Time for a review of the second Resident Evil film!
Resident Evil Apocalypse is set after the events of the first film and the T - Virus has made it's way out of the Hive and has now infected most of the population of Raccoon City. The Umbrella corporation has locked the city down, evacuated their most important personal and are even taking advantage the viral outbreak to test their latest Bio - Weapon; Nemesis. Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory), a disgraced member of the elite S.T.A.R.S unit with a grudge against Umbrella, tries to survive in the zombie infested city. Meanwhile Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr), an Umbrella commando, is trying to combat the zombie menace with his squad but soon begins to question the corporation he works for. In the midst of this former Umbrella employee Alice (Milla Jovovich) awakens after being captured at the end of the first film and finds out that Umbrella as done something to her.
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| It would be so cool to be there right now |
Unlike the first film this one is directed by Alexander Witt and I admit that I have never heard of him before this film however it is produced and written by Paul Anderson so it is still in a similar style like the first film. The most noticeable difference however between the first film and Apocalypse is that this one borrows heavily from the game source material, for which I am glad they did. Writing a great original story in the Resident Evil story is a good move if it worked (and it sure did in my opinion) but sooner or later it had to stick more closely to the games and that is what Apocalypse does. It's plot is influenced mainly from the second and third games but it also uses elements from CVX, three of the best games in the series. I do really like the story that have here because it is so close to RE3 but they nicely fitted in the events from the first film.
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| "Time to blow some zombie heads off!" |
For the location of Raccoon City I have to admit that is where it deviates quite a bit from the games; Raccoon City is supposed to be a lonely, simple mountain community surrounded by a dense forest. They chose Toronto for the film and it is a little too modern looking and has a too many skyscrapers, going on about the location might be nit picking but I have played the games too many times not to notice. However to do have many great inner city locations that suited the film; the gothic style church, the school and they did a really excellent job in making the streets look ruined, looted and devastated. Plus I read that is was Milla Jovovich's idea that their be a heat wave in the film so Alice and Jill can have a more practical reason for their outfits; my thanks to her!
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| One of my favourite Resident Evil characters ever right here! |
As for the cast it is almost completely new seeing how that Alice is the only returning character from the previous film. Firstly there is Oded Fehr as Carlos and I have to say I am really glad that they gave Carlos such a large role; those who read my Resident Evil rants know that I hate that most Resident Evil game characters are being pushed aside in favour of Chris and Leon (both of whom I think have been used a main characters too often). Carlos is one of the characters I wanted to see more of in the games so being a main character for the film franchise is the next best thing for me. Also Oded Fehr is probably one of my all time favourite actors who I think is perfect in the role; they dial down his "ladies man" personality from the game but in return he is a badass soldier and I read that he did most of his marital arts moves and gun handling himself.
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| If I saw Nemesis walking down the street I'll be like "Hell no!" and gotten out of there |
Next we have Sienna Guillory as Jill Valentine and again an excellent cast choice, she even looks a lot like Jill and wears her outfit from 3. She had a really large role in this film for which I am glad for but I kind of wish it was even bigger if that was possible. I really like Milla Jovovich returning in this and she even brings some great action sequences because of her heightened abilities but she overshadows Jill's character when she joins the main group. I'm a bit in two minds about these characters; I really like Alice but at the same time I wanted Jill to be the main leading role throughout the entire film. Maybe that is because Jill is one of the characters from the games I really wanted to see in the films but she has to compete with Alice in this.
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| We're back b***hs! |
Now a complete standout in this film for me and who has become one of my favourite Resident Evil characters (film and games) is Mike Epps as L.J.. His character is just so funny and so likable throughout the entire film, every scene he is in is great and steals most of them in my opinion. We also have Thomas Kretschmann as Major Timothy Cain (only named in the novels) an Umbrella Security operative who is in charge of handling the Raccoon City incident. Cain is definitely the villain that was needed for the film because that is what the first one truly lacked (as I mentioned in my review of it).
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| "Even if where supposed to just be a medical company, lets slaughter all these civilians" |
Gone on about the characters for quite a bit but just a quick mention of the supporting ones. We also have Raz Adoti as Peyton Wells another S.T.A.R.S member, who is really great in the film but looks so much like Kenneth Sullivan from the games I wonder why they didn't just name him that. There's also Jared Harris and Sophie Vavasseur as Charles and Angie Ashford; I've always liked Jared Harris so his great in this as the T - Virus creator and Sophie Vavasseur also did a good job, I even like the nod to the Ashford family from the games even if they are two original characters. Lastly we also have Zack Ward as Nicholai Ginovaef (interesting to see a good Nicholai!) and Sandrine Holt as Terri Morales who has a great small role. All in all I have been pleased with the casting for the film and its characters.
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| "You looking at me?" |
As for the monsters I am really glad that the Licker has made a return and that there are even more of them this time around. They are done this time in CGI but it is way better than what they used for the first film, Lickers are my favourite RE monster so glad there back. However once again I wished they could have included more monsters from the game like Hunters, Brain Suckers, the Mutated Plants etc. what sets the Resident Evil game apart form all others in the zombie genre is that its not just about the zombies, its about the dangerous and creative creatures you come across too. The zombies and zombie dogs are back in all their glory from the first film but also again there is a severe lack of gore; even when a zombie gets shot (even in the head) there really is no splatter.
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| Run Alice! |
Now for the most iconic creature in the RE universe, Nemesis, I have to say that it could have been slightly better. I really liked the look of Nemesis in this film, I think the make - up and the suit are all impressive, however it doesn't seem that imposing like it was in the game. The main reason for this is because they made him rely too much on weapons throughout the film like his rail gun; unlike the game Nemesis does not use any of his tentacles concealed underneath his coat. Before I saw this film but after I heard that Nemesis was in it I was so looking forward to seeing Brad Vickers's famous death captured in live action and I was disappointed that not only Brad wasn't in it they didn't even use anyone else to have a sharp tentacle shoved through their throat. Plus I think the final show down between Nemesis and Milla was a bit because it was just hand to hand combat. I did like the Nemesis in this it just wasn't exactly what I thought it would be.
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| Oh Yeah! |
Overall this is a great squeal to the first film even though I really wish that it could have been even longer like two hours because we could have had some more iconic scenes form the games.
Highlights: Characters/Cast (Jill, Carlos, L.J.)
Story (Influenced by the games more)
Locations
Let-downs: Nemesis could have been a bit better
Needed more gore and monsters from the games
A longer run time to fit in more events from Raccoon City
SCORE: 8/10
You can find all of the great screenshots I used right here;
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