A fair action-film, but a poor shadow of the game...

Rating: 4/10 (30 January 2005)

Relatively fun to watch, Resident Evil, is a decent enough action film. Hard to take seriously and lacking in atmosphere, suspense and any real depth is does not, however, do the games justice. The games are cinematic in quality and create an atmosphere and potential for adaptation into a truly great film. Why the venture was given to Anderson i will never know, adept at action, he appears to lack the depth of creativity and understanding that is needed to develop a truly good film. Resident Evil had the potential to be one of the scariest films ever made and instead it has been violated and torn apart until all that has been left of the masterful composition of the game is a few lousy references and a distant memory of an engaging story. It is as if someone has played the games, seen the cinematic potential, then thrown all that out the window, focusing on creating a self-involved 'cool' film that tries to hard, yet fails more often than succeeds. The replacement of the atmospheric music with the noise-like 'angst ridden metal' is laughable and becoming a touch clichéd. Whilst it has its moments, Resident Evil, does not live up to its name and frankly should have be made by someone with more respect for the games, their creators, their fans and film-making in general.