Finally, a good video game-movie translation...and a terrifying message

Rating: Null/10 (23 March 2002)

(Warning: spoilers ahead!) There have been a lot of attempts to bring video games to the big screen. Super Mario Brothers, Mortal Combat, Tomb Raider, the list goes on. Finally, however, there is a break in that list. Located under an elegant mansion, Umbrella, one of the most powerful corporations in the world, has a secret lab named the Hive. Stocked with the brilliant scientists, state-of-the-art technology, and run by a sentient super computer called the Red Queen, Umbrella most promising research is done here: genetic manipulation and viral weaponry. When a project the corporation is working on suddenly gets out of hand, the lab is locked down, killing all the scientists and containing the secret they were working on. In the mansion above, Alice (played by the beautiful and talented Milla Jovovich) awakens from a chemically induced state of amnesia (part of the facilities automated defenses suddenly turned on) just in time to meet a team of commandos sent in by Umbrella to ascertain the nature of the emergency and reestablish control. Alice and her partner, also suffering from memory loss, and escorted into the Hive by the team immediately. The fun starts. After shutting down the Red Queen, who initiated the emergency shut down that contained the catastrophic events, the team is besieged by legions of scientists who have been altered into tough, flesh eating zombies. As the surviving team members struggle for their lives, desperate to escape the Hive, they discover the terrible truth: the zombies were created by the T-virus, a genetic weapon that reanimates dead tissue, creating beings whose only purpose is to feed. One scratch, one bite from these abominations, and you're infected, with just hours before you become one of them. As with all viruses, there's no antidote. The action and tension mount as the stuggle for survival continues when the few survivors face the epitome of Umbrellas sick research: a creature called 'the licker,' huge, unstoppable, killing machines that were once human beings. They are almost impossible to kill and become stronger, faster, and deadlier with each life they take. It soon becomes clear that none of them may leave alive...and even if they could, their death might be better than exposing the outside world to the horrors of Umbrellas secret weapons. Resident Evil delivers the goods, no doubt about it. Sure, it's story is simple, the acting isn't superb, and the setup is nothing new. Which makes the films appeal and success in its endeavour only more impressive. Milla Jovovich is great as a heroine, with all strength and guile we've come to expect from such roles over the years. Michelle Rodriguez does a great job as Rain, the tough, dedicated soldier who must deal with her wounds and what they mean for her ultimate fate. The plot twists and turns, with flashes of recollection from Alice adding to the story gradually at just the right times. The music, techno, punk, rock, whatever you call it, is just perfect for the mood and action of the movie. And the FX and makeup, superb. Simply put, go see RE, especially if you're a fan of the video games series, you won't be disappointed. In addition to finding the film entertaining and action packed, though, I was also disturbed and genuinely frightened by it. No, not the film itself, but the idea behind it. Resident Evil is not just another sci-fi horror flik, but a warning. In an age where it seems science is revealing incredible possibilities to us, genetics has emerged as both the a holy grail and doomsday weapon. The best expression of this is given at the films end, where Alice stands alone in the middle of a dead Raccoon City, where the T-virus has devasted all life in a once bustling metropolitan area. The most horrifying scene of the movie, perhaps, because this might not be as impossible a scenario as it sounds.