A Film of Contended Merit

Rating: 8/10 (24 May 2007)

I normally do not post reviews (this is the first I've posted on IMDb, in fact), but being someone who has followed the series for eight years and has read a good portion of everything people have had to say about it, I feel I should say something.
The ratings that people have given this film are only slightly above average, but--statistically speaking--the major outliers are the large number of people giving it one star and the large number of people giving it eight stars, each assuming the other does or doesn't know anything about the game series (which should be irrelevant) and does or doesn't know anything about good film-making (which should also be irrelevant).
A sizable portion of the reviewers who liked the movie never played the games. A sizable portion of reviewers who didn't like the movie are devoted fans.
I, being a fan of the series, had mixed feelings going into the film. I was not sure whether I liked it or not after the first time I saw it. Upon subsequent viewings I enjoyed it more. My experience was very similar, actually, when I played the first game in the series. I wasn't looking for a precise adaptation, because precision--regarding plot--does not always make a good adaptation. I just wanted a good, disturbing movie, and I felt the film delivered that.
The visual presentation was not only accurate, but wonderful. The people bashing it on the basis of overusing CGI should note that, for the most part, they were not seeing CGI, but real costumes and make-up effects. I am led to believe that CGI has become a scapegoat for whatever a person finds visually unpleasant about a movie.
The script was not as good as I was expecting. I can suspend disbelief by telling myself that, being part of a living nightmare, the characters were prone to dream-like nonsense talk, but it still should have been better. The actors were competent in delivering the lines, but the set production and art direction were the star of the show, so it did not matter so much. This is true in the case of most watchable horror films.
That being said, I would have given my review an additional star if they had just cut out the narration of the flashback explanation sequence; it was very nice-looking and would have explained enough on its own, much like Blade Runner was a far better film without its original narrative track.
To those who did not understand this film: No one should force you to watch a movie you don't like, but if you didn't understand this film, you weren't trying very hard. It's no fault of yours if you were not engaged enough in it; I was, and so were many others.
This is a good horror film; I have been trying to find good, classic horror films recently, and this one ranks with Jacob's Ladder, Session 9, and The Omen as one of my favourites. As a video game adaptation it is fantastic.
As a film with many contradictory reviews, it deserves a try from any moviegoer; it's a film that you cannot really judge from a review whether it is worth seeing. When everyone tells you something different, all you can do is find out for yourself.