Resident Evil: Afterlife Review

Resident Evil: Afterlife Review


The fourth installment of the ever continuing franchise based upon the video game franchise of the same name continues with Afterlife. Paul W.S Anderson (Death Race) returns to Direct after sitting out on the previous two films and also writes the screenplay. Resident Evil: Afterlife is also brought to you in 3D with the ever so advertised fact; it was filmed with Avatars cameras.

Once again Mila Jovovich (Resident Evil Franchise) reprises her role of Alice, the Ex employee of Umbrella who is now on a rampage to shut them down. This is how the film starts, Alice barging into Umbrella headquarters in Tokyo with the clones she found at the end of the last film. Thus opening the film with a bang and then skipping ahead a year with Alice flying around searching for survivors, she finds some in a abandoned Asylum and together they all look to seek refuge at the mysterious place know as Arcadia, which was also hinted towards at the end of the previous.

I sounds like a nice continuing plot but it also could have been in an hour long film, not 97 minutes. The plot is strung out hopelessly at the start with Alice doing boring video logs that don't help the narrative at all. The survivors she meets are all the stereotypical crowd that hangs in a zombie movie, if you call this such. Then when you finally have a nice ending to the series at the end, bang! Cliffhanger. So the basic point is the plot is boring, the characters all seem boring this time, even Alice, and I think this is because we have learn t everything we can now.

But the fact is if you're going into Resident Evil it's either your a fan of the games or the previous movies and just looking for a mindless action flick. Mindless action flick is what you shall receive here, the hints towards the games like the inclusion of monsters from the latest Resident Evil game (Resident Evil 5) just annoyed me. The face hugger looking thing, the Manji didn't act or resemble the game counter parts and neither did the big Axe wielding guy, the Executioner.

But I can't give this film lower points for developing things for movie interpretation. It was an action orgy with total overuse of slow motion shots, which if you love this is you're favorite film here. I wouldn't be surprised if a quarter of the movie was slow motion.

The rest of the ensemble is OK considering the script they were given. Ali Larter (Final Destination 2) reprises her role as Claire Redfield with less character then before. Wentworth Miller (TV's Prison Break) put on a prison uniform once again to play Chris though with about as much character as dead mouse. Though he does give one nice shot were he holds a gun and i said 'hey that's the Chris i know and love' before I forgot he was even in the film again. Albert Wesker is brought to life by Shawn Roberts (Edge Of Darkness) is Matrix esk fashion, the match the feel of the rest of the movie.

The 3D was OK and it worked, not well but it worked. The plan flying sequences worked the best, real field of depth and the on screen text looked nice. I know saying 3D text is nice isn't the greatest compliment, but hell there you go. It didn't really advance the action sequences to the next level i thought it would but seeing a nice slop of blood land on my left eye was enjoyable.
A pumping soundtrack and kick-ass action sequences are a high, the rest a low but I can actually say there is something here for everyone. Action and hot girls for the boys, hot guys and girl power for the girls. For fans of the games, sorry no. Fans of the previous movies, sorry this one if the worst. Enjoyable? Yes but you can take your brain out and give this a rest before hand.

Acting: 6.0

Writing: 5.0

Direction: 5.0

Production: 7.0

Overall: 6.0

3D: 7.0