Wait... This might be Chris' blood....

Rating: 4/10 (8 February 2007)

I don't know if any other movie infuriates me more than this. Well, maybe the sequel. The people in charge in Hollywood don't seem to realize that videogames turned to film have so much more potential than given credit for. That's why films like this don't have a large budget, which leads to idiots like Paul W.S. Anderson getting the chance to direct and write... neither of which can he do.
I mean honestly, the Resident Evil video game series does not have an amazing story like some will say. What it does have is many characters that will one day go down as classic heroes and villains, with a conspiracy plot that was original and highly entertaining in how it was uncovered. The was all set in the perfect atmosphere - a creepy mansion filled with bloodthirsty zombies... awesome! That would be a good movie and it is already a great series of games.
The only thing this movie has in common with that is... yes, there are zombies, but they're not scary. They look like sick, hungover mental patients who can't do anything. I heard someone once say this movie was the poor man's Aliens. Exactly. Everything about it is just so routine and mediocre, and aside from that the best characters are killed right away and in awful ways. (The laser hallway is among the dumbest things ever conceived by mankind.) Furthermore, the atmosphere of the games is lost in misplaced maniacal techno music...why??
I'm not saying that the movie is bad just because it does not follow the games, because the setting as a prequel is acceptable. However, there are several other things that make a film enjoyable, and it just doesn't work here. No good acting leads to lack of chemistry amongst the characters. The pacing is poor, the dialogue is mundane, and it is not scary enough for the horror flick it aspires to be. The director was just lost.
Rather than use a great premise, Paul Anderson abandoned it and made something of his own, which isn't any good on its own. I'll never know why they didn't let George Romero make it. And of course, since it was low budget - the film made a profit and they made a sequel. That is why this sad cycle will continue to repeat itself, and the video game movie will forever be wasted.