Resident Evil (2002) User Reviews (1,277)

Good survival horror

[enkephalin07 · 8/10 · 16 January 2005]

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.

Scary and atmospheric

[mbworm · 7/10 · 7 January 2008]

"Resident Evil" was a smart and scary game. The darkness and the surprises were huge scare factors. In that famous game, you find yourself trapped in a mansion crawling with the undead because of a mistake made by the Umbrella Corporation.

Director Paul W.S. Anderson makes a fast, dark guilty pleasure of a film from this game with "Resident Evil".

Milla Jovovich is Alice, who wakes up in a creepy, poorly lit mansion at night in a remote forest. She has no memory of who she is or why she's here, but after a group of soldiers bursts in and takes her to a hidden lab underneath the mansion with them, she quickly begins to realize a terrible secret. She and the others find themselves locked in "The Hive", an enormous, elaborate underground structure that was sealed by the supercomputer controlling it. It soon becomes evident that an experiment called "The T-Virus" escaped into the air and killed everyone. But nobody really stayed dead. Now the remaining survivors must fight their way back out of The Hive before the door seals permanently... and at the same time they must contain the virus before it reaches the surface.

The film moves at a breakneck pace, with some elaborate sets and great cinematography that sets the dark mood well for this atmospheric sci-fi thriller.

Don't listen to the critics -- great flick

[repojack · 8/10 · 8 November 2020]

I originally watched "Resident Evil" at a movie theater when it was first released in 2002. I hadn't played the games. There was no Rotten Tomatoes and I didn't read reviews back then so I went in blind. And I utterly enjoyed the movie: the story, the action sequences, the underground "Hive," Mila Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez kicking serious ass, and more.

Panned by critics (36% RT) but liked by users (67% RT), Resident Evil was one of the first examples of how mainstream critics just don't "get" horror. Movies that try to be artsy get great reviews even as key elements fall flat for the rest of us. The recent "Beach House" is a perfect example of this -- it was loved by critics (81% RT) and panned by users (28%).

Unfortunately, the rest of the "Resident Evil" sequels except for a few moments, rarely captured that first movie's originality and allure. Instead, check out the writer/director's excellent previous outing "Event Horizon."

Resident Evil

[0U · 6 March 2020]

Exactly the right movie at exactly the right time. The music and atmosphere, the sets and costume design, the special effects, the cast. Everything lined up perfectly for a young shaggy. That kid was a gothy nerd with love for video-games, horror, industrial music and Mila Jovovich. This movie managed to check all the boxes. Watching it now, it still pretty much holds up. Maybe a little cheesy but stylish and entertaining. 6 stars for watchability, one for nostalgia.

Finally, a video game adaption done right

[cherold · 7/10 · 8 October 2003]

This movie means business. Quick disaster with a mystery to it, jarring deaths, naked Milla, all in the first few minutes. It keeps up the pace throughout. In terms of critical comments, yes, you don't really care about the characters, but so what? How often do you really care about the monster fodder in horror films? And true, it wasn't a literal working of the movie, it didn't take place in a mansion and it didn't involve exploring lots of rooms and solving puzzles. That's because it's a movie. A literal translation of Resident Evil would probably be really dull. Games and movies are very different mediums. I don't think some people here understand that. One guy said he thought the movie rocked but after repeated viewings he thought it sucked, and that's a video game player attitude - movies don't have to have good replay value, it's okay to enjoy them once. I only enjoyed Star Wars once, but I don't think it sucked, it just didn't have a lot of depth. Not every movie has to be Citizen Kane.

It was an engaging story, moved like lightning and had some excellent scares.

rather good film

[lebbercherrie · 7/10 · 7 June 2005]

I'm a big fan of horror, and I thought I would hate this film, as most adaptations from games tend to be b*llocks, but I found it very good. The story itself is quite meager, but hey, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre wasn't written by Tolstoj either. Action is good to very good, and tension is well kept throughout the film.

I'm not easily impressed by overwrought fighting or action scenes (e.g. The Matrix) but the scene in the hallway with the lasers is great.

Being fond of Romero's work, it was fun to see the zombies back in action. Especially the zombie-dogs (mutant, zombie, infected, whatever).

Don't expect grand insights, moving scenes on the subject of the human mind, or being moved to tears. This one is a roller-coaster, baby, nothing more, nothing less.

Hang on and enjoy the ride.

Surprisingly Entertaining

[Zod-2 · 7/10 · 4 October 2002]

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.

"I've been a bad, bad girl"

[Smells_Like_Cheese · 7/10 · 7 September 2007]

Recently I saw the theatrical trailer for Resident Evil: Extinction and it occurred to me, I have never seen the first two Resident Evil films, and I always wanted to see them. So I rented the first two Resident Evil films and watched them last night. I had a lot of fun watching Resident Evil, it was very high action and kept my heart racing on what would happen next. This is a great movie based on a video game, this is the kind of movie that we need if we are talking about basing it on a video game. I haven't seen a good one since Mortal Kombat. The action and effects were so awesome not to mention that there are some very awesome scares in here. Very cool make up for the zombies; and the story was excellent.

A virus breaks out in a lab called the Hive where everyone is held in captivity and dies. All of a sudden we see a woman passed out in a shower, she has no idea who she is, she meets two other men who have no idea who they are, but they are taken by soldiers who take them underground to the Hive. There the three learn that they are fighters for this out break and that also they might be part of what happened. The main thing is that they control the Hive, but that gets more difficult when the virus has turned the people it killed into the living dead, zombies. The woman, Alice, turns into the leader and must find out why this happened and also how they can get out alive without contaminating the world.

Resident Evil was an awesome movie to watch and I would highly recommend this movie for anyone who loves action movies. If you loved Mortal Kombat I'm sure you'll love Resident Evil. There are so many great scenes, but my favorite was when Alice saw the evil dogs and they chased her throughout the lab, it was really scary but so awesome to watch. Well, you'll just have to see what I mean. Milla Jovovich was just a perfect choice for Alice, she is such a cool character and now I'm really looking forward to seeing Extinction.

7/10

Solid!!

[teslaman · 9/10 · 29 November 2007]

As a big fan of splatter and horror films i was gladly surprised when i watched this. I haven't played the game so i had no idea what to expect and had nothing to compare with. I really feel that this pays homage to the old zombie films at least to an extent. The zombies here are a little bit faster though.

It begins with a nice back story and then builds slowly in pace to a climactic frenzy. The effects are top notch, solid directing, a really imaginative and eerie production design and great acting.

Yes, i may be a little biased but i really like Milla Jovovich. I think this is the kind of role that fits her best, strong kick ass attitude with an odd personality wrapped in a seemingly fragile shell. Her performance here reminds me a bit of the character she played in "The fifth element" and also the character in the later "Ultraviolet" The other actors did a good job as well so she's not the only one to get credit although the movie revolves around her character. The child AI is a very nice and creepy addition to the atmosphere.

The RE theme could have ended up as a nice trilogy but the sequel unfortunately lacks nearly everything(except Milla) that this film delivers. Not that RE2 is a complete mess but nowhere near this. I haven't seen the third installment yet but even if that one holds true in quality to this one number two becomes the odd one out.

If you like zombie and action films you'll certainly like this one.

One of the best films in the franchise!

[adrianparuliarana · 7/10 · 11 January 2020]

Milla Jovovich's role as Alice didn't make sense because we have no main characters by the name of Alice in the video games. At first it seemed to have no references to the first video game, until it shows a mansion. But after that in this film, we didn't really get to see many references, and the nemesis transformation near the end was unexpected and weird. Milla plays a huge role in "Resident Evil" and seems to be having fun while filming. The zombies in this film are pretty close to the video games, and the feature of the licker was good too.

Resident evil?...more like Cube 3

[dilapidated_mind · 4/10 · 2 April 2005]

Where to start, I am a big fan of the Resident evil series (well the first 3 anyway) and once news reached my ears that they were making a movie of the first game I was pretty excited. But then I actually sat down to watch it, and to say the least was very disappointed with the out come.

BIG SPOILERS AHEAD

The film begins in an underground laboratory owned by the corporation Umbrealla inc. The lab is hidden deep within the basement of a mansion. Some asshole releases the virus the scientists are working on which can reanimate dead cells. The scientists get contaminated.

Now when I saw this I thought fine its not 100% accurate but hey it still has the potential to be a great movie.

NO

The computer within the lab goes psycho, sealing all the rooms off under quarantined regulations, then it begins wiping out all the scientists. Some woman wakes up who has lost all her memory. Deciding the time is right to go for a walk in the cold while wearing nothing but a highly revealing red dress she sets off on her journey, minuites later an army team burst through the windows and join her in her quest to do... not much. About 25 minutes further into the movie this team comes to a large hallway. The hallway leads to the computers core where they can shut it down. And low and behold the computer kills off 2/3 of the cast with its lasers faster than you can say "danger Will Robbinson danger" The survivors shut the computer down; zombies come out, and the team being of the greatest intellect decide the best way to execute the undead is by leg shots and shouting "Stop" a good 14 times. Team intelligence then decide they shouldn't have tried to switch the computer off, and so they switch the computer back on. Near the end of the film we are introduced to the ultimate biological weapon resembling a single licker, no I'm not kidding, they also incorectly name it a Hunter, where the hell is Tyrant you might ask? It's not as if it was an important part of the series, Tyrant virus and all. Our film draws to a close as the "ultimate killing machine" discovers its huge weakness it touches train tracks and promptly explodes.

*yawn*

The film has few plot twists which I wont spoil here. Most of the enemies from the series don't show up, in fact, the majority of the film concentrates on the evil computer not the creatures. Not even zombies.

This movie would have been much better if it WASN'T called Resident Evil, but something else, anything else. Really, it bears little relation to the video games anyway besides the virus's and corporation's name and I still feel this film was only called Resident Evil so Paul Anderson could sell his hand me down script and market it towards a wider crowd (maybe this could be attributed to Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within as well). The point is if this movie was called Cube 3 he could still get away with it. In fact this film probably is Cube 3, just named Resident Evil to attract fans of the series to watch this very average zombiefest.

Oh well it can't be as bad as Street Fighter the movie.

Way better than what I expected

[Reaktor- · 9/10 · 27 July 2002]

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.

Resident Evil...Coulda been Better

[the_heart_breaker_kid · 6/10 · 1 September 2005]

The thing that killed me the most about this movie was how it strayed so far away from the foundation. It stroke no resemblance to the game at all, except they used Umbrella, Raccoon City, and the T-Virus. Nothing else. If this movie could ever be remade, it would be a hell of a lot better if it was about the game, because that is what brought the Resident Evil franchise so much fame. But anyways, given that the movie wasn't like the game, it was still a pretty solid action movie. Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez made pretty well with what they had to work with. However, some things still felt unrealistic and very campy. I mean, I don't mind seeing some girl kick the crap out of mutant dogs, but could that really happen? Also, could a group of elite soldiers become zombie food that easily? I mean come on, use your head. If a zombie is WALKING towards you, are you gonna sit back and let it bite you? It feels that it was rushed too much through production, but people really don't have high expectations for games-turned movies (Street Fighter...Good lord). But honestly, this movie would definitely be worth a rental, if anything at all.

Good Stuff

[jncarr · 4/10 · 24 August 2003]

Resident Evil was a suprise in that it is a rather good film. Milla Jovovich helps this by being easy on the eye. The action was fairly well paced with some good scenes that made you jump and it was also great to see a lot of the chracters from the game, we did not see enough of the dogs. I felt where the movie mis-fired slightly was that it had a subplot with Milla's character and few others suffering memory loss. I don't feel it added to the movie just made you think what's going on. I would have prefered a straight forward action film in the vain of Aliens where she takes the role of Jill Valentine. That would have rocked. The ending is left wide open for the sequel, let's just hope that this is the direction they go in for that one.

Killer Action/Zombie Hybrid

[suspiria10 · 4 April 2002]

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!

Pretty Solid

[allstarrunner · 7/10 · 10 July 2018]

I remembered seeing this movie back in the theater, and hadn't watched it since so I thought I would watch it again since I wanted to watch all the RE movies and hadn't seen the last few (or any after the second one). The movie holds up surprisingly well after all these years - I mean the overall tone of the movie is clearly dated - it *feels* like a late 90's movie - not that that is bad per se. The acting is mediocre, but I never really care too much about that anyway. I just rate stuff on if I am entertained or not and I can say that I was indeed with this movie. It also helps that it is about 90 minutes. I don't think this style of movie could go on for much more than that - the jarring soundtrack I think would get a little too over the top if I had to keep hearing it for another 30 minutes. Overall the movie still hold up and is entertaining all these years later. Still worth a watch.

Only true horror film of the franchise

[lojitsu · 7/10 · 8 July 2019]

A-Z Horror Movie of the Day..."Resident Evil" (R - 2002 - Blu)

Lang: Eng Sub-Genre: Monster/Zombie My Score: 7.2

Cast=6 Acting=7 Plot=9 Ending=8 Story=6 Scare=6 Jump=5 F/X=8 Monster=9 Gore=8

A special military unit fights a powerful, out-of-control supercomputer and hundreds of scientists who have mutated into flesh-eating creatures after a laboratory accident.

"I don't want to be one of those things...walking around without a soul." One of the biggest zombie franchises and just about the biggest franchise based from a video game...this is probably the one true horror movie of the group. I came into this as a fan of the game...but left a fan of Milla Jovovich. I would cut my arm off if I was bit, but I wouldn't cut it off to see this movie...you have to draw the line somewhere.

Good fun movie.

[educallejero · 6/10 · 29 March 2019]

Entertaining movie based on a video-game. That's not an easy job.

They managed to create a compelling personal story for the main protagonist (Mila) and explained the context and plot very efficiently.

Once the action kicks in, the pace is great and the survival aspect mesh really well with the intriguing plot. The characters are thin, of course, but they work too, without annoying "comic-relief only" or "the defenseless".

I don't know, but I'm sure someone could find plot-holes, but overall, if they exist, you don't notice while watching this good video-game zombi movie.

Fun action-horror

[mrosesteed · 7/10 · 27 July 2019]

The first in a decade-and-a-half-long film series inspired by the 1996 Capcom video game of the same name, Resident Evil transforms its source material from gothic survival horror to modern action-horror, complete with prominent electronic music, stock action characters, and CGI violence. Although the movie's uninspired shock sounds, dated computer graphics, choppy flashbacks, and stereotypical casting foreshadow the weaknesses of its vastly inferior sequels, Resident Evil benefits from a solid mystery plot, detailed art direction, and a charismatic performance by Milla Jovovich as a mordern, grown up Alice in Wonderland. The result is a fun thriller whose lack of graphic violence does not dampen the horror of the Umbrella Corporation's cavalier attitude toward human life.

Good job

[juegaxnada · 9/10 · 11 May 2022]

Have some good stuff about the videogame but not so mucha, iguess they did a good job trying to get all the horror scenes from the game to the movie.

The next ones are really good too, is a good movie to begin the REsident Evil saga a Sunday all the day. You won´t get bored.

The best in the series.

[RoboRabbit89 · 7/10 · 5 March 2018]

I first seen this back in 2004 on a VHS copy that my buddy owned, he myself and another buddy watch it together.

Since It was my first experience seeing the movie I totally loved it, which was surprising because at the time I wasn't sure about it, since it was a horror movie, I stayed away from them a lot as a little kid. The suspense is quite creepy but not too creepy because it's also an action movie blended in to one, however this first installment is more suspense with good jump scares and small action scenes. The pace is fast and the movie is kinda edgy in music and action sequences, I've seen the remake of the original game which my one buddy owns on Game Cube, it's good but also really creepy and I like that the movie captured that essence. Alice played by MIlla Jovovich is the heroine of the film, who has amnesia, as we met her she comes to the shower, which looks like she hit her head, she is oblivious to things as the audience is, we lean what's going on as she does. Which I feel is fresh for as zombie movie.

The movie is 100 minutes but fairly fast paced and has an engaging story, so you met characters as the movie goes. Alice is joined by special forces-like operatives that inform her and a couple other characters about what's going on. Video game purists will not like this movie but casual audiences will probubly enjoy it, it's made to be popcorn fun that's all, it should not be looked at as anything else but a fun movie however haters will hate so each there own I guess.

Overall I enjoy the film to this day, for me it's a guilty pleasure. I give it a 7/10. If you want a fun but suspenseful action film with fun action scenes and great scares look no further. Give it a look. It's fun.

If you're a fan of the franchise, steer clear.

[iamsam103 · 4/10 · 23 December 2005]

I went to the cinema having high expectations for the film. I was and still am a huge fan oft he games, especially Resi 2. I was expecting the characteristics of the game to be int he film; gore, suspense, violence, zombies and some nasty monsters. I was in for a huge disappointment...

The film starts off OK, with some unknown figure unleashing the T-Virus but then it goes circling out of control. Whereas there are some elements still retained from the game(laboratory is under a mansion outside Racoon City and is owned by Umbrella Corporation it seems that the director got bored of transferring the franchise to film, and instead made the rest up. What follows is a mindless adventure as some elite soldiers go through the underground lab to try and stop the threat of the virus. Of course, there are zombies, but the overall look of then pales in comparison to Dawn Of The Dead (2004). Whereas some of them have gruesome wounds, 80% of them are just very pale and have makeup and fake blood. Along with that, there is no suspense. And what happens is that a zombie(s)will emerge, and along with tons of shooting, rock music appears.

The big bad boy boss monster is the licker, who most Resi fans will know and appreciate as a med-i-okre monster, not too challenging. This thing however is made out to be the mother of all creations and is very disappointingly realised with bad CGI. There is no suspense here, a total lack of blood and gore, and only one monster. True fans of the Resi games will be and should be disappointed.

That said, their are a few things which raise Resi from the dead (sorry for the pun). The ending climactic train set piece is enjoyable and fast paced, and the laser hallway (imagine, 3 soldiers, trapped in a hallway, with lasers that chop things in half) is pretty neat. There's also a cool appearance by some zombie Doberman dogs, however they're quickly killed off in a silly action scene.

This film could have been so much more if the director would have ditched the possibility for "cool stunts" and gone for more style, suspense and horror. Even when the heroes are outnumbered and surrounded by zombies, you never feel as if they are in THAT much danger....when in a situation like that you should be on the edge of your seat.

For zombie lovers, there are better choices out there. George A Romero's Dead films, the remake of Dawn of The Dead (04, Saun Of The Dead and even 28 Days Later serve up better chills and scares than this med-i-okre action fest.

It's a 2002 movie, you !d!ots

[xuxiaojia963 · 10/10 · 3 November 2021]

Back then I was still in middle school.

It brought all my classmates deep fear for weeks. If anyone rate this movie less than 8/10. You just have a different taste and don't deserve to watch or rate these type of movies. Go watch your sitcom.

A Good Game-To-Film Adaptation

[dfa120374 · 6/10 · 15 January 2015]

The Umbrella Corporation is a top secret company operating from a massive underground facility known as The Hive. After a deadly virus is released into the air, resulting in the deaths of all who work there, an elite squad of soldiers is sent in to shut down The Hive before the virus has a chance to escape into general population of the city above. It's here that they come across Alice (Mila Jovovich) who has no memory of who or where she is. As they continue down into The Hive, Alice starts to regain her memory bit by bit, but they all soon discover that shutting down the The Hive is the least of their worries when they learn that the human population have returned to life as vicious zombies.

Resident Evil is one of the much more enjoyable game-to-movie adaptations as usually these are pretty mediocre or just plain awful (Street Fighter, Double Dragon, Super Mario Bros. etc), and fans of the game should be pretty pleased with this movie version as well, especially as the makers of the movie have brought in the formidable creature known as Licker who features in the game also.

The action for the movie is really good, which is accompanied by a pumping soundtrack to get the adrenalin going that wee bit more as well. A good few special effects are really well done also, especially in the scene that involves the Red Queen using a laser as a defence system, and the effects for Licker was impressive making it just as scary in the film as it was in the game.

Just one thing - this isn't a gore-fest of a zombie movie either and concentrates more toward the story, so if you're expecting (or hoping for) lots of splatter then you'll be highly disappointed.

Resident Evil is an enjoyable film to watch. It's not a thinker of a movie, obviously, but it's not supposed to be and doesn't pretend to be either. Also, don't expect an exact game-to-movie film. It's an adaptation OF the game, so enjoy it for what it is - a good zombie horror/sci-fi action film.

A Huge Disappointment

[kensmark · 1/10 · 31 March 2002]

Mild non-specific spoilers ahead.

I had high hopes, but Resident Evil wants to be a zombie movie and an action movie, and it fails utterly on both counts.

You can't have a good zombie movie without gore. Or without some decent zombies. The zombies in this movie are feeble, except for the dogs, who have hardly any screen time. The movie also has a rather hastily concocted monster, which serves as padding. The gore that does get onto the screen doesn't have any continuity with the action, as if the victims of violence in the film wandered in from an alternate universe where they died of different causes.

And you can't have a good action movie without action. Milla has about one-and-a-half good action moments in this film, and the rest of the cast manages another two. Those are supplemented by a lot of inaction and a lot of loud nonsense where they try to confuse you into thinking something interesting is happening. Dull, dull, dull.

Shaking the camera a lot during a close-up of someone waving their arms and screaming is not an action scene. It's passe and pathetic and wasn't a decent substitute for action back when it was relatively new, in the mid-80's.

The movie has a few moments of genuine atmosphere, but those have all come and gone by the twenty-minute mark. There are some nice props, but they generally don't get much use, and some nice sets, although the gross overuse of the close-up generally obscures them. The cast shows some promise, but they don't have much to do, and the dialogue is all too often wincingly bad.

The movie relentlessly copies better films, and does it poorly, a long and annoying reminder of what you could be watching instead.

Most mysteriously of all, the film contains nudity, but none of it serves any purpose. The movie already had an 'R' rating for violence. The nudity isn't necessary or flattering. I admit, rarely have I seen a movie in which an attractive woman appears without her clothes and thought the movie would be better without the nudity, but it happened here.

All in all, it's not as interesting or exciting as watching someone play the game. Or hearing them talk about having played the game. It's not even as good as the director Paul Anderson's earlier videogame movie, Mortal Kombat. As the final credits rolled, I was easily able to think of almost a dozen zombie movies that are far, far superior -- and only two of them are Japanese.

Weak, dull, derivative, amateurish, under-written, under-directed, and generally disappointing. I feel bad for Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez, who I know can do so much better.