If you're a fan of the franchise, steer clear.

Rating: 4/10 (23 December 2005)

I went to the cinema having high expectations for the film. I was and still am a huge fan oft he games, especially Resi 2. I was expecting the characteristics of the game to be int he film; gore, suspense, violence, zombies and some nasty monsters. I was in for a huge disappointment...
The film starts off OK, with some unknown figure unleashing the T-Virus but then it goes circling out of control. Whereas there are some elements still retained from the game(laboratory is under a mansion outside Racoon City and is owned by Umbrella Corporation it seems that the director got bored of transferring the franchise to film, and instead made the rest up. What follows is a mindless adventure as some elite soldiers go through the underground lab to try and stop the threat of the virus. Of course, there are zombies, but the overall look of then pales in comparison to Dawn Of The Dead (2004). Whereas some of them have gruesome wounds, 80% of them are just very pale and have makeup and fake blood. Along with that, there is no suspense. And what happens is that a zombie(s)will emerge, and along with tons of shooting, rock music appears.
The big bad boy boss monster is the licker, who most Resi fans will know and appreciate as a med-i-okre monster, not too challenging. This thing however is made out to be the mother of all creations and is very disappointingly realised with bad CGI. There is no suspense here, a total lack of blood and gore, and only one monster. True fans of the Resi games will be and should be disappointed.
That said, their are a few things which raise Resi from the dead (sorry for the pun). The ending climactic train set piece is enjoyable and fast paced, and the laser hallway (imagine, 3 soldiers, trapped in a hallway, with lasers that chop things in half) is pretty neat. There's also a cool appearance by some zombie Doberman dogs, however they're quickly killed off in a silly action scene.
This film could have been so much more if the director would have ditched the possibility for "cool stunts" and gone for more style, suspense and horror. Even when the heroes are outnumbered and surrounded by zombies, you never feel as if they are in THAT much danger....when in a situation like that you should be on the edge of your seat.
For zombie lovers, there are better choices out there. George A Romero's Dead films, the remake of Dawn of The Dead (04, Saun Of The Dead and even 28 Days Later serve up better chills and scares than this med-i-okre action fest.