Resident Evil is pap, stupid, predictable, violent, idiotic mayhem ... and I loved every minute of it.
I bought this DVD on a whim, and next to "We Were Soldiers" it was my favorite film of 2002. I laughed, shouted out advice or predictions, had a few suprises, and am maybe in love with Mila Jovovich. She looks simply fantastic, all wetted down in that little dress with her leather boots and kicking zombie butt.
2002 had two revivals of creature feature mayhem at it's best; "Eight Legged Freaks" with it's Giant Mutant Spiders On The Loose theme and the adorable Scarlet Johanson, and "Resident Evil" resurrecting the Zombie Movie for the Internet generation. Every possible Zombie Movie convention or style is shamelessly ripped off or recycled, with doses of "Aliens", "The Andromeda Strain" and even "The Matrix" thrown in for good measure. The film even boasts repeated, close-up views of Digital Readouts [of varying colors] ticking down until the film's implied doomsday. I am a connesiour [sp?] of Digital Readout movies, and "Resident Evil" has the best Digital Readouts I have seen since "The Six Million Dollar Man". If you want to watch a movie where you are constantly reminded of how long the plot has until doomsday, this is the movie for you.
It is also a movie that helpfully reminds its viewers of exactly what is going on every ten minutes or so by having a character list the plot details up to that point. This is done for the benefit of viewers who may have calculated that a run for the restroom is about due during the theatrical runs, and helps jar the memory of those who may not have been paying attention to every minute of the DVD. I found that helpful, because the people I watched it with and I were constantly discussing what was going on to the point where we were talking about the movie more than watching it. "Resident Evil" is an interactive film, and requires a sense of humor in addition to a strong stomach.
I am sorry that I missed seeing this movie in a theater; two of my fondest cinema visits were the aforementioned "Eight Legged Freaks", where each and every one of the audience members were interacting with each other and the movie. And "Starship Troopers", which I saw in NYC with an audience that, like me, were besides themselves with hilarity during the entire running length. "Resident Evil" is very much a film in the same genre, and as such delivered the goods, and is certainly due for some sort of "cult" status as time goes on. It is truly Something Awful.
But you know what? I'd rather have fun watching a movie than be subjected to an additional three hour purgatory like the two films that will probably contend for Best Movie this year [Peter Jackson's seriously bloated "The Two Towers" and Martin Scorcese's overtly ponderous "Gangs of New York"]. They are fine movies to be sure, but it is refreshing to find a film that takes the gas out of the art form, and does it with a wetted down leather booted Mila Jovovich to boot.
Resident Evil is pap, stupid, predictable, violent, idiotic mayhem... and I loved every minute of it. I bought this DVD on a whim, and next to "We Were Soldiers" it was my favorite film of 2002. I laughed, shouted out advice or predictions, had a few suprises, and am maybe in love with Mila Jovovich. She looks simply fantastic, all wetted down in that little dress with her leather boots and kicking zombie butt. 2002 had two revivals of creature feature mayhem at it's best; "Eight Legged Freaks" with it's Giant Mutant Spiders On The Loose theme and the adorable Scarlet Johanson, and "Resident Evil" resurrecting the Zombie Movie for the Internet generation. Every possible Zombie Movie convention or style is shamelessly ripped off or recycled, with doses of "Aliens", "The Andromeda Strain" and even "The Matrix" thrown in for good measure. The film even boasts repeated, close-up views of Digital Readouts [of varying colors] ticking down until the film's implied doomsday. I am a connesiour [sp? ] of Digital Readout movies, and "Resident Evil" has the best Digital Readouts I have seen since "The Six Million Dollar Man". If you want to watch a movie where you are constantly reminded of how long the plot has until doomsday, this is the movie for you. It is also a movie that helpfully reminds its viewers of exactly what is going on every ten minutes or so by having a character list the plot details up to that point. This is done for the benefit of viewers who may have calculated that a run for the restroom is about due during the theatrical runs, and helps jar the memory of those who may not have been paying attention to every minute of the DVD. I found that helpful, because the people I watched it with and I were constantly discussing what was going on to the point where we were talking about the movie more than watching it. "Resident Evil" is an interactive film, and requires a sense of humor in addition to a strong stomach. I am sorry that I missed seeing this movie in a theater; two of my fondest cinema visits were the aforementioned "Eight Legged Freaks", where each and every one of the audience members were interacting with each other and the movie. And "Starship Troopers", which I saw in NYC with an audience that, like me, were besides themselves with hilarity during the entire running length. "Resident Evil" is very much a film in the same genre, and as such delivered the goods, and is certainly due for some sort of "cult" status as time goes on. It is truly Something Awful. But you know what? I'd rather have fun watching a movie than be subjected to an additional three hour purgatory like the two films that will probably contend for Best Movie this year [Peter Jackson's seriously bloated "The Two Towers" and Martin Scorcese's overtly ponderous "Gangs of New York"]. They are fine movies to be sure, but it is refreshing to find a film that takes the gas out of the art form, and does it with a wetted down leather booted Mila Jovovich to boot.