"Yeah, you like how I taste, don't you?"

Rating: 8/10 (22 May 2016)

"Resident Evil" starts off with a slam-bang double-opening - inside an ultra high-tech underground research-and-development facility, something goes terribly wrong and a gas escapes as the facility's emergency system kicks in, locking down the building and resulting in the apparent deaths of hundreds of employees; at about the same time, above ground, a young woman named Alice (Milla Jovovich) wakes up inside a grand mansion with no memory of who she is, only minutes before the place is stormed by a group of well-armed commandos. Thus begins the successful movie adaptation of the "Resident Evil" series of video games.
The acting here is equally note-perfect: Milla is at the top of her game and shows off her acting chops as well as her more corporeal talents; in the hands of a lesser actress the role would have been generic action-flick fodder. Michelle Rodriguez (Ocampo) keeps snarling and cracking wise 'til the bitter end; Eric Mabius is charmingly and appropriately plastic (where is his character coming from, anyway?) and also carries off his role like a champ. Colin Salmon (James "One" Shade) once again bravely carries Shakespearean delivery into Anderson's laser jaws of death, while James Purefoy does what he has to do as the poor man's Chris Lambert. He's a good villain, and because of that you end up rooting for the zombies and even the disgusting "Licker". A word should be said about the special features here: while it's a treat to have a ticket to the less ambitious "Resident Evil: Apocalypse", fans of the original will find the six segments on the special effects centerpieces of the film tasty, particularly in the mix between good old-fashioned animatronics and CGI. The alternate ending is amusing for completest, if only to show just how critical a solid editor can be. And without a doubt, the hysterical main commentary track with Anderson, Jovovich, and Rodriguez is worth the price of admission alone. Lucky, lucky Paul Anderson!
Overall rating: 8 out of 10.