Resident Evil - 2002

Constantin Film Produktion, Davis-Films, Impact Pictures

Directed by Paul W. S. Anderson

Cast:

• James 'One' Shade – Colin Salmon
• Alice – Milla Jovovich
• Rain Ocampo – Michelle Rodriguez
• Matt Addison – Eric Mabius
• Spence Parks – James Purefoy
• Chad Kaplin – Martin Crewes
• Red Queen – Micheala Dicker

Story: We enter on a scene of someone operating Waldos in a laboratory, placing double helix shaped tubes carefully into a metal suitcase. As the individual retrieves the case from the sealed area, he heads toward the door and tosses a lone tube in the air. As he closes that door, the tube shatters on the floor. Within moments, alarms are going off, people are panicking, and the scientists and workers at “The Hive” are sealed off from the world and beginning to die. Cut to a young woman lying on a shower floor, the curtain draped in front of her. She wakes up, wanders through the rooms, and suddenly there is a policeman, dressed in civilian clothes. Moments later, a team of commandos enters by rappelling and smashing through the windows. They take the police officer into custody, and the leader is holding the young woman by the shoulders saying “I want your report, soldier. I want it now!”. Alice soon discovers she has been hit with a special nerve gas by the Red Queen, a computer system that controls The Hive. Two hours ago the Red Queen went homicidal, and the team is there to find out why. Since Alice is one of the two security agents assigned to protect the secret entrance to The Hive, she must accompany them on a journey into death, destruction, and corruption far deeper than anyone suspects.

Review: A movie based on a Video Game? Really? Let's face it, Doom sucked (No offense intended, Dwayne), Tron was so-so (Oh wait, that's right, the movie was the basis for the game.) and Lara Croft, well...Hmmm, maybe I better shut up at that. After all, Angelina is one of the hottest women on the planet. Speaking of really hot women, Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez are certainly in the top twenty or so. This film is a no excuses romp through all the zombies and evil creations any modern Frankenstein could dream up, and the players are all well versed in the action adventure genre. This is one of those films that brings together all the phobias of evil corporations, illegal experiments, and scientists backed by the military to produce horrific weapons of mass destruction that, as always, backfire. James Purefoy is the greedy bastard that starts everything in motion, but the Red Queen, a computer with the holographic persona of the designers daughter, is HAL and Skynet rolled into one times ten. One by one the rescuers succumb to either the Red Queen or the Zombies, and we are sitting on the edge of our seat waiting to see if anyone survives. Rated R for violence, language, and some brief nudity/sexuality, this film has spawned four sequels and who knows if more are coming. Powerfully entertaining and thrilling, I highly recommend this film to anyone who enjoys a good scifi flick with all the elements to keep it interesting. Definitely collectible.