Sexy, thrilling, action packed Zombie event . . .
That pretty much sums up
Resident Evil the movie for me. I enjoyed it immensely, probably more so the second time viewing it than the first. I think the first time I saw it, I was expecting more of the game element to it. Once I separated myself from the game, I was able to see it for what it was - a sexy, thrilling, action packed Zombie event with several gory (but not too gory) kill scenes. My favorite being what happens in the hallway to the core of the Red Queen (Michaela Dicker). Although, I can not discount the entire beginning sequence in which most of the workers in the Hive were systematically executed in a defensive move made by the Red Queen.
Resident Evil begins with a bang and just keeps going from there. After a contamination of the Hive by an unknown assailant, the computer system known as the Red Queen must take action. She goes berserk and systematically wipes out the entire facility. We are then introduced to Alice (Milla Jovovich) who we find on the shower floor with a major case of amnesia. The action really starts when Alice is joined by the military team to which she belongs (at least that's what they tell her, she can't remember) and one Matt Addisson (Eric Mabius) who claims to have just been added to the team. They all rush underground to complete their mission which is to shut down the Red Queen and find out what happened in the Hive.
As they ride on an underground train located directly beneath Alice's mansion, they encounter Spence (James Purefoy) who was apparently Alice's husband above ground. It seems that Alice and Spence are the final security measure of the Hive. They protect the only entrance and exit to the Hive. Alice and Spence can't remember any of this however because the Red Queen in all her wisdom released a nerve gas into the mansion as an added security measure.
Once in the hive all hell breaks loose as the team tries to complete their mission and get back up to the mansion before it is sealed completely. The Red Queen however does not think this is a good idea and tries to stop them at every turn. They begin to realize just why the Red Queen does not want them to escape when they meet up with the residents of the Hive. All of whom should be dead, but are up and feeding on whatever they can get their hands on.
As Alice's memory begins to come back she takes charge of the operation and befriends Matt Addison whose main objective is to take down The Umbrella Corporation and make them accountable for what it is they really are involved in - genetic testing and military weaponry.
Resident Evil is a great Zombie flick. Although you don't see the zombies all that much, when you do, they are terrifying and believable. And the creature that was one of The Umbrella Corporation's early developments creeped me out to the Nth degree. It kind of reminded me of the Doppelganger in the Spiderman video game for some reason. I also quite enjoyed the interactions with the Red Queen. Her innocent facade as the little girl directly conflicted with the horrible things she said and did. Although in retrospect, they should have listened to her, but isn't that always the case?
With an ending that just begged a sequel (and got it, look for Resident Evil: Apocalypse), but made total sense with the rest of the film, I definitely recommend a viewing. Just make sure you are not expecting a complete and literal translation from the video game.
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Resident Evil Movie Cast and Credits
Directed by
Paul W.S. Anderson
Writing credits (WGA)
Paul W.S. Anderson (written by)
Cast (in credits order)
Milla Jovovich .... Alice
Michelle Rodriguez .... Rain Ocampo
Eric Mabius .... Matt Addison
James Purefoy .... Spence Parks
Martin Crewes .... Chad Kaplan
Colin Salmon .... One
Ryan McCluskey .... Mr. Grey
Oscar Pearce .... Mr. Red
Indra Ové .... Ms. Black
Anna Bolt .... Dr. Anna Bolt
Joseph May .... Dr. Blue
Robert Tannion .... Dr. Brown
Heike Makatsch .... Dr. Lisa Addison
Jaymes Butler .... Clarence the Security Guard
Stephen Billington .... Mr. White
Fiona Glascott .... Ms. Gold
Pasquale Aleardi .... J.D. Salinas
Liz May Brice .... Medic
Torsten Jerabek .... Commando #1
Marc Logan-Black .... Commando #2
Michaela Dicker .... Red Queen
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jeremy Bolt .... Zombie (uncredited)
Jamie Harding .... Mail Boy (uncredited)
Jason Isaacs .... Dr. William Birkin/Narrator (uncredited)More Resident Evil Movie Reviews and Information
The Official Site for Resident Evil from Sony PicturesResident Evil Movie Reviews and Information from The Internet Movie Database
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