Decent

Rating: Null/10 (10 September 2004)

I saw Resident Evil: Apocalypse last night with some free screening passes. I must admit, if I had paid full price for this movie, I would be extremely disappointed.
Basically, this movie is like a bad album with a few good tracks. i've listed a few of the scenes that stood out in my mind below. 1)A police station where cops are attempting to arrest the zombies. Jill Valentine, who Resident Evil fans will recognize from the video games, walks in and caps several of them in the head with her pistol. 2)Scenes of the chaos in Racoon City as the virus seizes hold. 3)A scene involving 12 STARS police holed up in a store, then being attacked by the Nemesis. 4)Umrella Corperation troopers holding a four-way intersection against an advancing tide of zombies.
Apart from these scenes, I found the movie extremely formulaic and derivative. The dialogue is dreadful, with memorable lines such as "Get in," and "Finish Him." The whole "band of survivors attempting to escape" is done better in Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later.
Resident Evil fans will appreciate RE:A's attention to making the movie as much like the game as possible. I have played a few of the games with a passing interest, so I feel I can comment on this without being a fan boy. There are few plot inconsistencies between the game and the movie that will undoubtedly frustrate some die-hard fans, but there are scenes that strongly remind me of the games. Jill walking through an empty church reminded me of Resident Evil: Survivor, and many of the sequences in the school and the church have the claustrophobic feel of the games down straight.
All in all, if your looking for a movie version of the game, this is your cup of tea. If your a zombie movie fan who loved George Ramaro's Night of the Living Dead series like I am, see Shaun of the Dead instead of RE:A, then, when it comes out on DVD, rent RE:A to see a decent gore fest and 28 Days Later to see what this movie should have been.