Resident Evil 2002 Film Starring Milla Jovovich
A Lethal Virus is Unleashed in an Underground Facility
Oct 1, 2009
Following the success of the Resident Evil game series, it was not surprising that film makers decided to take a concept from a game and bring it to the big screen. This was a genre defining moment in which the film's performance would decide if other games would be made into films.
In Resident Evil a woman wakes up on the floor of the shower with no memory of who she is or how she got there. Within moments a team of commandos enter the mansion, and inform her that she is an operative placed in the house to guard an entrance to a facility called the Hive.
Introduction to the World of Resident Evil
A woman (Milla Jovovich) named Alice (she is not named on screen) wakes up in the shower with amnesia. She gets dressed and wanders around a mansion. She discovers a photo suggesting that she is married and also finds various weapons. A team of commandos enter the mansion, along with a man named Matt Addison (Eric Mabius) who identifies himself as a police officer.
The team makes its way through the mansion to an underground station where they discover a man named Spence who is also suffering from amnesia (James Purefoy). Heading into the underground facility known as the Hive, the team quickly realises that everyone in the Hive is dead. It turned out that The Hive’s computer the Red Queen killed everyone after a dangerous virus was released. However, the team’s problems are just beginning as the virus doesn’t just kill people, it also reanimates the dead.
Film Adaptation of the Game Series
Resident Evil was the first of the game franchises to receive a film adaptation, and responses were mixed. Essentially, it seems that people can be separated into two camps: those who are fans of the game and those who are not. For those who are not familiar with the game, Resident Evil is just another take on the zombie genre, in which an unfortunate group of people are trapped underground with their window of escape closing.
There are numerous references to the first couple of games; and the film Resident Evil borrows elements from several games. The main enemy (aside from the zombies) is a vicious creature called a Licker, which mutates after devouring living flesh - this creature is an enemy from the second game.
The film is not a bad first try for the game-to-film adaptations. Resident Evil benefits from numerous gun battles and the tension caused by the group being trapped underground.
The zombies all look the part, and are shambling husks of human beings. Unfortunately, they are effectively the ‘Romero Zombies’. After George A Romero made Dawn of the Dead in 1979, every other film which features zombies depicted them the same way: slow, stupid and shambling. As this is a film based on a game in which the zombies were slow moving, the film makers can be forgiven for staying in the zombie comfort zone.
The CGI is not great, and the Licker is obviously computer generated. Directors should remember that make-up artists can perform wonders making someone look like they are decomposing but poor CGI has ruined many good films.
Milla Jovovich is joined by another action heroine, Michelle Rodriguez. Together, the pair struggle to escape the Hive before it seals shut. Both are strong female characters, more than capable of matching up to the men, and Alice begins to take charge as the team crumbles around her.
Resident Evil’s success led to numerous other game to film adaptations some more successful than others. The film is saved by its action sequences and tongue-in-cheek humour. Fans of the game may be disappointed but there is enough here to keep horror and action fans entertained.
3/5
Resident Evil is a flawed but ultimately entertaining twist on a zombie film.
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