# Are the Resident Evil movies good or bad? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 7, 2010, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-resident-evil-movies-good-or-bad/535245 "2010-04-07T04:10:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-resident-evil-movies-good-or-bad/535245/1 "2010-04-07T04:10:56Z")
I’ve only played Resident Evil 4, but I assumed the movies were terribly lame. Are they good or bad? Which ones have you seen? ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-resident-evil-movies-good-or-bad/535245/2 "2010-04-07T04:19:40Z")
I have seen them all and they are all terribly lame. The only way to get any enjoyment out of the series is to watch them with a group of friends so you can make fun of it. The second movie had zombie strippers with boobs so that was kinda neat. Uh, if you’re into dead flesh, which, quite clearly, I am not. ---
**Author:** ![statsman1982](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@statsman1982](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/statsman1982)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-resident-evil-movies-good-or-bad/535245/3 "2010-04-07T04:30:59Z")
The movies are good in the exact same sense that brownies are healthful. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-resident-evil-movies-good-or-bad/535245/4 "2010-04-07T04:41:31Z")
If you like hot chicks with guns, the 2nd flick is pretty good. Otherwise they all suck pretty equally. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-resident-evil-movies-good-or-bad/535245/5 "2010-04-07T05:16:50Z")
They are all simple action movies with hot chicks killing zombies. The only reason I watched all of them was because of Milla Jovovich. That’s really the only reason anyone should be watching these movies. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-resident-evil-movies-good-or-bad/535245/6 "2010-04-07T05:54:16Z")
I am no expert in zombie movies, or video game movies, but I think they are pretty decent medium-budget action movies. There’s precious little plot beyond running around killing monsters, which is not unusual. But though I’ve seen better, I have also seen a lot worse. They’re each a good way to waste two hours. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-resident-evil-movies-good-or-bad/535245/7 "2010-04-07T06:07:01Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > They are all simple action movies with hot chicks killing zombies. > > The only reason I watched all of them was because of Milla Jovovich. That’s really the only reason anyone should be watching these movies. Jill Valentine was hot in the second one, so that was also a plus. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-resident-evil-movies-good-or-bad/535245/8 "2010-04-07T06:20:42Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I am no expert in zombie movies, or video game movies, but I think they are pretty decent medium-budget action movies. There’s precious little plot beyond running around killing monsters, which is not unusual. But though I’ve seen better, I have also seen a lot worse. > > They’re each a good way to waste two hours. Totally agree. I liked the second one the least (Jill Valentine notwithstanding), but I’ll still stop and watch it if I run across it on cable on a lazy afternoon. There is a fourth movie in the works, by the way, with Jovovich returning. ---
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-resident-evil-movies-good-or-bad/535245/9 "2010-04-07T06:39:04Z")
They’re bad, but in a good way. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-resident-evil-movies-good-or-bad/535245/10 "2010-04-07T23:53:36Z")
They’re good. I’m not sure what people were expecting out of these; they’re based on a video game series, y’know. Shakespeare it ain’t. For what they are they’re friggin’ awesome. I rank the Resident Evil franchise as the greatest videogame / movie combo, though to fairly compare combionation franchises like that IMO you have to compare the weakest link. So a great movie with a shitty game doesn’t win by virtue of the movie’s quality, nor does a great game with a Uwe Boll movie get a pass because of the quality gameplay. The movies are as good at being movies as the games are at being games. Neither is the best of its genre, but both are well above average and a great way to kill a few hours. For those who think the movies are lame, what movies based on videogames do you think turned out better? ---
**Author:** ![MacSpon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@MacSpon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacSpon)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-resident-evil-movies-good-or-bad/535245/11 "2010-04-08T00:45:44Z")
You have to take them for what they are, which is mindless-violence hot-chicks zombie-gore action cheese. I enjoyed the first one; the second and third ones a bit less, but still enough to make me somewhat interested in the upcoming fourth. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-resident-evil-movies-good-or-bad/535245/12 "2010-04-08T00:59:38Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > They are all simple action movies with hot chicks killing zombies. > > The only reason I watched all of them was because of Milla Jovovich. That’s really the only reason anyone should be watching these movies. I like the girl power aspect to them. I liked Tank Girl and Underworld for the same reason so YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-resident-evil-movies-good-or-bad/535245/13 "2010-04-08T03:27:56Z")
I liked the first one. 🙂 Watched it while giving platelets… Interesting way to spend a couple of hours… I saw the other two, and preferred the third one to the second one. I wonder how the fourth one is going to play out, based on the third movie’s ending… ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-resident-evil-movies-good-or-bad/535245/14 "2010-04-08T04:38:42Z")
If you liked Underworld, you may also like Resident Evil. If you liked Evil Dead, you may like Resident Evil. If you like [Milla Jovovich](http://www.collider.com/uploads/imageGallery/Resident_Evil_Extinction/resident_evil_extinction_movie_image_milla_jovovich__3_.jpg), that is, if you are male and heterosexual, you may really like Resident Evil. I scored 100% on the above survey, and I liked Resident Evil. Soon after I saw the last RE movie my brother gave me an[kukri](http://www.collider.com/uploads/imageGallery/Resident_Evil_Extinction/resident_evil_extinction_movie_image_milla_jovovich__1_.jpg), in case there was an zombie outbreak. On the basis of this fact, I suspect that he liked Resident Evil as well. ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-resident-evil-movies-good-or-bad/535245/15 "2010-04-08T05:13:05Z")
Milla is flat out one of the hottest women on the planet other than that I dont even know what the hell happened in those movies. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-resident-evil-movies-good-or-bad/535245/16 "2010-04-08T15:38:41Z")
I think it comes to this: > [@EllisDee](#): > > For those who think the movies are lame, what movies based on videogames do you think turned out better? Compared to the other crap movies of this genre like **Alone in the Dark** and **Doom** , **Resident Evil** is practically **Citizen Kane**. It moves along quickly, has some good action scenes, and is framed by the central mystery of what happened that is neither too obvious nor too contrived. I would not say that it is a great movie, but it is certainly worth watching on cable. ---
**Author:** ![Scupper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Scupper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scupper)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-resident-evil-movies-good-or-bad/535245/17 "2010-04-08T16:15:40Z")
Agreed, **JKilez**. They may be pretty middling and forgettable zombie horror movies, but they’re pretty easily the best of the video game adaptation movies. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-resident-evil-movies-good-or-bad/535245/18 "2010-04-08T16:20:41Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > They are all simple action movies with hot chicks killing zombies. > > The only reason I watched all of them was because of Milla Jovovich. That’s really the only reason anyone should be watching these movies. It is, however, an excellent reason. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-resident-evil-movies-good-or-bad/535245/19 "2010-04-08T18:25:00Z")
I liked the first one and Extinction. The first RE was different and interesting. Extinction had a great desert road trip kick-ass zombie fighting thing going. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2010, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-resident-evil-movies-good-or-bad/535245/20 "2010-04-09T02:40:09Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > For those who think the movies are lame, what movies based on videogames do you think turned out better? Well, there’s [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHY8NKj3RKs). And I sorta kinda liked _Wing Commander_… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-resident-evil-movies-good-or-bad/535245.md?page=2)