Photo courtesy of Screen Gems Michelle Rodriguez kicks zombie ass as Rain in "Resident Evil," currently playing in theaters. The movie blurs the line between classic horror films and new-wave action thrillers.

"Resident Evil" has it all: a deadly virus; "Night of the Living Dead" necromancers; the vampire rule of once bitten, always a monster; the secret underground lair; the female supercomputer; mad mutant bloodthirsty dogs; and the token mutant creature a la "Alien Resurrection."

"Resident Evil's" budget and special effects capabilities may have been greater than "Night of the Living Dead" but the techno-enhanced gore fest pales in comparison to George Romero's B-grade masterpiece. The creators of "Resident Evil," like other recent attempts to remake past movies, need to remember one simple concept: Quality is always better than quantity. More monsters and special effects do not make a movie worth seeing.

Milla Jovovich must have studied Lara Croft's sultry, attractive under-acting. The two are almost interchangeable as heroines (only one has an accent and the nerdy sidekick). Her new character, Alice, is a dull, aloof and slightly dazed weapon-packing ingenue dressed appropriately in a torn evening gown. Alice disinterestedly attempts to kick zombie ass, barely batting an eyelash while pulling "Matrix"-like maneuvers and destroying genetically engineered super beasts.

Michelle Rodriguez, who plays the ill-fated soldier, Rain, is the highlight of this roller coaster of badly scripted, flesh-eating violence. However, even a talented actress - forced to utter such classic lines as "blow me" and "if I get out of here I'm gonna get laid" - can't help this smattering of gore and boring characters.

The whole movie, with the exception of the above-ground opening sequence, takes place in an underground genetic research facility known as the Hive. A deadly virus is released into the lair, and a supercomputer called the Red Queen kills everyone in the facility. The virus reanimates the dead into vaguely classic flesh-munching zombies.

Despite a naked-Milla-as-science-experiment shot (similar to Besson's vision of Leelu attached to tubes with a glorified napkin for clothes in "Fifth Element"), there is no saving "Resident Evil" from mediocrity. The ending, with Alice finally above ground and toting a huge gun and little clothing, practically screams sequel.

Only good bands can cover songs well, and the same goes for movies that quote past genres - if you can't sing or add something new to what came before, get off the stage or screen.

Wasn't "Tomb Raider" bad enough to end the video-game-to-big-screen genre forever? "Clue" is the only good movie based on a game; let's stick to the board game genre, guys.