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Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)
"While still out to destroy the evil Umbrella Corporation, Alice joins a group of survivors who want to relocate to the mysterious but supposedly unharmed safe haven known only as Arcadia."
I love Milla Jovovich but she really has to stop making these crappy "Resident Evil" sequels now. "Resident Evil: Afterlife" looks good but it has no real plot worth mentioning and will just make you wonder why you wasted another hour and a half on this rubbish.
There is no attempt at characterisation whatsoever in this sequel and, unless you've watched the first three films, you'll be completely lost as to what is going on. Even if you have watched the first three films, you'll probably still be left clueless because this film has only a passing resemblance to anything "Resident Evil" related in the first place. Yes, it all looks the same, has far too many "Matrix" style slow-motion action scenes, some weird creatures created by the T-virus, and all the other stuff but it just doesn't have the "survival horror" feel of the previous movies or any of the games. I'm sure even devoted "Resident Evil" fans are disappointed too.
Before this I actually enjoyed "Resident Evil: Extinction" even though it was just another zombie film and even bought it on DVD. I won't be buying "Resident Evil: Afterlife" when it comes out though as it had nothing in it worth watching again. Ali Larter looked amazingly sexy and really put Milla Jovovich in the shade this time round but that isn't a good enough reason to want this film in my collection.
I suppose I enjoyed the action scenes and all the 3D shenanigans but they were all just set pieces which didn't have a real story behind them. There was lots of "Equilibrium" style gun play and creatures which could not possibly exist being shot, blown-up and hacked to pieces but it all felt empty and soulless. I really wanted this to be the best "Resident Evil" film so far so I was very disappointed that it turned out to be one of the worst.
As much as I want to write a really long review tearing everything apart and explaining how derivative it all was of every other sci-fi/zombie "survival horror" story out there, I really don't want to waste any more time on "Resident Evil: Afterlife" than I already have. I still think Milla Jovovich is gorgeous but she's never really been able to act much and these big-budget, computer-generated farces won't do anything to change that one way or another.
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I couldn’t possibly disagree with you more about Resident Evil: Afterlife, Dr. Blood. I liked this film better than all but the first film. The only thing that disappointed me was the cliffhanger ending.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that you liked RE: Extinction, yet felt that RE: Afterlife was “derivative”. If you are looking for originality, you should avoid the zombie genre entirely. The only good original zombie film (by your definition) would be Fido (2006) – director Andrew Currie’s social-drama-satire. All the Resident Evil films are sf-horror-action mélanges and are more reliant on plot than character to carry the story. If you look past the surface of RE you will find some social commentary, but that is hardly the purpose of these films. They are escapist entertainment and expecting them to be more than that is like criticizing Woody Allen for playing the same character in every one of his films.
I think you are wrong in assuming that “even devoted "Resident Evil" fans are disappointed too” in RE: Afterlife. I’ve read more positive reviews from my fellow bloggers than negative ones. Perhaps you are confusing the critics (i.e.: the people who are paid to dislike most genre films) with the actual paying fans who went to see RE: Afterlife.
Well, I thoroughly hated the first two films, liked the third one, and didn't get anything at all out of this one. Perhaps it all goes back to 1998 when George Romero was interviewed at Real Hollywood and was supposed to be directing them and it never came to pass. It's been disappointment ever since.
ReplyDeleteNo, I'm not looking for any social commentary in zombie films. I hate that as much as anyone else especially when it's forced in. I'm just looking for entertainment and a good story. If neither of those are present then the movie fails. I don't like Woody Allen either. I switch his movies straight off when ever they come on TV.
But, yes, I really should avoid zombie films now after watching so many of them. They are all the same thing over and over again with the exception of "Pontypool" that tried to work in a new angle and was over ambitious with it.
Actually, I've read a lot of Resident Evil fans complaining about all the slow motion, lack of story, corruption of the game storyline and no ending. Having played all the games myself, I agree with them. This wasn't "Resident Evil" except in name. Everything was just a little bit too easy for the good guys this time and it made for a boring film.