I remember a time when it was normal for some movies to spawn a video game. About a decade ago, it became all the rage to go the other direction and actually adapt a video game for the big screen. Often this meets with dismal failure. Amongst the first, was the dreadful “Super Mario Brothers”, which was followed shortly thereafter by the equally terrible “Double Dragon.” Then we had “Mortal Kombat” which was a slight improvement and at least boasted a rockin’ musical score. (I’m still keeping my fingers crossed for “Pong: The Movie.”) Flash forward several years and now it’s become rather commonplace for films to be made based on video games. It’s even become somewhat easier for filmmakers as technology has allowed most films to be little more than a video game to begin with. All the CGI work has allowed the breath of life to be huffed and puffed into all manner of creatures and beasties. A good example of this was 2002’s “Resident Evil”, which was director Paul W.S. Anderson’s live action love affair with the game of the same name.

The film starred Milla Jovovich as the butt-kicking vixen Alice, Michelle Rodriguez as the butt-kicking vixen Rain, and several other lesser known actors as various expendable butt-kicking soldiers of fortune. The storyline takes place prior to that of the first game in the series (I believe they are up to “Resident Evil 356”) and filled us in on the skinny about the Umbrella Corporation, and their various experiments that done gone horribly wrong (bad grammar intended).

It turns out that the headquarters of the Umbrella Corp sat smack-dab underneath Racoon City. Over a mile underground to be exact. A deadly virus has gotten out and killed pretty much everyone in the complex. Trouble is the “How to Stay Dead” chapter of the Umbrella Corp Handbook somehow got left out. In no time, our illustrious group of butt-kicking soldiers is up to their necks in highly disgruntled ex-employees. Of course, they also learn the company dabbled in more than just deadly viruses and end up facing all manner of genetic monstrosities.

I had mixed feelings about “Resident Evil” when it first came out. I had only played the game a couple of times (I’m not much of a video game guy) but was actually looking forward to it because of its zombie inclinations. The film turned out to be pretty good, not so much because the story was all that coherent, but more so because it moved quickly and made my ears bleed with its soundtrack. Actually the only thing I didn’t like about the film was its overuse of CGI effects. The zombies all looked pretty cool, but I’m a fan of the old school make-up effects. There were some of these in the movie, but there was too much CGI enhancement to the otherwise acceptable makeup.

To make matters worse, our heroes end up having to face the ultimate atrocity, known as The Licker (ooohhhh… bad name), and with the exception of a few scenes it was mostly done with CGI. It had the same problem usually inherent with most full CGI creations, which is that it never really looks like its sharing the same environment as the actors. It hardly seems threatening or scary since it doesn’t look like it really exists. It is akin to sticking a cartoon character in a live action setting (well, in essence I guess it is…).

Aside from these couple of nitpicks, I still liked the film overall and am actually looking forward to the obligatory sequel, “Resident Evil: Apocalypse” which is coming out this month. To coincide with that release, Sony / Columbia Tristar is delivering a new DVD version of the first film, complete with a whole bunch of extra features. I don’t have the previous release handy so I can’t really give you a comparison as to what is on both versions.

What I can tell you is that this new Deluxe Version has two commentaries, the first by Anderson, Jovovich, Rodriguez and producer Jeremy Bolt. This was a better commentary than I expected, mostly because I was surprised to find out that all involved were pretty much into games and movies on a personal level. The second commentary is by Anderson again, only this time he is joined by visual effects supervisor Richard Yuricich. The two spend most of time talking about how and why they did what they did, delivering a very informative commentary.

Then, just when you thought you were done, you find that this edition comes with no less than 11 featurettes. Just about every aspect of the production is touched on in one form or another, and in the end I found myself appreciating the film that much more (though I still had problems with the CGI work). Of the featurettes I was most interested in the original alternate ending and the score. The first ending was shot for budgetary reasons, and it wasn’t until later that Anderson found he was able to shoot the ending he wanted. The feature on the score includes interviews with Anderson, Marco Beltrani and Marilyn Manson (who was really what made this such a fascinating featurette).

“Resident Evil” certainly isn’t the best movie of its kind and it does have some major weaknesses, but it does deliver the experience it promises. There are some truly horrifying moments that make it worth an evening in front of the tube. The DVD just ups the ante by providing a lot of background material for those who are so inclined. And if that isn’t enough to sway you, the disc comes complete with a free ticket to the sequel. Just use it quickly as it expires on Oct. 1st.

Directed by: Paul W. S. Anderson
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Eric Mabius, James Purefoy, Martin Crewes
Extras: Alternate Ending with Director Paul Anderson’s Video Introduction, Clip Compilation - Resident Evil Apocalypse, Cast & Filmmakers’ Commentary, Visual Effects Commentary, Costumes Featurette, “Playing Dead: Resident Evil from Game to Screen”, Scoring Resident Evil, Set Design Featurette, Storyboarding Resident Evil Featurette, Featurettes - The Creature, The Elevator, The Laker, The Train Zombie Dogs, Zombies
Specifications: Widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Sony / Columbia Tristar
Release Date: 9/7/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: R (Sci Fi / Horror Violence, Language and Brief Sexuality / Nudity)
Website

We'll give Resident Evil: Deluxe Edition a B.