresh Air A Review by |
| Ever since the hit videogame "Resident Evil" hit the
Playstation a few years back, the talks of a movie for the game has not been far behind.
After losing a couple directors, and extremely long delays in getting this thing started.
It has finally made its way to the silver screen. Does this Videogame flick pick up where
the last ones did, or does it take a stand on its own as a cut above the rest. In "Resident Evil" A secret
experiment goes terribly awry. Something terrible is lurking in the Hive, a vast
underground genetic research facility run by the Umbrella Corporation, a faceless
bio-engineering conglomerate. A deadly viral outbreak occurs, and in response, the Red
Queen - a vast supercomputer that controls and monitors the Hive - seals the entire
facility to contain the leak, killing all the trapped employees. Alice (Milla
Jovovich) finds herself awaken in a mansion, without any memory. Alice is then thrust into
a hunt for the Hive, with the help of a military group sent to check out the cause of
facility shut down. Videogame movies are usually looked upon with an evil eye, and rightfully so. I mean, most of them have been laughable attempts at film making. With the exception of "Mortal Kombat", (and some may say Tomb Raider), the vg movies have left a lot to be desired. So, if you want to try and do a vg movie right..you go get the man that got the one that was right to do this one. And, I'd have to say, that Paul Anderson did one hell of a job with what he had. Also, I like the fact that Anderson decided to make this movie the prequel to what happens in the RE world as we know it. This movie takes place, and nicely explains what occurs before the original game. Hehehe..and the ending on this one folks is going to make you RE fans bust one. It's obvious from the jump of this flick that Paul did his homework on the videogame. The movie feels like "Resident Evil" in every single way. The use of the computer and maps to recreate the feel of the game was a nice touch. But the use of the amnesia for Alice was brilliant. That gave us the 3rd person kind of feel the game does, as we get more info on what's going on as the character gets it. Classic Resident Evil stuff there. The action is the movie is nice, and pretty non stop. Other than the points where new knowledge was brought to the audience...the action was there. I do think that the action scenes had chances to be taken up another notch slightly...but with the way this sucker ends...I don't mind that one inch. The horror/terror aspect of this film is there as well. There are a couple of times where everyone in the theatre will jump...everyone. The gore is nicely mixed in, and the look of the zombies is not overly cheesy..and a lot creepier with the makeup effects they chose. Oh, and something horror films have been lacking a lot lately...Milla sheds her clothes a couple of times in this flick. Nothing like cursing, violence, and nudity to get the blood going. The cast of this film is interesting. About half of the cast is set up to be nothing more than food to the undead. Those that are not, are a little one dimensional and flat. Eric Mabius and Milla are the two most complex characters...and well, for good reason. I love Rodriguez in this film, but I can see where some people may grow tired of her one-tone bad ass routine. By no means does this film deserve an award. But if you're a fan of the videogame series, or what a solid 'B' movie that resembles what would happen if "Aliens" and "Evil Dead" had a child....then you've got something here. This is one fun ass film that will get fans of the genre in an uproar. I'm seeing this one again...while I'm doing that; bring on the sequel! Rating: |
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