Video Game adaptions are a contentious topic amongst gamers and film scholars alike. Most video adaptations abandon their source material and are reduced to generic action films- for budget reasons, a lack of involvement from the original creators, and they tend to be cash grabs from studios looking to profit off of a popular title.
‘Resident Evil’ is one of the first video game adaptations I saw. It set the standard for what I expected from movies based on video games. While I have always thought it is one of the better ones- perhaps it even still is- It is not a good film.
The fact that ‘Resident Evil’ didn’t even get the basic narrative structure or even the atmosphere of the game is problematic in itself- neither would’ve been difficult to achieve in 2002. It ironically might have been cheaper to produce too. The filmmakers could have dumped characters in a mansion with limited zombies, used a dreary color palate and shadow play to create mood, dole out exposition at the most dramatic moments, and use all the advancements made it practical gore effects by the likes of Tom Sevini to do the zombie effects.
Instead ‘Resident Evil’ keeps scenes surprisingly well lit, uses more CGI than it needs to, and introduces a whole new set of characters- most of whom are not in any game. Many of the characters are special ops investigating a lab incident. They discover Alice (Mila Jovovich), also not a character in the game, and another man in the only semblance of a mansion in the movie.
The characters in the film are flat for the most part and the ones that had any development are characterized with cliché backstories. The exposition about the corporations behind the T-virus, the virus which causes the zombification in the film and game, is poorly executed and often unnecessary albeit more topical than ever.
‘Resident Evil’ contains aspects of cyberpunk aesthetics and soundtrack that permeated films or the late '90s early 2000s era. The special effects are inconsistent but some of them did hold up better than I expected.
The characters are bland and uninteresting. The highlights of the film once the nostalgia wears off are a handful of set pieces and action sequences- one in particular involves lasers.
‘Resident Evil’, outside of nostalgia and the likeable lead actress Mila Jovovich, does not hold up. It had its moment in a specific place and time, and will probably mean more to those who were there upon its release. Thankfully, video game adaptations have come a long way since then.
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