So it has begun. Press start to begin.

Rating: 4/10 (28 April 2006)

Located in Racoon City is the Umbrella Corporation headquarters, where in an secret underground compound called the 'The Hive' one of their experiments known as the 'T-Virus' is unknowingly released. So the main computer system "The Red Queen" locks everyone in "The Hive", which the virus turns every living thing in the facility into fleshing eating zombies. So, a military crack force is sent in to shut down the main computer and pick up any survivors within three hours. One of them they come across is Alice who's suffering amnesia, but she slowly starts to puts the pieces together, while confronting this massive problem.
I remember when I was originally going to see this at the cinema, but a friend of mine conned me out of it, in which we saw the sentimentally, wretched war flick "We Were Soldiers" instead. Well, I finally got around to seeing it after all of those years and well, meh! Now I just wonder what got me interested in it in the first place. I'm no fanatic of the video game and I have no idea how true it is to the story, but from what I've seen of the game. Anderson was no were near in capturing the dark and creepy atmosphere. Alternatively he brings his loud, rapid and glossy stylistic touches that find its way in most of his other films. I actually don't mind his earlier efforts like; the enjoyable rubbish "Mortal Kombat" and the mildly creepy "Event Horizon", but this project and even more so "Alien vs. Predator" I found mindlessly under whelming and kinda flat. Sure, I'm not expecting a meaningful masterpiece (although some specifics and character development wouldn't hurt), but the entertainment factor is rather botch. Maybe if I saw it when I was initially going to, I might've got more out of it and see it in a different manner. Since obviously its aimed at a certain target audience and to make a profitable franchise. I just found it far from gripping and the involvement was really lacking. That can be contributed to the story (which has decent plot device) that seems to go nowhere and the stock characters are pretty vague with their cheesy one-liners and thin dialogue.
Well, since that was the case I was hoping the action, blood splatter and zombie madness would spice up this shindig! I'll admit the film has a couple of striking set-pieces and the pace keeps the film moving, but these aspects lose out to the "Look at my shinning new toy! I don't know how it works, but it looks great!" attitude. The film visually looks good. But it just got caught up trying to be too flashy in it's snazzy techno appearance than actually executing some tension, excitement or even some gore. Instead we get cheap jump scares that are plain predictable, lame slow-motion, tame combat and pretty clumsy, looking CGI. You got the usual chaotic editing worked around the slick camera-work that captures the crisp art direction. Surrounding these glossy fixtures is an impulsively, blaring techno mental soundtrack. Style definitely wins out here! The performances were rather vapid, though Milla Jovovich fits the buck in the lead role. She might not have much to do but to kick ass, but she does makes the most out of her undeveloped character. Michelle Rodriguez plays a very lazy stereotype; the tough female soldier who won't take any crap! The characters here actually share a real common interest with those in "Aliens", but at least in that movie that had interesting personalities. *Hmm* Now I'm sitting here looking at the DVD cover of "Resident Evil: Apocalypse", which has on the front cover "Bigger, better, action-packed". Well, hopefully it lives up to that wrap or, maybe it will be equally forgettable.
No way is it awful. But simply, it's a weak and very dumb action-video game hybrid that lacks the firepower and is unintentionally laughable when it came to shove.