Resident Evil: A Project in Terror.

Rating: 8/10 (13 January 2005)

To be honest, the first time I saw this, I didn't care for it. It did not follow the story line of the game, and that made me very unhappy with this endeavor.
Upon realization that a video game is "dumbed down" for the players to be able to concentrate, however, I opted for a second viewing and came to realize that this was not the waste of time I first believed.
I was disappointed with how it played out because there were no cures along the way, they made little notice of records and files lying about, no matter how relevant they were or were not, and the sequence of things was not on par with that of the game. I realize that to do things that way would have severely hampered the flow of the movie itself and would have made it far less active. Considering this is first and foremost, an action movie (with horror elements), that would not be considered a good thing.
The truth is that Milla Jovovich contributes a very capable and entertaining presence and performance to this work. Her supporting cast (every one) gave nothing but the best they had. The story itself flows quite well and was creatively written and executed.
There is nothing wrong with this attempt. It just didn't live up to a fanboy's expectations. Unfortunately, that was their major principal audience; game fans, and that explains the lackluster box office payoff and the low IMDb user ratings for this attempt. The fanboys were disappointed; the casual fans casually attended this event; and the mainstream didn't understand the big deal, either way and so did not participate to a profitable level.
With the release of the second installment and all the advertisement and hype Apocalypse received, it drew the mainstream fans a bit harder; the casual fans were less casual; and the fanboys were still disappointed, but resigned to the fact that this was just how it was going to be; take it or leave it. We took it and, in retrospect, embraced the first attempt, as well.
It rates an 8.4/10 from...
the Fiend :.