Alien 27 (possible spoilers)

Rating: 5/10 (3 May 2002)

The "bunch of commandos sequentially devoured by alien/monster/(insert predator of choice)" movie is almost as ubiquitous as the "bunch of losers rallied into a champion football/baseball/(insert sport of choice) team" movie. But let's face it: nothing in this sub-genre has ever topped "Alien" (except "Aliens") so why bother? Especially when the filmmakers aren't even inspired enough to come up with a new climax or even a new twist  "There's a traitor among us! Surprise!". Director Paul Anderson's dark and broody "Event Horizon" was legitimately terrifying in places (and a serious improvement on "Mortal Kombat"), but with its red and silver color palette and thumpin' soundtrack, his "Resident Evil" plays more like an overlong commercial for Pepsi Max. Amongst the cast, James Purefoy and Milla Jovovich stand out  especially Jovovich who overcomes the impediment of a ludicrous costume to at least be convincing. And Eric Mabius gives a superb audition for the title role in "Max Payne"  with that body, voice and haircut, the guy is a digital sprite... which is no bad thing, if this film foreshadows the future of cinema.