Translating a popular video game series into a movie can be a daunting task. Producers want to be true to the original game series while expanding on the story to capture a new audience. “Resident Evil: Apocalypse” does an excellent job of that. Paul W.S. Anderson, who served as producer for the film, has made a solid career for himself, having worked on “Mortal Kombat” and this past summer’s flop “Alien v. Predator,” not to mention directing the original

“Resident Evil.” For this sequel, Anderson hands the reins off to first-time director Alexander Witt, who served as assistant director on the earlier

“Resident Evil” pic. Witt also served as technical director on such big budget films as “The Italian Job” and “Pirates of the Carribean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.” With this effort, he firmly establishes his ability to run an entire production.

The story picks up where the original left off. Alice (Milla Jovovich) wakes up in a Raccoon City laboratory to find she has been genetically modified. It seems she now has super-human powers.

Raccoon City has become over-run by killer zombies, and it is Alice and her rag-tag group of combatants who must battle their way out of the city.

The script is filled with inventive action sequences as Jovovich and her pals kick zombie butt all over the city. While the first Resident Evil film focused on a group of soldiers fighting in a contained environment,”R.E.: Apocalypse,” brings the action above ground. Though reminiscent of Danny Boyle’s “28 Days Later,” this film concentrates more on the battles than on the story line.

Even though the film resembles a video game in its action sequences, Witt does an excellent job of bringing the viewer into the middle of the action. His type of filmmaking is usually wasted in Hollywood fluff. It is good to see a director finally find his niche.