Movies based on video games are usually terrible. It all started with Super Mario Bros. which set the bar plenty low for future game to movie transitions. Street Fighter continued the trend, and director Uwe Boll practically made bad video game based movies an artform with versions of House of the Dead, Alone in the Dark, and Bloodrayne.

Somehow, Resident Evil was an exception to this rule. While not an earth-shattering film by any means, Resident Evil manages to be fun and entertaining, and never tries to be something more than just a fun action film (and don’t worry, plenty of zombies too).The Resident Evil games all received critical acclaim for their cinematic experience and revolutionary game-play. Perhaps that’s why Resident Evil to succeeded where so many others video-game/movie adaptations have failed. The rich source material of the Resident Evil games already provide a compelling environment and backstory to play with – something that the director skillfully takes full advantage of.No time is wasted in getting straight to the action in Resident Evil. It starts deep inside the Hive – a top secret research facility for the Umbrella Corporation where genetic and viral experiments are run. A sample of the infamous T-virus was stolen and in the process contaminated the entire facility. The advanced computer defense system in the Hive shuts down access to lab and as a result, dooms the workers stuck inside.

A crack team of security agents are sent inside to investigate, including the main character Alice (played by Milla Jovovich). Alice suffers from some memory loss as a side effect of the computer’s defense system. This gimmick actually works really well for the film – as Alice starts to remember more about her past, more plot is revealed to the audience. Although it can make the movie a little confusing at first, I think it adds to the sense of fear.

The security team’s first task is to disable the computer system that is trying to kill them. There is an unforgettable scene where the team must get past a room with powerful lasers and 3 members of the team get sliced to pieces. Once they get to the computer and disable it, they find that the previous tennants of the Hive are still there – only not alive any longer. There are several good scenes with the zombies, but ironically Resident Evil fails to be as scary as the video games it’s based off of. In the games, you may go a long period through eerily quiet, spooky rooms only to have a zombie jump out at you when you’re least expecting it. In the movie however, we often see the zombies coming before the characters do. There is only one or two “jump out of your seat” moments, but even these aren’t done as well in other films.

The action, however, is fantastic. The characters are constantly on the move from one disaster area to the next, fighting their way out of the Hive. There is running, punching, shooting, jumping, and even a flying karate kick to a zombie dog.

On the way out of the Hive one final obstacle stands in the way – a genetically engineered creature with large claws and a whiplash tongue. They manage to dispose of it by kicking out of a train door and dragging it along the tracks. Inexplicably, it catches fire, but their ordeal is finally over – or so it seems. As they exit the Hive they are put into quarantine by doctors from the Umbrella Corporation. When Alice wakes up in the hospital, she finds that the entire city has fallen victim to the T-virus. She picks up a shotgun and the movie ends.

Overall, I liked Resident Evil. It was a fun action flick, but rather weak on the horror side of things.

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