True to the games

Rating: 7/10 (14 September 2004)

(Minor Spoilers)
As a fan of the Resident Evil games, I wasn't expecting much from this movie, but I was pleasantly surprised. I know Paul W. S. Anderson is hated by many, mostly because of MORTAL COMBAT and SOLDIER, but I think this is by far his best directing (and writing) work.
What I like the most is how the movie stays true to the spirit of the games in spite of moving away from the original plot and characters. The story is sort of a "re-imagination" of the first game with a few things taken from the second (mostly the Liker, the train sequences and the ending), but you can find the key elements that make up the Resident Evil universe: Racoon City, the Umbrella Corporation, the T-virus, the zombies, the dogs... And though none of the original characters appear in the movie, those created specifically for it could fit nicely into the games: Alice is some sort of a mix between Jill Valentine and Claire Redfield, Matt seems inspired by Leon S. Kennedy, Spence seems inspired by Wesker, and Colin Salmon's character is a compendium of all the Umbrella operatives seen through the games. The actors are serviceable, and I think Salmon stands out in spite of his limited screen time. Mila Jovovich is also perfectly cast as Alice, and though she's not a great actress, she makes the part her own. Michelle Rodriguez is also good, if only because she plays the same character in all of her movies. Of course, more character development would have been welcome, but I think there is enough for an action movie. Also, the script cleverly avoids a common mistake in this kind of 'combat team in hostile ground' stories: The most generic and interchangeable characters are killed early on (I wish Salmon had survived longer, though), so you can focus your attention in the rest  unlike in the recent STARSHIP TROOPERS 2, where there were too many cardboard cut-outs I mean characters.
Another area where RE succeeds is in the balance between horror and action. Just like the games, the movie kicks off in what is (more or less) our everyday world, and quickly turns into a nightmare. The settings reproduce what you are used to find in the games, like the mansion, the laboratory, the train, etc. They all help to create the right atmosphere for the movie. On the plot side, I know the use of amnesia as a narrative device has been done to death, but here it serves the narration well: Just like Alice, we find step by step where we are and what is going on. Some scenes are adequately creepy and well handled, like the moment when the zombies show up for the first time. The action scenes are well edited, so you can tell what's going on (a rarity these days). The pace is also good, except for a few moments when you can tell that some scenes have been cut (particularly at the end of the conversation where Matt reveals his true identity to Alice). I also liked the epilogue. Though a bit overlong, it has the greatest Resident Evil feel in the movie (particularly the final shot).
Overall, this is a good horror/action movie, specially for those who liked the games. As always happens, some of them may be disappointed, but I still think we've been far luckier than most Tomb Raider fans.