Stars:
Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Eric Mabius, James Purefoy, Martin Cremes,
and Colin Salmon
Writer:
Paul W.S. Anderson
Based
On A Story By: Alan McElroy and Paul W.S. Anderson
Based
On The Videogame By: Capcom
Director:
Paul W.S. Anderson
Feature
length: 100 minutes
Languages:
English Stereo
Subtitles:
N/A
Packaging:
Jewel Case Within Glossy Slipcase
Sound:
Stereo Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 2002/VCD Release: 2002
Theatrical
Distributor: Screen Gems
Home
Video Distributor: Speedy Video (In Malaysia Only)
MPAA
Rating: R
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
The
history of movies based on videogames has been pretty dismal at best with the
notable exception of Paul W.S. Anderson’s big screen adaptation of the first
“Mortal Kombat” feature film for New Line Cinema. No surprise that he would
be tapped to direct the big screen adaptation of the popular Capcom arcade hit
“Resident Evil.” The film is a prequel to the original game bringing
together elements such as the zombie Dobermans and the “Licker” and a host
of flesh eating zombies into an action horror film complete with a musical
soundtrack from hell supervised by none other than Marilyn Manson.
As
far as films based on videogames are “Resident Evil” is one of the best if
not the best one, but for this post-modern genre of films that really doesn’t
mean a whole lot. To be direct the best way to approach “Resident Evil” is
to keep in mind that this is a film based on a videogame and is really operating
under the rules that a videogame creates so the action is swift and elements
will not really make complete sense, but for a pre-summer popcorn flick,
“Resident Evil” is not bad.
There
is a bit of satire in the idea of the “Umbrella Corporation,” a soulless
company that secretly specializes in biological warfare becoming the host for
the living dead that is never played up enough. Perhaps a script that focused
more on bringing this clever aspect of the story would have made the film
better, but Anderson cuts between elements of action and serious horror, but
never clearly decides what audience the film is intended for. The majority of
the audiences who play the game are under 18, but wisely Anderson keeps the
visceral terror high so that we do see the monsters in action, but the film is
not horrific and gory enough. If
you are going to go for the “R” rating on a zombie flick than go all the
way. The outcome of the film is actually less brutal than the arcade
counterpart. In one scene a person is grabbed and seemingly torn to pieces by
tons of zombies. Now if we never see this character again then I would say,
“Great. We don’t need to see the guy get torn apart. The screams, shock, and
music are effective enough.” However later we a zombie version of the guy
walking around and all I can think is if this guy was not overwhelmed by twenty
or so zombies then maybe there would be something left to walk around, but it
wasn’t one of two, it was a bunch of them and so the terror is diluted now.
The
film does reference a room filled with the body parts of early victims that
suddenly is empty, but with no zombies in the area and no blood to suggest they
have been moved, the question is left unanswered and feels more like a
continuity error than anything mysterious. The zombies themselves are not nearly
as fierce as George A. Romero’s classic counterparts, but no one makes a
zombie film like George Romero so if you should ever read this Mr. Romero, show
the new generation of filmmakers out there how to make a frightening zombie film
by directing a fourth film in your “Dead” series please!
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment is releasing a “Special Edition” DVD in North
America on Tuesday, July 30, 2002. However the legally distributed VCD
counterpart was made available on June 4, 2002, nearly two months before the
upcoming American DVD debut. The VCD presents “Resident Evil” across two
Video-CDs with the first 60-minutes on disc one and the final 40-minutes on disc
two. The packaging states “Original Version” on the cover, which makes me
ask if the DVD release will be different from this version, which is nearly
identical to the theatrical cut I saw back in March when the film was still
playing theatrically. I noticed two quick edits involving Milla’s soft core
nudity, which if I had a choice, I would have kept in the Milla scenes in and
cut that guy who comes back as a zombie out since I already feel the extra shock
hurts the film rather than helps it. However the government censors films in
Malaysia sometimes and every legal VCD release must have the stamped seal of the
Malaysian government before it is released by the public so I guess they’re a
tad more sensitive to nudity even if it is not gratuitous than even the MPAA.
Perhaps a change is being made for the DVD release, as was the case with
“Battlefield Earth.” The theatrical cut of “Battlefield Earth” was made
available on VCD two months before the DVD version, which edited out some scenes
that appeared on the VCD, but also included some new scenes not seen in theaters
or on the VCD import release. I
guess we will see when the DVD arrives. Sharp-eyed viewers will spot an uncredited cameo
by Jason Isaacs, who has appeared in other Anderson genre films like
“Soldier” and “Event Horizon.”
The
film is presented in a full-framed (1.33:1) aspect ratio. The picture quality is
uneven with some scenes looking better than standard grade NTSC VHS and others
revealing some MPEG-1 compression artifacts, but nothing exceedingly so given
the limitations of the format. The reds at times appear too hot making Michelle
Rodriguez’ lips look like two red balloons in the film’s first 30-minutes or
so. Other times the blood red makeup looks almost as if it is glowing so tone
down the contrasts before watching this flick on your PC or TV. The English
Stereo Soundtrack is quite vivid with discrete use if the left and right
channels as well as the subwoofer to create a nice virtual surround effect with
CD quality digital sound clarity. There are no captions or subtitles encoded on
to either disc. Disc one has a scary photo of Rodriguez in makeup while disc two
features Milla and Eric Mabius in a tense scene from the film. Both discs come
packaged in a standard CD jewel case with an appendage within to hold two
Video-CDs and the case comes packaged within a glossy cardboard slipcase.
Check
your DVD player’s instruction manual to make sure you can play Video-CDs and
also be aware that this is also a PAL format VCD release as well. Most DVD
players are backwardly compatible and can play both, but not all. This will also
work in most personal computers with a CD or DVD-ROM drive. “Resident Evil:
Original Version” is available on VCD now and can be ordered online directly
for less than ten dollars at www.eurekamovies.com.
©
Copyright 2002 by Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.