Aug. 08, 2002 - 2:49 am
ok, i know i'm probably going to get ripped for this one. i think that many many people would probably not like this film or rate it highly because of what type of film it is. it's a zombie movie based on a video game and i'm giving it a 9/10. well my response to that is that you haven't played the game. if you have played any of the Resident Evil video games all the way through, you will know how i feel about this. this movie is amazingly well thought out and is perfectly true to the heart of the games. i finally got a chance to sit down and watch my new dvd which i got on sale at Best Buy. probably my favorite store.
that's a good segue to mentionioning the new link you'll see at the bottom. it takes you directly to my new amazon.com list of dvds that i own. these aren't by any means all of my favorite films or the best ones on the face of the earth, but there is some really good stuff in there i must say. someone let me know if the link doesn't work.
anyway, yeah Resident Evil is amazing. what are the video games about? they usually have a couple of protagonists to them. you can choose to be either a male or female character (each with similar, but different things that happen to them along the way) who find themselves somehow caught up in a swarm of zombies in a fictional city called Racoon City. always be the girl character. she's always cooler in my opinion. there's a great ambiance to the games. wonderful soundtracks, spooky camera angles, and a horrifying mystery to solve. your protagonist never knows what she's getting herself into, and always has to do a lot of killing to stay alive. scary, but oh so addictive to the video gaming population.
that's what the movie is based on, and that's what the movie is. it doesn't exactly copy any of the video games' stories, but it uses a lot of plot information that can fit into the "whole story" of what happens in the series of games. hard to explain because i haven't played them all, but trust me, it's original. this film starts out with the biological virus first getting out and killing a bunch of people in an underground facility, and then Milla Jovovich waking up from unconsciousness in her shower. she doesn't know who she is or where she is. she is eventually taken to the facility where the mystery begins to unravel as to what happened with the virus and who she really is.
interesting. you never hear Milla's character's name in this film, but it's Alice. there are tons of references in this film to Alice In Wonderland. once again, i'm glad i read that last month for the first time. both Alice In Wonderland and the Resident Evil games have this theme of being swept up into something you can't tolerate or begin to understand, of not even knowing who you really are. this is perfectly brought out in the Alice character in the film. she wakes up naked in a running shower, as though she'd just been born, but as a scarred (literally) adult.
probably the best part of this film is the sound. obviously anyone who thinks enough to use Milla as their lead is thinking about sound quality. she has the best voice i've ever heard. i could listen to it for hours. you could get lots of actresses that are physically strong and/or attractive, but not everyone has that voice. then the scoring team, headed by Marilyn Manson is just awesome. no, this film doesn't have tons of drums, rock, and Marilyn Manson screaming. he wrote a "score" for this film, including sound effects. i'm not a huge fan of his album music, but his work here is flawless.
yes, this is likely my vote for one of the best films thus far of 2002. for what it is, it is nearly perfect. apparently the sequel's being created as we speak, and i personally can't wait for it. but they have to use Milla. always use Milla.