RESIDENT EVIL
Starring:
Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Eric Mabius and James Purefoy
Writer/ Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Running Time: 100 mins
Certificate: 15
Available
to buy on DVD 14th April
The Hive, secret underground nerve centre of one of the biggest companies in the world, the Umbrella Corporation. Producing goods and services that cover every aspect of human life, the corporation is also secretly involved in gene and viral research for military application. When one of the viruses is accidentally released into the air-conditioning system of the underground facility, the Hive's computer system, The Red Queen shuts initiates a total plant shut down killing all the employees. A special ops team is sent in to assess the problem and find any survivors but they all they find is dead bodies, until they start to come back to life.
Based on the extremely popular Capcom computer game of the same name, Resident Evil is just a popcorn movie that you can just switch your brain off and enjoy.
There has never been a good computer game to movie conversion and this film doesn't change that fact but it is a hell of a lot more enjoyable than awful Super Mario Bros or the completely dreadful Street Fighter.
The problem it does have, as with all the rest of the computer game flicks, is that it doesn't really stick to the source material. Having only briefly played the games that the movie is based on, director and screenwriter Paul W.S. Anderson seems to have taken bits from the first two games in the series and then added his own twist. The thing is that he's taken away two of the key aspects of the game, tension and gore. As you watch the movie there are no moments of fear and hardly any moments were you jump in your seat. Anderson has also switched the blood option off and relies too much on suggestion than all out gore. This could have been because they wanted to keep the certificate down or budgetary reasons but it takes away the key element of any Zombie flick, bucket loads of blood.
That aside the film is still quite enjoyable. Milla Jovovich is always good to look at and she spends quite a lot of her screen time wearing hardly anything. James Purefoy and Eric Mabius lend good support, even though their roles are slightly underwritten and Michelle Rodriguez looks like she could be finding a niche for herself in the tomboy, hard case role.
Fans of the games might be disappointed by the changes to the story and Zombie fans will miss the gore but there is just enough here to make the movie a pleasurable experience, if you switch your brain off before you take your seat that is.
Audio commentary from the cast and crew, 'The Making Of Resident Evil' documentary, 'Scoring Resident Evil' featurette, 'Costumes' featurette, 'Set Design' featurette, Zombie camera tests, Slipknot 'My Plague' music video, easter egg (hidden feature), Theatrical trailer, Teaser trailer, Interactive menu & Scene access
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