Pretty good for what it is.

Rating: 6/10 (29 March 2002)

Resident Evil is an action movie dressed up as a zombie horror flick. It has pretensions to being in the same gory category as George Romero's classic Day of the Dead. In fact Romero was originally slated to direct Resident Evil. He left the production and a fellow named Paul Anderson took over. They made the right choice. Anderson made a nifty joy ride of a movie with nothing in its brainless little head than to help you waste ninety minutes.

Resident Evil is the type of movie where momentum trumps plot. This is not to say that story is unimportant. You need enough substance to involve the audience in the mayhem but not so much that they will accidentally start thinking. This movie has just enough characterization to make you worry about the fate of the actors and just enough plot to give them something to do. Something goes `Horribly WrongT' at a vast underground biological research facility. All the lab personnel die and provide a pool of hungry zombies. A crack paramilitary commando squad goes in to find out what happened. That's about it for the plot. That's all you need, really, to string the action sequences together. Okay, yes, there are some subplots involving corporate espionage, love and betrayal but most of that just gets lost in the noise. All you have to know to enjoy the proceedings is that the good guys have to go from point A to point B without becoming hors-de-oeuvres.
The acting rises to the occasion but not much farther. A fellow named Colin Salmon does look like he's destined for better stuff. Salmon plays the head commando and manages to stand out in his brief screen time. Milla Jovovich, on the other hand, never seems anything more than the glamour puss she really is. Not that she gets much help from the script or costume department. Now bear in mind that these zombies are suppose to be highly contagious. One scratch and you're a shambling mess. Ms. Jovovich, supposedly a highly trained security expert, goes into battle wearing a spaghetti-strapped purple mini dress. I suppose the thigh high Doc Martins provided some protection but still.anyway, Jovovich has a likable screen presence and does the requisite kickboxing moves with passable flair.

Michelle Rodriguez, now, looks as if she knows one end of an Uzi from another. She does go into battle wearing Kevlar but the ancient rules of dramaturgy being what they are; she eventually takes it off so we can see her t-shirt. To be fair, Rodriguez does a good job. She shows more personality than Jovovich and is believable in a highly contrived situation.

Despite the zombies you can watch Resident Evil without gagging on your popcorn. Gore is not Resident Evil's bag. The zombies here are a civilized lot. They do their feeding politely off camera. Yes, there is plenty of blood being splattered around but not much more than you'd see in your average Arnold Schwarzenegger movie.
Resident Evil is one of those borderline movies that are fun to watch but don't bear much discussion. Should you see it? Well, if your favorite movie of the last ten years was Room With A View then there are other films you should see. If you're in the mood for a swiftly paced, brainless action flick however, then you can't go wrong with Resident Evil.