Thoughts as a moviegoer, as a game fan

Rating: Null/10 (20 September 2004)

This is my first movie review. Since this move is based on a popular video game franchise, I'll give my first thoughts to a potential viewer who hasn't played the games.
Resident Evil: Apocalypse is a sci fi/action movie mix. The plot and most of the characters are original, and the movie's pace is a consistent mix of action sequences and character interaction scenes that reveal the agenda of the Umbrella corporation and key figures within it. Special effects are very well done, and there are a few clever moments and plot elements. Many of the action scenes employ a modern technique, whereby you can only see a confusing flurry of swinging fists, kicks and weapons in camera closeups. I couldn't help feeling that the director (Alexander Witt) tried bludgeoning viewers with cheap tricks as a substitute for choreographing realistic sequences. This, along with the in-your-face bravado displayed by the main characters did the interesting plot a major injustice.
For fans of the video game franchise, like myself, there are some nice treats, my favorites being Nemesis and zombie dogs, both extremely well done and true to the games. Overall, the movie captures the look of the games faithfully- but not the style, not by a long shot.
In the mid 90s the Resident Evil series started a game genre called 'survival horror'. The experience one has playing any of the games is one of carefully paced tension, fright, shock, and.... desperate survival, all lacking by varying degrees in the movie. This is not to say that Apocalypse didn't have scary moments, but unlike in the games the characters weren't ordinary enough to convince me of their peril and heroism. An example of this is the introduction of Jill Valentine's character (Sienna Guillory), whose look was obviously meant to match that of her video game persona. The problem was that in the movie the look made her seem more like a prostitute with an attitude, an inappropriate juxtaposition for the plight of her character. In my opinion, this movie could have easily been much more gripping, if not a classic, if it had followed the styles of classic 'survival' sci fi films like The Thing or the first Terminator movie. I'll bet that Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami sees the Resident Evil movies as a mixed blessing; they give the franchise much larger exposure, but without his involvement, style is sacrificed.