Resident Evil Review
by Karina Montgomery (karina AT cinerina DOT com)October 3rd, 2002
Resident Evil
Rental with Snacks
For a film based on a video game played in the first person, they do take their time explaining Lara Croft, er, Milla Jovovich's role in the whole scheme of things. No, I am not ignorant of the two games; in my opinion, Resident Evil is both the superior game and the superior film, and not just because both have zombie dogs.
I watched probably a full 24 hours of this game being played by my then-boyfriend (longtime readers are familiar with his habits) and that game is exciting, even when it is slow. It had great music, built tension, and dropped red herrings like they were hot potatoes. So, I figured, this could be OK. And it is! Despite some gratuitous stingers and a needlessly confusing beginning, this movie is a delightful little summer movie with plenty of fun and much less gore than one would expect. Honest! I have seen some action movies this year that tried to be funny (and failed), some dramas that tried to have action (and failed) and art-house movies that tried to be remotely intelligent (and failed). Resident Evil tried to be a fun, scary action-adventure based loosely on a conspiracy theory designed for a game and succeeded tremendously! I could be biased, what with the zombies and all, but it really was cheeky, simple fun. Of course, what is a zombie movie without a few inexcusably silly things thrown in? Overall, the effect is entertainment. Do you want more? Go elsewhere.
There is some seriously bizarre editing, and the screenwriters neglect to name anyone, leaving us in the dark to refer to people by the actor's names or a superficial descriptor. "Hey, look out, Sensitive Guy, your girlfriend Fiona Apple is gonna come back!" This was frustrating for note taking so actors, forgive me. I liked the Brit guy, the husband dude, the first black guy, and the handcuffy guy. And Milla, always Milla - she kicks ass and I am so glad that filmmakers like Luc Besson and Paul W.S. Anderson allow her to, despite tepid audience reaction. She must get the bog box office overseas, and I am glad. This movie is SO not American in its sensibilities, and for that I am glad as well. It has a German influence, and I do not mean that in an art-house-fop sort of way.
The makeup, when it's real, is good - but when it's CGI it's wretched! And what is that dress Milla is wearing? I mean, sure, it's practical, you know, in hindsight, but how often does Calvin Klein sit and think, what would be sexy while battling mutant engineered zombies? Michelle Rodriguez reminds me of the tough Hispanic chick from Aliens, in a good way. Great sound! Fans of the game will be pleased to know that we still get the dogs and a decent amount of the mansion, despite its actual irrelevancy, so the mood is there. It was fun and I got what I wanted - that seems to happen less and less these days in the cinema, we should take all we can get.
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These reviews (c) 2002 Karina Montgomery. Please feel free to forward but just credit the reviewer in the text. Thanks.
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