I'll admit this from the off - I am not a fan of the Resident Evil games. I think I played Resident Evil 3 briefly a long time ago but that's where my experience with the series ends. The first film in the series is a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine. Resident Evil works as a pretty decent example of both an action and a horror movie - the set pieces are entertaining and stylish, there are a couple of decent scares and the whole film maintains momentum (if not quite tension) throughout. Milla Jovovich has another ballsy action heroine role to add to her C.V., and while Alice is not quite up there with Leeloo, she's a solid protagonist that does exactly what is required of her, that is to say she still kicks serious undead behind. The rest of the cast, and their characters are generic and unmemorable, and as is traditional with this kind of film, it quickly becomes a game of "who's going to be zombie lunch next". Will we ever see Michelle Rodriguez playing a different character? It's highly doubtful, but hey, she's got a good thing going with type-casting, so who am I to judge. The script is also pretty clunky, but at the end of the day it's just an action-horror movie, and one based on a video game at that, so you don't expect much in that regard. The CGI was also never top-of-the-line (being a film entirely financed by small European studios) and these effects look even worse today, so thankfully they're used sparingly. You can have a pretty good time with Resident Evil if you're prepared to gloss over a few issues, and just take it for what it is - a bit of fun. You'll really see it at its very best if you watch it with a couple of friends, perhaps with a beer or two, then you can all indulge in what makes it good entertainment, and as one, you can also ridicule what makes it...less good. Just sit back, leave your brain outside and enjoy the ride. And watch out for the lasers.… Expand

"Resident Evil" is a zombie movie based on a famous game franchise. The movie is different from the game and offers new perspective and entertainment, if and only if you can handle the cheesy dialogue and the lost-its-way plot of the movie.

The charm of the first Resident Evil is that it accepts that its for a video gamer crowd. Its loud, its proud and because of that, there is a slick pace and tone that makes the movie enjoyable. It also has the predictably hammy performances you can expect in a video game adaptation with Milla Jovovich and James Purefoy being the main culprits with Michelle Rodriguez bringing her usual latin tough girl routine. Sure the film is mindless but it puts sufficient enough menace into the monsters with the zombies being well created and performed. The CGI used in the film has noticeably aged since the film came out and it doesnâ… Expand

If you're a fan of the video games and have not seen this film then DON'T suddenly scramble away to the nearest video store with the belief that this film is anything like those titles, because that would be a bare-faced lie. Whilst this movie does hold its own for the most part it deviates so far from the popular games that it bares only minimalistic origins to It's original inspiration. Positive aspects about this feature is the soundtrack which features music very suited to the atmosphere of the setting and the CGI which was fantastic for the time.… Expand

I am a huge Resident Evil fan so I was very disappointed with the movie. I am giving it a 5 only because it was entertaining. Other than that pretty much everything was ok or very bad. After I saw the movie, I went to the IMDB and saw that George Romero (Night of the Ling Dead, Dawn of the Dead, and Day of the Dead) was originally suposed to write and direct the video game adaptation. I looked all over the internet to find Romeros script and finally found it. After 2 hours non-stop of reading the script I got mad. Romeros script was perfect for the adaptation.It kept the main charactors Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, and had a story that was close to the original RE. Paul Andersons scrpt changed pretty much everything that made the game so great into just an action movie other than a survival horror. Why the stutdio didn't choose Romero's script is beyond me. … Expand

So blatantly naff, that it's impossible not to be entertained by it. Resident Evil is full of crude stereotypes for characters and heavy handed use of stylistic and narrative cliches but lets not dwell on this as Resident Evil provides plenty of cheap b-movie fun to keep you entertained.

Pros: Some very scary moments, acting pretty good Cons: Nearly as mindless as the zombies, nothing is explained.

im a huge fan of the RE games ive played them all . what disappoints me about theese video games to movies the most is the pure abandonment of the source material . not much about this movie resembles much of any thing to the resident evil game outside it has zombies and is in a mansion thats about where it all ends . its a wachable movie if you try to forget its called resident evil . with out chris , jill , barry , and wesker the stars of the first game you dont really have a resident evil movie just some zombie flick branded with its name trying to cash in on it.… Expand

That movie was good and bad points. I liked the actors, the soundtrack, the mistory about how the virus escaped. Mila is good actress, the script is original, but is not amazing, is just "another hollywood action movie".

At first, I Thought it was just another horror movie with bad acting and stupid one-liners. Then I saw the bad special effects and two guys of the cast resemble Bill Paxton and Christopher Lambert. Then I knew this was something more... I don't know who acts worse; the heroes or the zombies... And stop casting Michelle Rodrigues as the tough bitch! I'm sure that shes willing to try a different kind of role next time. It's not a torture to watch Milla flykick zombie-dog ass and snap zombie necks with her thighs though... Some of the sets resemble the actual game. Unfortunately 'The Hive' really resembles one of the 'shells' from Metal Gear Solid 2. And for all you zombies out there: "You have to work for your meals!"… Expand

It isn't a movie that's going to set the world on fire and it certainly isn't the best video game adaptation out there, but Resident Evil succeeded mildly at making an entertaining, if boring at times, film. It obviously isn't perfect and the horrible CG looks almost stop-motion at times (the Licker in particular could have been done far better, or dropped completely) and it foreshadows enough to give you a reason to watch the sequel.… Expand

The idea is nice and the action is quite impressive, but this movie is so uninteresting and boringly dull that it makes fans of the franchise want to stick to the video games instead.

It isn't a movie that's going to set the world on fire and it certainly isn't the best video game adaptation out there, but Resident Evil succeeded mildly at making an entertaining, if boring at times, film. It obviously isn't perfect and the horrible CG looks almost stop-motion at times (the Licker in particular could have been done far better, or dropped completely) and it foreshadows enough to give you a reason to watch the sequel.… Expand

I know this comes as lukewarm praise, given Anderson's horrendous catalogue, but this is his best film. Skip the rest of the series. Actually, skip this one too.

Zombie movies are very views.

Poor dialog. No real plot. Predictable flow. Sloppy filming and editing (I counted a boom in the shot on no fewer than 7 times). I reccommend rental over purchase.

The film is very slow in pace, no storyline, no need of nude scenes, overall a bad experience.

Poor dialog. No real plot. Predictable flow. Sloppy filming and editing (I counted a boom in the shot on no fewer than 7 times). I reccommend rental over purchase.

The reason I'm not giving this a zero is because after I saw the movie, which was pretty bad, I felt like seeing the commentary. Surprisingly, it was quite enjoyable and pretty funny. There's many hilarious and interesting comments about how the filmakers and cast made the movie. So watch it once, just to get the idea of what's going on, listen to the commentary, and then throw it out for good.… Collapse

I actually kinda wanted to like "Resident Evil", but in the end, it's just too silly for me to really recommend it. Even though it's not really awful, it's never any more than cheap mediocrity, rushed plotwriting, suspenseless action, shallow performances, annoyingly loud and pompous synth/electric music score that saps all atmosphere from decent setpieces, and (although this was made around the youth of CGI) some of the worst computer effects I've ever seen. Some of these things I didn't mind so much by the end of the movie, and if it was a little neater, more polished and enjoyed the atmosphere over vapid gore and jump scares, I probably would consider it a decent one-time watch. That being said, it's only a fun idea falling short of any memorable entertainment, despite having Michelle Rodriguez shooting zombies.… Expand

Ya know this movie followed the game pretty well, same premise, T-virus, underground facility under a mansion oh yeah and horrible dreadful voice acting just like the game. But the game was scary, the story made sence and zombies actually ate their victims..this movie had some intense moments but it got lost to easily and slowwed down too much in some parts. This is the guy who directed Mortal Kombat, his movie have a good video game look but they are mired by ridiculous acting, plot summary and spotty comic book dialouge. Oh yeah I think Michelle Rodriguez should just give up on acting, she can't plus she always picks bad movies like this one and Fast and the furious...… Expand

I have always been a fan of the Resident Evil games, but this movie takes a great game and turns it into a mindless action movie. Really the games are not action oriented, they are more of a slow plot and puzzle driven games.

Absolutely dreadful. If the filmakers set out to replicate the monotonous and empty atmosphere of a tired and derivative shoot-em up style game, then they definitely succeeded. I give it a score of 2 -- a point for each of Milla Jovovich's breasts, which were undoubtedly the highlight of this piece of crap.

As a big fan of the games and other zombie movies, I was very disappointed! The only good part was the end, which 28 Days Later did much better. Not scary at all, and the CGI monster looked like crap!

How did they ever make a cheesy action film based on a great horror game? First off, the characterization was simply deplorable. The movie consists of one cheesy action sequence after another. Any plot that this movie had was just an excuse for someone to aim a gun at someone or something else, or fit in a flashback sequence set in a creepy-looking garden. If scantily clad females, guns, and zombies are all that you need to like a movie, you'll love this one. Just don't watch it with the intent of finding interesting characters, a good plot, or even a good scare. This movie has none of that.… Expand

Completely ruined the feeling of terror felt from past zombie films. Yes this is the worst movie i have ever seen.

The movie was ok but in relation to being true to the vidio games it was bull. the thing that makes it so much worse is that people who dont play the games will never know the true majesty of resident evil. and the same goes for movies like final fantasy and doom. how hard is it to keep the story the same as the original? God! if you are blinded by this terrible reproduction you should play the games for yourself and see just how good it is.… Expand

The worst!