Movie Crush Monday: Little C and Resident Evil

Happy Monday, dear readers. This week I had the happy task of following up on The Fifth Element. Tempted though I was to do a Bruce Willis movie, I took one look at Milla Jovovich's resume and knew what we needed to discuss this week. Let's talk Resident Evil.

source IMDB

I watched this movie with some friends expecting it to be a boring action flick. As the film went on I moved from the couch to the floor close to the TV because my friends wanted to socialize and I wanted badly to dive into the screen and fight some zombies. It's what comes from growing up on Buffy and Laura Croft. Milla Jovovich plays Alice who wakes up in a house with no memories and is forced into a deadly trap called The Hive where she and a group of people try to fight their way out past the aforementioned hoarde. It sounds complicated, but I promise this is a movie that keeps a frenetic pace so you won't ever feel bored. The complicated set up is due to the source material, a hugely successful video game series.

source IMDB

I cannot discuss this movie without talking about my childhood crush on James Purefoy. It started with A Knight's Tale and his appearance in this film is part of why I was so engrossed in it. He's an entrancing actor who can transition from vulnerable to sinister at the drop of a hat. For anyone looking for a cool period piece action flick, Solomon Kane is the. shit. But back to Resident Evil where Mr. Purefoy plays Spence who also wakes up with no memory. He does not manage to outshine Milla in badassery, but no one should be expected to attempt that. Those who have tried have met sad ends...

source IMDB

Full disclosure, I've never played any of the video games that these movies are based on. I'm not much of a gamer to begin with, but horror games especially make me super anxious and prone to screaming and dropping controllers. I have seen all six films. While I enkoyed them all (despite a few weird or week moments) this is by far the strongest of the movies and it's a credit to writer/director Paul W. S. Anderson that he managed to set up a world big enough that it took six films to fully explore it. Considering that the Friday the 13th films ran out of steam after only three movies, the Resident Evil world stands as a stunning success in Horror franchises.

Happy Zombie Killing,
Little C