Different experience if you enjoyed the game!

Rating: Null/10 (27 January 2003)

My ratings:
If you enjoyed the game: 8.5/10 If you didn't enjoy the game: 6/10 If you never played the game: 3/10
I think movies about video games should be produced to mimic the video game, and if you enjoyed the game, then Resident Evil is a real treat to watch! The screenplay that is the stuff of RPG video games -- i.e. flipping a switch, and then a camera shot of some far-off room's lights coming on -- is captured quite well in this movie. And the camera zooms and pans that you find when objects like trains are accelerating and slowing down... captured in cinematic genius as well. The brief flashes of "the licker" that you might recall from the game's beginning... also captured in the film. Basically, if you really appreciated the kind of suspense that only video game play brings, then you'll enjoy that part of this movie. The characters are also brought to life pretty well. I have read reviews here where people complain that the actors have no expressions. Well, guess what? The subtleties of the expressions are exactly as you would see them in the video game. Action is similar too, and zombies respond to shots the same. If you've ever played through Resident Evil and wondered, "Hmmmm what would these short animations look like in a full-length movie?" Well, they're so cool that I give this film an 8.5 if you enjoyed the game. The director did a fabulous job recreating the video game!
I was able to take a step back though and ask myself what I'd think of this movie if I had never played the game. The beginning 15 minutes, as somebody has mentioned, is a pain to sit through. You're left guessing a little too much what the hell is going on. And the dialogue is a little unnatural (e.g. when the "Hive" is described) -- but again this is all mimicking the gameplay to a "T". The scenes are not particularly scary, and the music is definitely blase. The scary parts are a little too predictable, and there's a wide range in which zombies get put out of commission to the point where it seems pretty unrealistic (e.g. in one scene it takes 20 bullets to drop a zombie, and in another, a glass paperweight on the back of the head suffices). From a strictly horror film standpoint -- with special effects, storyline, dialogue, action, suspence, and gore in mind, this movie doesn't quite cut it. 3/10.