Everything I wanted, but didn't get, from the Dawn of the Dead remake, turns out to be in Resident Evil, right down to a few egregiously plagiarized shots from the original DOTD (not to mention a few shots blatantly stolen from Jurassic Park as well as numerous from the original RE videogame). Instead of bogging down in a bunch of attempted character development or weighty dialogue, RE just serves up crazy-ass horror-suspense throughout. Skinless zombie dogs? Yep. Drowned zombies staring purgatorily from their watery graves? Uh-huh! Seemingly "innocent" zombies suddenly lunging at the protagonists' necks? Fuck yeah. The plot (and there is one) concerns a genetic/viral experiment going terribly awry after some insiders of a monolithic corporation conspire to sell information to people who turn out to be covert government operatives. It's completely easy to see from the outset who is the ultimate villain, but I wasn't as much concerned with rooting for anyone or being blown away by a surprise twist as just enjoying some hot zombie action, of which there is plenty. Milla, amazingly, acquits herself rather well, and Michelle Rodriguez is on hand, typically, as the sexy-yet-tough soldier (almost identical to her role in SWAT). Fortunately, Rodriguez escapes her typecasting (slightly) by turning into a zombie late in the film. The first three-quarters or so are genuinely edge-of-the-seat terrifying; then things degenerate into the usual fare for these sorts of futuristic dystopian adventures. The film completely loses steam for about 20 minutes before circling the wagons for a totally bust-up finale that sets up the sequel, which I am somewhat embarrassed to admit I am now very much excited to see. I guess this proves the adage that you can't judge a book by its cover. That, or I just like to see bloodthirsty zombies, no matter what the context.
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