When we last saw the character of Alice (Milla Jovovich) in the third RESIDENT EVIL movie, she was about to take on a zombie horde again as her friends left for a new world, a new chance somewhere in Alaska. A signal was being broadcast from “Arcadia” promising hope and safety. Alice was giving them the chance to make it there.
The latest edition, RESIDENT EVIL:AFTERLIFE, opens with an army of Alice clones taking on the Umbrella Corporation in their Tokyo facility. Filled with blood and mayhem, the Alices wipe out the initial army sent to stop her, working their way to the head man. A confrontation in a plane as he destroys Tokyo with a massive bomb leads to their crashing but with Alice, of course, walking away.
Six months later Alice is flying to Arcadia in search of her friends. She arrives to find a graveyard of airplanes and Claire Redfield (Ali Larter) disheveled, crazy and wearing a controlling device on her chest. Subdued, Alice tries to find out what happened but Claire is suffering a loss of memory. Together they fly to Hollywood where they find a group of survivors trapped in a prison and surrounded by zombies.
Landing the plane on the roof, Alice and Claire are introduced to these survivors who have been hearing the radio broadcast for Arcadia, except that it’s not a town at all. Using binoculars they found that Arcadia was a ship and it’s now sitting in the harbor. The only problem is they have to find there way there and Alice’s airplane only holds two people.
Deep in the cellar of the prison is a special prisoner still locked away. This turns out to be Chris Redfield (in an ironic twist of casting played by Wentworth Miller, start of PRISONBREAK). Fortunately for these survivors, Chris knows a way out. Unfortunately at the same time the zombies have found a way to tunnel in to the prison and begin attacking. Topside a massive zombie with a giant hammer is attacking as well, breaking down the main entrance.
Much of this is taken directly from the game the film is based on. The suspense isn’t developed in wondering how they’ll get out but if they’ll get out. You also know from the start that not everyone will survive. Characters in these films tend to become fodder for the zombies to assist others in surviving. It’s just a question of who will survive and who will become a very unhappy meal.
The action is high level mingled with plot revelations and a storyline that moves the plot forward. It’s not a plot on par with the most involved spy thriller, but it does hold your interest and moves the film along. The problem is these films have a tendency to move forward only to set up the next one. Sony has realized they have a decent franchise here and it’s more about that than making a stand alone film.
This movie was made featuring the newest technological gimmick to lure people into theaters again, 3-D, and while it doesn’t affect the story you can still tell the scenes made to feature the effects. Guns are pointed at you, ninja stars thrown your way and blood splatters towards the camera. For me the chance to see this in 3-D it wouldn’t warrant the extra expense of the ticket.
Granted this is not a set piece for Oscar winning material but the actors here do a great job of making you believe they are the people they are portraying. Movies in this genre have been made featuring some terrible acting (watch nearly any SyFy mega creature film and you’ll know what I mean), but the RESIDENT EVIL films have fortunately been blessed with decent actors who make their parts come alive. Well, except for those playing zombies.
Perhaps my only disappointment in this latest film was the number of zombies used. We get great crowd shots of them but little one on one confrontation. And when we do they move so fast we don’t see much of them. Seeing as how this film was 3-D one would think fans would love to see the gory make up effects coming out of the screen. With the exception of a nasty rooftop encounter for Alice and one zombie shown bursting through the earth after tunneling, we don’t get that.
Bottom line is the movie is fun. It does offer another tale in the series and does it well. It holds your interest from beginning to end and moves the franchise along, ending with (of course) a set up for another sequel.
I’m waiting for the day when I look to see what’s playing at the local multiplex or available at the video store or redbox only to discover that everything is a sequel or remake. The way things are going, that day seems to be getting closer.
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