2002 Resident Evil

• AKA “Biohazard”
• Directed by: Paul W. S. Anderson
• Written by: Paul W. S. Anderson
• Stars: Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Ryan McCluskey
• Run Time: 1 Hour, 42 Minutes
• Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhBAIDHvRTc

Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone

A special military unit has to infiltrate an underground research facility where they deal with the undead, mutated dogs and people, and a protective computer system. And some amnesia in the mix just for fun. It’s heavy on science fiction, set in the future, and it plays out a lot like a video game for very good reason. The horror elements are there, and lots of action. It felt a little dated seeing it now, but it’s still well made and entertaining. And the ending leaves it wide open for the sequel.

Spoilery Synopsis

We are briefed on the events that led to the incident at Racoon City. We’re told that The Umbrella Corporation had become the largest commercial entity in the United States. They have products everywhere, including bio-weapons. Credits roll.

We watch as a scientist packs up some samples and then releases a virus into the air system of the science base. The dogs used as test animals notice the smell first, but the people don’t. There’s a biohazard warning, and all the doors lock down. The gas is channeled into the rooms, killing most of the employees. The people in the elevator, on the other hand, are gas-free, but trapped.

Somewhere else, Alice wakes up, naked, in the shower. She looks in the mirror and notices strange bruises. She’s alone, but finds some weapons in a locked vault.

Suddenly, ninjas attack! One of them grabs Alice and demands a report, but she doesn’t remember anything. There’s a man there, Matt, who insists he’s supposed to be there. The whole group descends to the mansion’s basement, where there’s a whole secret subway station. On the train, they find another guy with memory loss. We can see that someone is following their progress through the security monitors.

One explains to Alice and the other guy, Spence, that they all work for the corporation to protect the secrecy of the hive, where they are now. Alice, Spence, and all the soldiers enter the hive, the science base we saw earlier. “The Red Queen has locked onto us, she knows we’re here.” The Red Queen is the AI that controls the hive.

The group comes across a room full of pods, and inside those pods are people. The group’s leader, One, walks ahead of the others and unlocks the doors. Turns out, it’s a trap, and that goes badly for four of the soldiers and One.

A holographic representation of the Red Queen appears and warns them to leave immediately. Alice and JD plant the EMP device, which goes off and shuts down the computer. It also shuts down all the containment things in the building and opens all the doors. Turns out, all those scientists who died have become zombies; one of them bites Rain.

A bunch of zombies attack, and there’s a great deal of shooting. After the fighting, mutated weird things start breaking out of the pods. Alice runs into mutant zombie dogs and one of the soldiers. She does martial arts on the undead security guard and remembers that she’s a trained fighter.

Meanwhile, Matt, playing the corporate weasel (every movie’s got one one), sneaks off by himself. Turns out, he was here to spy on Umbrella and expose them to the press. Alice starts to think she might be the inside agent who was leaking the secrets outside.

The group only has about an hour to get out of the building before the doors all lock and they’re buried here, forever. They have to turn the Red Queen back on to get the doors open. The queen explains all about zombies and how to kill them.

Still, the numbers are overwhelming, and most of the soldiers die. Alice and Spence, along with Matt and the clearly infected Rain, are all that’s left. Alice gets a flashback showing her that there’s a cure for the virus. The blue vials are the virus; the green is the cure. Spence also gets his memories back; he’s the baddie who released the infection.

Spence locks everyone in a room and returns to the train, where he hid the antidote. The Red Queen, on the other hand, has released the scary mutant monster in the same place. It kills him and then uses his DNA to mutate further.

The group meets up with Kaplan, who didn’t die after all. They give Rain the antidote and get back on the train. Kaplan drives the train, at least until the big mutant gets him. Alice stabs the creature in the tongue, but then Rain turns into a zombie after all and attacks from the rear. Matt shoots Rain; Alice kills the mutant.

Alice and Matt barely make it out of the hive before lockdown happens. Matt, who was scratched, starts to turn, but a bunch of scientists storm in and cart him away. Alice is also taken away for further study.

Alice wakes up some time later in a lab, but there’s no one else there. Turns out, this lab has gotten infected as well. She breaks out of the Racoon City Hospital and sees that it’s gotten all post-apocalyptic outside.

Time for a sequel!

Brian’s Commentary

The poor Umbrella Corporation gets the blame for all of this? The corporation was legally creating bioweapons for the government. Spence was the one who released it, with help from Matt, Alice, and Matt’s sister.

There’s lots of shooting, jumping, kicking, and puzzles, almost as if this was based on a video game or something. It’s got a lot of action, one damned thing after another, but it never gets boring. The story is fine, although there really aren’t any surprises; the acting… well, it’s a videogame movie.

The CGI mutant has not held up, but the rest is all pretty good.

Kevin’s Commentary

I thought this one still holds up pretty well overall for entertainment, but it’s dated-looking around the edges. Like a video game, it keeps moving steady from one thing to the next. I’d recommend it if you’re in the mood for something fun and violent.