Certainly one of the best of the genre!

Rating: 9/10 (10 March 2002)

I didn't know much about Resident Evil except that it was based on a Computer shoot-em-up and made into a zombie-splatter-flick. So when the title came up on the screen at the Sneak Preview, I was prepared for a bit of action filled onscreen-slaughter in which the brain can be safely turned off. The film eventually exceeded my expectations and managed to impress me on many a level and proved to be at the top of it's genre ? and immensely entertaining to watch.
Now don't get me wrong ? "Resident Evil" still wants to be a splatter movie and provides everything that is expected: The group of "good guys" getting smaller and smaller, torn apart Zombies and other nasty creatures, blood and gore, shock effects that will have a good part of the audience jumping (and some screaming) in their seats, the girl (in this case the main heroine)not dressed in much, bullets flying left, right and centre.
But this film has much more to offer than that:
The directing by Paul Anderson is quite impressive. The choreography of the plenty of action scenes not only lets you keep a sense of what's going on (as opposed to the "let's-just-use-a-shaking-hand-held-camera-and-give-the-audience-a-headache" kind of film) but is also nice to watch. (Sometimes also when you don't see the critical second on-screen. But don't worry, you will still see plenty!) Sets and effects create the creepy and claustrophobic atmosphere, with the undead dogs being my favourite bad creatures ? they do the best job in looking disgusting yet dangerous.
The Story, by Anderson too, is also a major point that raises this flick above the average standard of the genre. Sure, the whole design of the "hive", the super-computer, the virus etc. lack any real-life logic, but this is hardly what you came looking for in a film about zombie-bashing in the first place. So once you're in the right frame of mind to accept that, the story in itself is quite complex for it's genre. There are a couple of sub-plots, flashback scenes, deadlines and plot twists, so to successfully add suspense and surprise moments to all the shock and fright scenes. The film avoids using all typical cliché-scenes, never getting totally predictable and boring. A couple characters also have there individual background and escape the trap of becoming two-dimensional monster food. You even begin to care about them, especially the Soldier played by Michelle Rodriguez. The actors are convincing and do a very decent job. Note that even for smaller roles, "Resident Evil" casted "real" actors instead of "zombie food extras". (i.e. Dr. Lisa is played by Heike Makatsch, a quite well known actress in the German-speaking regions).
The pace of the film is a very fast one, which is not a bad thing normally, as it doesn't get boring, but ? and here we go with the first point I criticize ? now and then, you get the feeling that longer parts have been cut out and are now missing. The story then jumps ahead and leaves the audience with a "there-at-this-point-all-of-sudden?-that-was-fast!" feeling. I wonder if there'll be a directors cut on DVD. The music in the first part of the film is a bit too loud and disturbing. Nothing is really going on yet, but we already have the sound that would be worthy for a showdown scene. It gets better after a while (maybe because the action starts fitting the music). With all the positive points though, the later ones can easily be overlooked.
All in all, if you like the Zombie-slaying kind of horror film, go see "Resident Evil" ? it's a prime quality example of this genre and you won't be disappointed.
P.S. I'd really like to see the original crew come back for a sequel!