|  | | | Customer Reviews: | | | Average Customer Review:
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Brilliant, mysterious, intense and creepy sci-fi/horror Nov 25, 2008
Paul Anderson's "Resident Evil" was released in 2002 and is based on the video game of the same name. I don't play video games so this review is based solely on the film.
Since its release I never gave the film any thought, but the red film poster/dvd cover with Milla Jovovich in a ripped red dress somehow snuck into my subconscious over the years. Then I caught a 15-minute snippet of the film while channel surfing recently (not knowing it was "Resident Evil"). The part I saw was near the beginning where Milla mysteriously wakes up in a shower in a mansion. She obviously doesn't know who she is or where she's at and wanders around the mansion trying to figure things out when -- BAM! -- a team of commandos storm the mansion and take her via secret subway to a vast underground research/development complex called The Hive, which belongs to The Umbrella Corporation.
That's all I saw. I didn't have time to watch anymore but I decided right there to pick up the dvd. The set-up is truly intriguing and, in ways, brilliant.
[PLOT SPOILER! Don't read the next two paragraphs unless you want to know the basic plot] After viewing the dvd I discovered that a biological "accident" causes the supercomputer that runs The Hive to shut down the entire facility and gas the 500 workers to death. The mansion is a secret emergency entrance and the commandos are sent by the Umbrella Corporation to go down and find out what caused the supercomputer (called the Red Queen) to shut down the facility and kill the people.
It turns out that a virus has turned the 500 Umbrella employees into hideous flesh-eating zombies (I know this sounds totally absurd but the way it's explained in the film is somehow believable). Milla and the commando team slowly discover this. Meahwhile the Red Queen has trapped them in the Hive with the zombies and other undead creatures. Can they get out alive? [END SPOILER].
POSITIVES:
-- As already noted, the opening is truly intriguing, successfully capturing the viewer's attention.
-- The slow revelation of the mystery is superb, including who Milla really is.
-- Milla herself is stunning. The entire film she runs around in a red dress with a slit up the side. Her face and expressions are magnificent.
-- The story itself and the delivery (sets, etc.) ring of brilliance. This is sci-fi of the highest order.
-- The film features a cool eerie score highlighted by some rocking nu-metal acts.
NEGATIVES:
-- Although "Resident Evil" is original in many ways it's sometimes reminiscent of other films like "Aliens" and "Dawn of the Dead." Hence, some things are predictable; for instance, anyone who gets bitten by a zombie is gonna eventually turn into one.
-- To be expected, the mystery build-up in the first hour is better than the last half hour, which is action-filled. Why? Mindless action with numerous quick edits somehow always becomes boring. Wouldn't it be great if a sci-fi/horror film like this ended in a truly unconventional blow-your-mind way (e.g. the original "Planet of the Apes")? But the final sequence makes up for it, sort of. Besides, since the film is based on a video game the zombie/human slaughter comes with the territory.
The film runs 95 minutes before the credits roll.
PERSONAL GRADE: A-
4 of 6 found the following review helpful:
RESIDENT EVIL Makes Good Halloween Fun Nov 03, 2008
Ravenous zombies - what more could you ask for on Halloween? RESIDENT EVIL is chock full of monsters, blood, gore, and actually cool, creative decapitations. Based on a popular computer game (which I have never played), RESIDENT EVIL is an entertaining monster flick for a cozy evening at home.
RESIDENT EVIL opens with a bang: something has gone seriously wrong in a secret, underground research facility. (Isn't that always the case?) Red Queen, the computer that runs the complex, has gone mad, killing everyone in the place, and initiating a complete lock-down of the facility. The only people on the outside who might know what is going on have no memory. A crack military team is sent in to determine what happened. But things go horribly wrong...
As zombie movies go, RESIDENT EVIL is pretty fun. It launches the viewer on a wild ride, rarely pausing for breath. The special effects are pretty well done, and as stated earlier, there are some pretty original decapitations using lasers. The plot is pretty loose and full of holes, but I really didn't care; I was having too much fun. The acting is typical for a monster flick, but then again, you don't watch a monster movie for the acting.
If you enjoy this sort of thing, you will really like RESIDENT EVIL. My husband and I did, and it was just the thing for Halloween. But seriously, couldn't the Umbrella Corporation, who owns the research facility, see this coming? I mean, they named their master computer Red Queen. It was in the cards. Eventually, the Red Queen was obviously going to say "Off with their heads!"
NOTE: This is a THREE-STAR review. There was a problem after posting. When the review was restored by Amazon, the number of stars was different.
 Cool concepts, characters/effects lacking realism Oct 18, 2008
First of, I am not a gamer, and am not familiar with the game. This was the first time I watched this Blu-Ray. Equipment used to watch, is Panasonic 42" Plasma, BD30K Blu-Ray player and Onkyo 605.
The story was engaging in that it was futuristic, and had some cool effects (although over computerized). I am rating it 3 stars, for the story and overall acting/movie. The PQ and AQ were above average, but not demo, with the picture a bit soft in parts. If you're a fan of the genre, give it a rent.
finally a decent video game to movie adaption Sep 03, 2008
While the movie is loosley based on the resident evil games it still manages to stay true to its the games roots. just the simple things like the underground research facility, raccoon city, the arklay mountains and even the licker from the games will have the fans saying oh yeah i remember those. Im keepin this review short so for those of you who have no idea about the games, heres the pros and cons. pros: plenty of people getting killed here so this film will satisfy your barbaric needs, offers other neat sequences of action other than killing zombies, and the main monster is very well planned out. cons: the loud headbanging music really doesnt go with the resident evil genra, milla jovovichs red dress really is out of place here, the characters all have paper thin individuality. Its a good movie, just a few misteaks made but definatley worth watching.
T is for Virus Aug 12, 2008
This movie is based on a horror/survival videogame by Capcom. Now I got that out of the way, Resident Evil is a pretty good zombie movie, successfully adapted from the game by Paul W.S. Anderson. This film is everything House of the Dead wanted to be but couldn't. The zombies move at a decent pace as does the movie and there are plenty of "BOO!" moments, but nothing too scary. Gorehounds will be happy and Zombaholics will have fun playing guess the reference, such as the elevator scene which recalls the original Dawn of the Dead. The acting is good as far as zombie movies go and the cinematography is great. A must have for any zombie fan.
|
| | |
