"Take him to the nemesis project."

Rating: 8/10 (22 March 2002)

Bollicks to you, Glacier. You talk as if a midget with brass knuckles was punching you in the balls during the duration of the movie. I'll agree with anyone who says this film wasn't art, but it was NOT a bad movie. I'm not gonna nominate it for an Oscar, but it was entertaining, and much more so than "Tomb Raider." And before we get into the "you don't know the game" issue, let it be known that I am a diehard fanatic of the Resident Evil series, having played all of the games, owning two, and having beaten both "2" and "Veronica". The game itself consists of walking around rooms being frightened by sounds, and very often there isn't much zombie fighting involved. Granted, ninja kicks to the heads of Dobermans forced my eyebrow to rise a little, but I let it pass, especially once they showed the Licker (only complaint I have is that such a weak character would be made into the "boss"). The special effects weren't great, and I found myself chuckling to myself at the sight of the zombies, but what got me into the film was the constant ambience. It played just like the game, with more moments where you're scared of the silence than gunplay against approaching zombies. As for accuracy to the game, it's not all there (if it was, they'd be able to hold eight guns at a time, and eat plants to cure their wounds), but as it is a prequel, it doesn't have much to stick to anyway. The beginning introductions were accurate, and the ending was seamless, as well as being extremely creepy. And while I had expected to hate this movie, as video game transitions typically suck eggs (i.e. Super Mario Bros), I was very pleasantly surprised, and while I can't repeat enough that I wasn't blown away by the depth or artistry involved with the film, it was a good, mindless, lets-shoot-the-hell-out-of-some-zombies movie. And if this series which seems like it's gonna sprout is true AND chronological, it's only gonna get cooler. Anyone who remembers a specific line from the end of the movie, and knows what it's referring to...you know I'm right.