As a rule movies based on popular video games generally don't work. Well, Resident Evil, is one that partly does and partly doesn't.

Set in Raccoon City this stars Milla Jovovich as a woman who wakes up with amnesia only for a group of heavily armed solider types to come busting through the windows. They soon escort her and Eric Mabius (who's posing as a cop) into an underground lab dubbed "The Hive" that's owned by the ominous Umbrella Corporation only to have to go up against zombies, a malicious computer that has plenty of nasty traps at its disposal and other creatures after a virus has been unleashed in the complex.

There's great opening scenes of chaos after the virus is first unleashed that grabs your attention (the office building chaos is great and there's a bit of nastiness involving an elevator) and some eerie mood even if the script is a little off-kilter at first; but eventually it just becomes too much winding down into a so-so finale that suffers from having too polished a computer animated beast (it looks to CGI and ruins any chances of suspense).

Basically this is mindless entertainment that has less shambling zombies than expected (but enough to please), some okay action sequences and one really cool moment involving a laser defence system. But overall this is just above a ** rating due to not really being anything much special.

It's a better video game adaptation than most (director Anderson did Mortal Kombat; which was pretty good) but could've been better.

Directed By: Paul W.S. Anderson.
Written By: Paul W.S. Anderson.

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Eric Mabius, James Purefoy.