Review of Resident Evil (2002) by Jarrett M — 26 Feb 2012

And so began the film series based on my second favorite video game series. I remember how much I was looking forward to this movie and when it was finally released, my reaction was very much on the cold side.

It took many years to figure out exactly why I was disappointed with the film. At first I thought it the complete and total absence of a single character from the game, the drastically different storyline to the game, or the sad attempt by the filmmakers to include miniscule references to various games from the series like it would keep the rabid fanboys happy.

Well, those things annoyed me, but the biggest problem I have with the film is the drastic tonal shift from the game to what the movie became. The game plays out very slowly, creating a palpable mood of unease and creepy atmosphere, and then shattering it by having something jumping out and attacking you just as you start to get comfortable.

The game was always about surviving rather than kicking ass and had a soundtrack that features Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata'. The movie felt it could improve upon that by creating next to no tension and focusing nearly exclusively on the action aspect.

And how a score from Marilyn Manson and a soundtrack featuring Slipknot amongst others is supposed to help create an air of tension is beyond me. Now, I am well aware that the game is far from Shakespeare and is infamous for it's cheesy dialogue and horrendous voice acting, but I alway thought the story underneath and how it was executed was quite good.

But beyond my disappoint at the bastardization of the source material, the story present here is decent for the film and actually flows at a quite brisk pace. The writing and acting are on par with what is to be expected from the genre.

The production values are quite good for the budget and aside from one or two cheap looking set pieces and some dodgy cgi, they are very buyable. The cast does a decent job, noone will overly impress, but Milla does a good job at looking good while timidly kicking ass.

And although the ending is a shameless set up for a sequel, it is pulled off fairly well, and had me actually believing that they would fix where they went wrong this time when the second outing came to be.

How wrong I was. I am a bit biased when it comes to this series of films on recommendation, but if you enjoy typical hollywood braindead action fare with a bit of a horror element, then give this a look.

If you're a mild fan of the game or can be more open-minded than myself, give this a look. If you're a rabid fan of the games and take exception to them being disrespected, proceed with caution.

If you know nothing of the games and want to know more about them, avoid this shit like mustard gas. The movies are entertaining in their own right, but are a horrendous representation of their source material.