IMDb user comments for
Resident Evil (2002)

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1079 comments in total

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78 out of 109 people found the following comment useful :-
Good survival horror, 16 January 2005

Author: enkephalin07 from United States

I had to sift long and deep for a good comment on this. Why all the hostility? I think there was great chemistry on this production and it shows; the actors and crew involved loved the game and had a good time making this. This movie successfully recreated the feel of the game, and because it kept exposition to a minimum of what you needed to know for this particular story and didn't borrow from or revise any of the original characters or settings, it supported and strengthened the franchise. No story is retold here, no words are wasted, the setting, feel and pace is familiar to fans of Resident Evil and yet it's perfectly accessible to those unfamiliar with the broader storyline. Not giving the fan-boys their favorite characters was a good choice since characters tend to get mangled in adaptation, and yet the fan-boys still complain. With this film you have a good, watchable story that can partake of the Resident Evil cosmology, showing it due respect.

It did an excellent job establishing characters without too much unnecessary background, developing them just enough to make you want to know what they'll do next, to make you care before the sudden and gruesome happens to them. The acting was above par for a Resident Evil, certainly much better than the first game. The plot was no more comic bookish than any of the games. My one complaint was that the characters were too battle-trained, too slick, too good at fighting for them to be sympathetic horror subjects. This could've been balanced out with more reaction shots showing the soldiers wetting themselves. But Alice's over-the-top commando-style action made her too much of a super heroine to really make anyone concerned about her survival; characters made of Teflon make good action but apathetic horror subjects.

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47 out of 71 people found the following comment useful :-
Way better than what I expected, 27 July 2002

Author: Reaktor- from Siikajoki, Finland

I wasn't waiting to see anything amazing when I started watching for this movie, since almost all the license movies have been terrible... Fortunately, my opinion was to change! Movie was great, actors were good enough, and there was actually a plot (whoa!). Director has done a great job by having that videogame atmosphere by use of light, but still keeping the movie tense. Marilyn Manson has also made a great job by composing some of his greatest soundtrack titles which really fit for this movie. I have played both Resident Evil and Resident Evil 2, and recognized many of the scenes which were kind of similar to games. What can I say? For the people who have played games, this one gives good vibes and they are going to love it. For regular people the movie might be above the average. This was one hell-of-a-movie, and I'm waiting for the sequel.

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18 out of 24 people found the following comment useful :-
Resident Evil: A Project in Terror., 13 January 2005

Author: Fiendish_Dramaturgy from .: Fiendish Writings in the Dark :.

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

To be honest, the first time I saw this, I didn't care for it. It did not follow the story line of the game, and that made me very unhappy with this endeavor.

Upon realization that a video game is "dumbed down" for the players to be able to concentrate, however, I opted for a second viewing and came to realize that this was not the waste of time I first believed.

I was disappointed with how it played out because there were no cures along the way, they made little notice of records and files lying about, no matter how relevant they were or were not, and the sequence of things was not on par with that of the game. I realize that to do things that way would have severely hampered the flow of the movie itself and would have made it far less active. Considering this is first and foremost, an action movie (with horror elements), that would not be considered a good thing.

The truth is that Milla Jovovich contributes a very capable and entertaining presence and performance to this work. Her supporting cast (every one) gave nothing but the best they had. The story itself flows quite well and was creatively written and executed.

There is nothing wrong with this attempt. It just didn't live up to a fanboy's expectations. Unfortunately, that was their major principal audience; game fans, and that explains the lackluster box office payoff and the low IMDb user ratings for this attempt. The fanboys were disappointed; the casual fans casually attended this event; and the mainstream didn't understand the big deal, either way and so did not participate to a profitable level.

With the release of the second installment and all the advertisement and hype Apocalypse received, it drew the mainstream fans a bit harder; the casual fans were less casual; and the fanboys were still disappointed, but resigned to the fact that this was just how it was going to be; take it or leave it. We took it and, in retrospect, embraced the first attempt, as well.

It rates an 8.4/10 from...

the Fiend :.

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25 out of 41 people found the following comment useful :-
Surprisingly Entertaining, 4 October 2002

Author: Dennis G. Barnes (Zod-2) from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

I was generally surprised that I liked this movie, not being a fan of either of it's stars. I decided to give the movie a try since it does deal with one of my favorite horror topics...zombies!

As a horror movie Resident Evil fails miserably, it's not scary and contains only small amounts of suspense. It is much better as an action film although much of the action is chaotic, accompanied by lame heavy metal/thrash music. But seeing as it is based on a video game and made primarily for teenage boy video game addicts it is quite good in and of itself.

The movie plays well, even though it is apparent that some scenes have been cut to achieve an R-rating. The characters do what they need to do in order to survive.

One small problem with the movie is the relative lack of zombie screen time. They do appear in two major scenes but most of the time the hallways are clear. This hive was supposed to employ thousands of people but you only ever see 100 zombies at the most. Also, the humans seem to be able to travel easily wherever they have to go until it is time for another action sequence. It would have been better if they constantly ran into single zombies which they were able to easily dispose of, but this is nit-picking on my part.

Overall I enjoyed the movie and I have never seen, let alone played, the video game. I'm not sure if this movie will have the staying power over multiple viewings for me (like Aliens) but it's a very good single viewing action picture. Easily the best movie I have seen based on a video game. Despite it's flaws Resident Evil rates a 7 out of 10, if taken more seriously this could have been a really good movie. It would have been nice to see a George Romero version.

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14 out of 20 people found the following comment useful :-
A proper popcorn sci-fi horror movie, 22 June 2007
Author: DVD_Connoisseur from England

First things first, I really like "Resident Evil". While I can't comment on the success of the conversion to a movie as I've never played any of the numerous video games, the film is beautifully shot and has an urgent pace. It also has a great looking cast, a thumping soundtrack and plenty of boys' toys.

Milla Jovovich is stunning as the heroine, Alice. Whoever thought of casting Jovovich in this role deserves a bonus. Watching this beautiful star kick various forms of zombie butt while wearing a short red dress is a wonderful experience.

Anderson's movies may be accused of being style over substance but there's no doubting that "Shopping", "Event Horizon" and "Resident Evil" are fantastic examples of eye candy. Every shot is beautifully composed and the film has a high-budget sheen.

8 out of 10. Casio G-Shock fans will be in their element watching this movie.

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9 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
This movie was great to me because i love gruesome scenes:), 27 June 2006

Author: thompson_rogue from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I seriously don't know why this was voted on average at a 6, so I thought that i should comment. The zombies were not the main point of the story though...the writers were actually smart in the fact that there was a certain step to follow in the movie to survive. There was a story and it DOES deserve a good vote and a good opinion of what a normal, everyday woman will think. OK, I might not be normal, but I generally have good opinions about movies. The women in this movie show power, and the men were intelligently resourceful. The zombies were well played out and were not over-shown. The twists in this particular movie made me watch it twice at the movie theater, once with my family and once with my friends.

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22 out of 38 people found the following comment useful :-
Killer Action/Zombie Hybrid, 4 April 2002
Author: suspiria10 from The Void

This one's been in development for quite some time and I was disappointed when George Romero left the project.First off,the trailer for this movie made me sweat,because it wasn't very good.Thankfully the movie rocked.By far the best game-inspired flick to date and a heck of a good ride.All the way across the board:good acting,good f/x,awesome soundtrack and score(Marilyn Manson-who'd a thought),excellent production design and top-notch direction.All-in-all a very satisfying dark run through the bowls of the Unbrella corporation....Watch out for the Red Queen and bring on RE#2.Come Get Some(sorry Duke).ENJOY!

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10 out of 15 people found the following comment useful :-
One of my most favourite films, 8 May 2007

Author: springsunnywinter from United Kingdom

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I am a huge fan of the video game series; I've played & completed almost every Resident Evil game there is. When the film was announced I thought it was going to be rubbish because mostly films that are based on games are completely crap especially the ones made by Uwe Boll, but I still went to see it the first day when it came out in the UK and it was sooooo amazing. I was speechless after I seen the film, the story is truly original and one of the best thing about it is that the first 10 minutes was slow & peaceful but then it went really fast & relentless just like a roller-coaster going up slowly & zoomed down. Paul W. S. Anderson has proved that he is terrific writer & director because it is extremely difficult to create a story for a film that is based on a video game. Milla Jovovich was undoubtedly the best and I loved her red dress to bits, it definitely did suit her. Watching the film gives you a deep insight of the game e.g.

When they had about 3 hours limited time to complete their mission.

Every time they enter a new place it had to be checked and they had to make sure it's safe just like in every game.

If they where trapped they had to find another way out.

In the end Alice & Matt got out without killing all the zombies because Resident Evil is rather a puzzle game and killing is not necessary.

The combination of action, horror & thriller is superb; they are my entire favourite genre. It had a lot of style and the use of advanced modern technology that is mostly I look for in a film, the Licker in the end was the icing on the cake. This is the only movie that I liked with zombies in it because most of them are stupid & boring especially House of the Dead, the zombies pop out of nowhere and attack people. In Resident Evil the creation of zombies was very sensible, the staff of the underground laboratory were infected by the T-Virus released into the air vent, after getting killed by the Red Queen to avoid any outside interference their dead bodies were reanimated. It is mentioned very clearly that why they "need to feed", nothing like that has ever been in any film which makes the story original. Dialogues are also good my most favourite quote is "You're all going to die down here" from the Red Queen, she is one of the best characters along with Alice, Matt & Rain. Background music score is the best music possibly for any film I have ever heard it has heavy metal guitar for the fight scenes and very soft, eerie & sensational for the main title. I have the soundtrack CD and I bought it just for the background score without caring that the other tracks might be good or not but it did turn out to good. There is nothing more I can ask for in a film that makes it one of my all time favourite movies and there is never going to be another film based on a video game like this!

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
One of the best zombie movies in a while, 19 October 2007

Author: sgtking from United States

The zombie movie seemed to be a thing of the past. Sure they were still making them throughout the 90s, but we didn't really hear about them as much as we did films like Romero's 'Dead' films, the 'Return of the Living Dead' series, and so on. Nothing really new or exciting was being done with the concept. One place where it was really kept alive was in the world of video games, including one Resident Evil. Having only played the game once or twice myself I didn't know how to feel about a film adaptation. I mean let's be honest, few films based on these games get it right. Sure the Mario Brothers movie is fun in a so-bad-it's-good way, but was it really satisfying? I guess that depends on the viewer. Anyway, thanks to this movie the zombie subgenre was hot again.

Pros: A tense, terrifying opening sequence. Writer/director Anderson gives us a film that's a visual feast due to it's slickness, his use of blue lights, slow motion, etc. A cool electronic score. Moves at a brisk pace. All around, the performances are pretty good. Good special, make-up, and visual effects. At least a couple good scares. Some awesome set pieces; my personal favorite being the one involving lasers. Amazing production design.

Cons: Fans of zombie movies may bit disappointed that it takes a while for the walking cadavers to show up and wreak havoc. Aside from some original touches, this film is fairly derivative of other zombie, action, and science fiction films.

Final thoughts: This modern zombie flick is a whole new dimension. Back in the day it was either a chemical spill or voodoo curse that raised the dead. But this is like a Romero zombie movie with a futuristic twist. This may have been the start of a new type of zombie film.

My rating: 4/5

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
You're all going to die down here., 21 September 2007

Author: lastliberal from Florida

I am sure that this would have been a much better film had George Romero (Night of the Living Dead) signed on, but I don't take anything away from Paul W.S. Anderson, who did a good job despite lack of experience with zombies.

I did a double feature last night to prepare for the third film in this series. No, I haven't done video games since Pacman, so I had no idea what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed Milla Jovovich and, of course, am always happy to see Michelle Rodriguez.

I have only come into zombies recently, so I was not aware that this film brought the genre back after a long absence. It is to be praised and revered for that, if nothing else.

Now, in the next film, I hope there is a little more zombie and less sci-fi.

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