DVD Review: Resident Evil (2002)

(aka The Alice Show.)
Release Date: March 15th, 2002.
Country: GER/FRA/UK/USA.
Rating: R.
Written by: Paul W.S. Anderson.
Directed by: Paul W.S. Anderson.
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Eric Mabius, James Purefoy, and Michelle Rodriguez.

Milla Jovovich kicking ass; that's the main reason that this movie is any good, and the only reason that the Resident Evil movie series exists. Without her, this one would have no spark, and it probably would have been a one-and-done like so many other video game adaptations are. 

Now if only Milla had starred in Silent Hill...

Far below Raccoon City is The Hive; a top-secret genetic research facility owned by the massive, Walmart-esque Umbrella Corporation. When some asshole breaks a vial of the deadly T-virus and then hightails it out of The Hive, its sentient watchdog/overlord The Red Queen locks everything down and kills everyone inside. She's saving the world.

THIS IS WHY I'D NEVER WORK MILES BELOW THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH.

Up on the surface, Alice wakes up alone and naked in a mansion, with no idea how she got there, or who she is. Quickly realizing that she's a part of the Lindsay Lohan Initiative, she gets dressed and prepares to do the walk of shame, when a bunch of commandos break through the windows and tell her that the mansion is an entrance to The Hive, and that she's it's guardian. They also tell her that something has happened in The Hive, and all of them, Alice included, have got to travel to the chamber of The Red Queen, to deactivate her.

ROUGH NIGHT. 

Of course shutting down The Red Queen means that everything else shuts down as well, and doing so releases the newly reanimated T-virus zombies, as well as some dead dogs, and some monsters that like to lick people to death. Trapped far below ground with the deadly monsters, Alice and her new pals have to fight their way to daylight before Umbrella nukes Raccoon City and kills them all.

Poor girl just can't catch a break.

SO, THAT HAPPENED.

The Resident Evil movie series is an odd one. As each installment gets progressively worse, at least from the standpoint of everything that makes a movie "good," they also get more and more enjoyable. That's really the strength of these movies; they kinda suck, and they're definitely cringe-worthy at times, but damn are they fun to watch. The Resident Evil movies are kinda like the Fast & Furious movies of the Horror world; stupid, but highly enjoyable.

This first Resident Evil is more of a "traditional" movie in that it had more of a plot, and it wasn't anywhere near as over the top and silly as its sequels were. We enjoyed all of the movies in this series, to different degrees, but it will always be the first one that we can say that we honestly loved.

Resident Evil is a guilty pleasure, plain and simple.

Milla Jovovich is really the saving grace of this film (and franchise.) She's a strong, skilled, and deadly female who exists only to kill zombies and monsters, and strike cool poses while doing so, and she does it all flawlessly. She's not quit as deadly in this one as she is in the subsequent sequels, but she still owns this movie.

GO AHEAD, TAKE IT.

Resident Evil was originally going to be directed by none other than George A. Romero himself. Can you imagine that? This series could have been some next-level shit with him at the helm. We would have loved to see how the master of the zombie movie would have treated this material, but I guess it was never meant to be. Read Romero's original script HERE, and judge for yourself.

FIRE ROMERO OFF OF THE MOVIE, BUT STILL REFERENCE HIS FILMS. CLASSY MOVE.

It's obvious that developing the characters in this movie (aside from Alice) was something that no one was interested in; they all felt generic and interchangeable, which made the whole thing feel a bit generic overall. Maybe Rain wasn't generic, but then again that was only Michelle Rodriguez doing her "way too masculine, pissed-off tough girl" shtick that she does in every single movie that she's in, so in a completely different way, she was pretty generic too.

Also, some of the dialogue was pretty bad, especially when it came to the supporting characters like the scientists, the Hive employees, etc..

TAKE IT DOWN A NOTCH, MICHELLE.

Zombies eat people, people dispatch of zombies, people get cut apart by a laser... this one is plenty gory. I think that the body count in this movie was north of 80, so there's plenty of death to go around.

HE COULD PROBABLY SURVIVE THAT.

Milla gets nearly naked in this one, and you can see flashes of her naughty bits if you pause the movie at the right time, but its all very quick and harmless.

THAT'S RIGHT, PUT 'EM ON THE GLASS.

"I've been a bad, bad girl."

"WOULD YOU LIKE TO PLAY A GAME?"

Milla Jovovich kicks ass. Also, she's incredibly sexy. Also, watching her kick ass is incredibly sexy.

MORE LIKE RESIDENT BONER, AM I RIGHT?

Resident Evil isn't necessarily a good movie, but it sure as hell is an enjoyable one. Even more important is that it's an above-average video game adaptation, and those aren't easy to come by. It's definitely a Hollywood type of Horror flick (slick and brainless), but at least they went the Rated-R route with it, which means more blood & gore for us. If you can deal with a convoluted plot and some cheesy dialogue, then this one is definitely worth your time. Just don't expect anything more than a fun popcorn flick, and you'll most likely be happy.

B+

Resident Evil is available now on Blu-ray, DVD, and VOD.

Not only does Milla Jovovich play one of the most kick-ass Alpha females to ever grace the silver screen, but she's ridiculously hot while doing so.