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# ‘Resident Evil’ not a movie made for adults
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/resident-evil-not-a-movie-made-for-adults/
- Published: 2004-09-10T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T05:01:56.000Z
- Author: Dan Dunn
- Tags: Opinion, Santa Monica, #archive-import

Admittedly, I’m a 30-something guy who doesn’t have much interest in the rapidly developing video game-based film genre. Of course, that could change someday should “Frogger: The Movie” or “ D o n k e y Kong vs. Ms. Pac Man” arrive in theaters. “Resident Evil: Apocalypse,” however, is intended for a different audience — namely, the legions of adolescent boys who have helped make the “Resident Evil” video game series one of the most successful franchises in history. More than 24 million units have been sold in just a few short years, and the film-makers have taken note and with this sequel once again wrought a nearly plot-free spectacle that is more a game imitation than adaptation. And the name of this game is “hysteria,” as in the kind hor-monally charged kids experience when barely clad babes such as Milla Jovovich and Sienna Guillory employ serious firepower to obliterate zombies and virtually everything else in sight. The bedlam in “Apocalypse” is ridiculous, ear-shattering and relentless, made all the more annoying thanks to the action-horror movie clichés exploding all around: There’s the evil mastermind with the sinister Germanic accent; the stiff, flesh-eating undead (dammit, is everybody on the Atkins Diet these days?); some gratuitous boob shots; and, of course, the timeworn cheesy heroes’ zingers. My fave: After a nondescript good guy from Russia (a clear indicator that he will eventually become zombie meat) puts a bullet in the head of an undead dog, he glibly commands the mutt to “sit.” Oh, suh-nap!

Jovovich ably reprises the role of Alice, a bio-genetically enhanced recovering supermodel with a knack for whacking people infected by a zombie-making virus — the work of one of those all-powerful corporate entities that are all the rage in cinematic villainy.

By ably, I mean Jovovich points her gun and shoots without ever messing up her hair. Occasionally she shrieks to indicate a heightened sense of emotion, be it fear or joy or, possibly, hatred for her agent. As fans of “The Messenger” and “The Fifth Element” already know, Milla’s is an all-purpose shriek. Of the many curiosities in “Apocalypse,” the most conspicuous are three lightning-quick monsters with very large, Gene Simmons-esque tongues. These beasts are called “lickers,” and no, I’m not making that up. They are gone faster than Milla can blow them up and shriek … but again, they’re called “lickers,” and for this old man, the name’s the best thing going in this dud. (Rated R for non-stop violence, language and some nudity. Running time 93 minutes)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 10, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/091004.pdf?ref=smdp.com)