Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D

The Resident Evil movie franchise has brought about mixed reactions from the public, especially those who are fans of the games as the films are not exactly faithful to the original story (the main character, Alice, has never appeared in any of the games). Rather the writers of the films take certain incidents from the game’s story and use them to build their own; mainly that a corporation named Umbrella has created a virus which has ended up being released into the public and thus turning them into the walking dead, amongst other things. I am personally a massive fan of the Resident Evil video games, having played them all, and love the story that they have to offer. On the other hand, I am also a big fan of the films too. Once I got over my initial disappointment that the writers didn’t intend to follow the chronicles of the games, I began to appreciate the story they were trying to tell. I think what has to be realised is that the movies are not live action copies of the games, but more of a tribute – tipping their hats here and there to show their appreciation to what started it all.

The opening scene to Resident Evil: Afterlife, in all it’s slow-motion glory, is fantastically polished. This is accompanied by a great industrial soundtrack that continues to hammer this stylish imagery into you throughout the film. Eventually the slow-motion speeds up into real time and the action explodes off the screen, and I mean that literally with the superb 3D effects. Using the same 3D technology that James Cameron used for Avatar, Resident Evil has some of the best action scenes I have seen for a long long time.

In this instalment, Alice, (Milla Jovovich – Fourth Kind, Fifth Element), finds herself searching for a utopia; a place where people are free from danger and therefore infection. However, on her quest to discover this place, she becomes stranded with a small band of people and soon has to battle it out with the regular dangers that this post apocalyptic world now has to offer. This time, some of the shambling undead that we’ve got to know from previous Resident Evil episodes have grown a little chest hair and are somewhat more formidable than before.

I found the movie to be very engaging; the unsettling feeling of constant danger never really leaving, and when the dangers burst onto the screen it makes for some very exciting scenes. Though some of the characters we meet seem very typical for this kind of story (the shifty guy who you don’t know if you can trust, the strong friendly guy who you can depend on, and the maverick who everyone’s a bit scared of), it doesn’t really matter as it fit’s the narrative nicely. My only real criticism is the acting isn’t Oscar winning, but I don’t really care as I didn’t go to the cinema to watch Gone with the Wind. This is the best Resident Evil film to date.

(Fans of the games will recognise a scene that comes straight out of Resident Evil: Code Name Veronica, and, surprisingly, a few elements from Resident Evil 5. A couple more characters get their feet dirty in this film too.)

8/10

Tags: Action, Horror