Film Review: Resident Evil Retribution

The most current film in the Resident Evil film series, lets get to it! SPOILERS

Retribution takes place after an uncertain amount of time from the events of Afterlife and Alice (Milla Jovovich) has been captured by the Umbrella Corporation. She finds herself in a special Umbrella facility deep under the ice in Russia that is under the control of the revived Red Queen and has simulations of major world cities. However a strike unit has been sent to free Alice under orders from Albert Wesker (Shawn Roberts) and consisting of Ada Wong (Li Bingbing), Leon Kennedy(Johann Urb), Barry Burton (Kevin Durand)  and Lurther West (Boris Kodjoe). However the Red Queen is prepared for intruders as she has hundreds of monsters at her disposal while her human clone forces are led by Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory).

Place your bets on who to win

Once again this is directed by Paul Anderson and even though it is obvious at this point the film is again an entirely original plot not based on any of the games however it draws inspiration from 5 and 4.

Your still as great as ever Milla!

I want to talk about the story first before getting in to the characters because I really want to say that it story might actually be one of the weakest in the series. Overall I did enjoy watching this film however it just nagged me with how many similarities it had with the first one. For example the Red Queen A.I. is back again and running Umbrella but there is no explanation as to why she is back when she was fried at the end of the first film, we already had her as a villain I just don't get why she had to come back. Also even though it is set in a massive underground testing facility it again felt too similar to the setting in the first film because once again the characters have to escape from it because of a time limit. Lastly I do not get why Wesker is suddenly helping Alice and humanity because he just seemed to want to destroy both in Afterlife, I know he might have a secret plan to be revealed in the sequel but still I just don't get it. However I did find the whole cloning aspect in this interesting and all of the simulated environments that they have.

"Who wants to experience ultimate pain first?"

Once again we have Alice back and she is just as great as ever with a cool new costume and kicking some zombie ass. For other returning characters we also have Lurther and Wesker; Lurther, like in Afterlife, is a great character but he doesn't feel as significant in this one but I'm still glad he is in it but I really wished that Wesker had a larger role because he is only in it for a few scenes. We also have Jill Valentine and I am so glad she has returned because I really liked her from Apocalypse and she is more like her 5 version here. Whatever problems I have with 5 I liked Jill in it because she was like some unstoppable killer; pulling off some great moves and in a skin tight purple outfit I might add and its all been adapted perfectly here.

"Who shall I get to push me?"

For other returning characters we have Rain (Michelle Rodriguez), One (Colin Salmon) and Carlos (Oded Fehr) and it was a surprise because they are all dead but that is where the cloning comes in. Seems they where cloned after death to be Umbrella soldiers and characters in a simulation so we have good and bad versions of Rain and Carlos. I really liked that they did this because Rain and One at least got to have a larger role in the film series now overall and its always great to see Carlos back. Also Rain fighting along side Jill at the end is one of the best moments in the film and is just as good (actually probably better) than the Wesker fight in Afterlife.

"Who wants to mess with this badass team?!"

Now for the new characters and I have to say that we have got some great choices and casting. I'll start off first with Johann Urb as Leon and he is a great character and its good they are using one of Resident Evil's most known protagonist but I kind of felt that he didn't have that much of a presence in this. As for Ada, Li Bingbing really nailed it as her because she looked exactly like her and I liked all of the scenes she was in. However my favourite was Kevin Durand as Barry because firstly I feel like I am seeing Kevin Durand in a lot of films lately (he is on The Strain right now) and he is such a great actor but I am also just really glad that Barry is in the films. Barry is a great character in the games but so, so underused (like Billy and Rebecca) since he has never been a playable character and hasn't had a large role since 1 (unless you count the cameo in 3). But in this film Barry was awesome, he was great in all of the action scenes and his death scene was so badass the way he shot One. Sure he died in this but I think he has had a better role in this than the games have been giving him!

I thought this in the games and I am thinking this now: That red dress isn't practical field gear!

Now on to the monster which is the biggest weakness of the Resident Evil films and that is because we barely get any. First we have the zombies but they are actually the best monsters in this film because they where awesome. They are like the military ones from 4, 5 and 6 in which they use guns and vehicles and I thought I wouldn't enjoy it much because in the games I prefer proper zombies. However in the scene where they are all attacking Barry, Leon and Lurther in the Russia simulation was so cool and they even had a chainsaw wielding one that looked damn creepy. This film failed though in bringing back the Executioner and the Licker from the previous films and I just wonder why? We have already seen them couldn't they have given us something else? I don't care if there where two Executioners and a giant Licker I wanted Hunters or Bandersnatches or one of the bosses.

Best character in the film

Overall this might be the weakest entry in the film series however I still enjoyed watching it because it had some great action scenes, some new characters from the game and the ending implies a pretty badass finale to the series.

SCORE: 6/10

Highlights: Great action sequences (Alice fighting the zombies, Russia attack, final fight)
                   More characters from the game (especially Barry!)

Let - Downs: The plot felt too much like the first film
                      Not enough variety of monsters (again)

You can find all of the great screenshots I used right here;

http://ladymanson.com/ShadowofReflection/home.php

                     

Film Review: Resident Evil Apocalypse

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.



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.

"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!

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.

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.

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).

"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.

"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.

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.

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;

http://ladymanson.com/ShadowofReflection/home.php

Film Review: Resident Evil

Thought I'd finally get round to reviewing one of my most favourite film series and video game adaptions; Resident Evil, so here is the first one that started it all. SPOILERS in this because it will be in depth and this is the kind of review for people how have seen this film and the others.

Resident Evil begins with the outbreak of a virus, called the T - Virus, in an underground facility called the Hive. It is owned by the pharmaceutical company Umbrella; one of the largest companies in the world and basically owns the town of Raccoon City that is located above it. The highly intelligent computer program that runs it, the Red Queen, decides to shut down the Hive and seal everyone of the employees down there. The main protagonist Alice (Milla Jovovich) awakens in a mansion with no memory of who she is but is soon dragged into the Hive by an Umbrella commando team led by One (Colin Salmon). Alice must now survive the horrors inside the Hive, try to recover her lost memory and figure out what exactly happened to cause the outbreak.

Some zombie killing action!

Resident Evil was directed by Paul W. Anderson and while I know he has had his fair share of criticism I think he is a really solid director who has a few gems (Mortal Kombat, Event Horizon). While this film is an adaption of the video game series it features a completely original plot not found in the games but none the less uses it's universe. Now this could have been a really bad move but I think it worked for this film because the overall plot was still similar to the games.

Damn, that laser sure made a clean job of it

To elaborate on this it borrows heavily from the story of Resident Evil 2 i.e. a virus outbreak in an underground lab that turns people to zombies. However instead of the virus infecting the city straight away they decided to set it in the laboratory and Anderson himself stated that he didn't want the film to feature any game tie ins because he felt that "under-performing movie tie-ins are too common and Resident Evil, of all games, deserved a good celluloid representation". Meaning he wanted to avoid too may links to the game as possible for this first adaption at least.

Oh Yeah!!

Now did I like that move that Anderson made? Yes I did and that is because I like certain adaptions that create their own story based on original material. If the story is well thought out and done right then it can be great and personally I really enjoyed it; it just felt like Resident Evil to me while not showing an exact same story from the games. There are some things however that I admit must follow the original material exactly because the story is too important to change drastically (Game of Thrones) and there are examples when it is done wrong (almost all original material in The Walking Dead).

"Oh hell no!"

I really liked the cast for this film with my favourite being Milla Jovovich as Alice because she is my all time favourite actress, in this she is smart, sexy and kicks a lot of zombie ass! She does ask a lot of questions but that is because of the loss of memory and a way for the other characters to explain what is going on. She is likable and a strong female protagonist which of course suits the horror film genre, plus we get to see her in some shower scenes and wearing that red dress throughout the film - what's not to like :). She may not be based on any Resident Evil character but she is really well thought-out and woven into the story really well as an Umbrella security agent. In fact before I continue thought I'd point out that the characters is mostly made up of Umbrella personnel and that is probably one of the big appeals in the film for me; a point of view from people working for Umbrella not those who are against it.

Shot them in the head Rain

As for the rest of the cast we have One the Umbrella team leader who I felt was really underused and that was annoying because he is played by such a great actor but at least he has one of the coolest film deaths ever involving the really cool laser grid scene. There's Michelle Rodriguez as Rain a member of the Umbrella team and even though she plays the same character type in everything I've seen her in (a no - nonsense badass) she is one of the ones so good at it that you don't mind. We also have James Purefoy as Spence who is the films antagonist who does a great job but then there is Eric Mabius as Matt Addison a person against Umbrella who even though is good in it I felt his character was just shoved in there so they have someone who is not an Umbrella employee. Lastly there is Martin Crewes as Kaplan the Umbrella team computer expert who I think is a real stand out; he did his part so well and I just found him really likeable.

It may be a short scene but the zombie dogs are badass in this

As for the zombies and other creatures in this film it is all done really well and that is because for the most part it is not done in CGI but with make up and I like that the best for zombies/horror films. It may not be as gory as I would have liked it to be for an adaption for the Resident Evil game but for the most part it does the job really well. The zombies all look the part of zombies even if there is a lack of missing limbs and trailing guts from any of them but I guess there really hasn't been any time for that is they have all been stuck in a lab. I also liked the movement of all the zombies and I guess that is to be expected since they hired professional dancers to play them.

Poor b*****d

The zombies dogs however is adapted perfectly from the video games; not only do they look like the same breed but they sound and act like the did in the games as well. They where never done in CGI (expect to erase an ear or eye) instead they got professional trained dogs and covered them in fake blood and meat that made them look as though they were skinned. Lastly I am glad they chose the Licker for the final boos in this because it is one of my favourite creatures but for the first few scenes it is in it is done in CGI and you can obviously tell that it is. Luckily for the mutated version of Licker they created a full - scale model with actual moving head, lips and tongue that just looks so much better.

You are one ugly mother-!

As for stuff that I admit they could have done better (I mentioned lack of gory but that is really minor) is a proper antagonist. I know Spence turns out to be it but this only happens at the very end of the film because of his loss of memory for the majority of it (plus is motivation is just money). I know that the Red Queen was the one who sealed the Hive but I really don't consider an A.I. to be a real villain in just about anything. However as much as she seemed to be a homicidal b***h it is said early in the film that she was only doing what she was programmed to do to preserve life, even if it did mean to killing a lot. Every Resident game has a proper villain; 1 - Wesker, 2 - The Birkins, 3 - Nicholai/Nemesis, CV - The Ashfords/Wesker, Dead Aim - Morpheus and 0 - Marcus. Those are the only TRUE Resident Evil games in my opinion and I just wished we had one here.

Soaking wet Milla Jovovich - oh yeah!

Two more things that I think could have been changed was that I wish the final fight with the Licker could have lasted longer and been a bit more interesting. I think that they focused just a little too much with the fight between Matt and zombie Rain when we could have seen more of the Licker. However the overall fight was pretty damn cool, really fast paced because it was set on a speeding training and I liked the music that they used to. Lastly even though I really like the cast I kind of wished they could have included just one character based off the video game instead of just a cameo of William Birkin by Jason Isaacs at the end. I think HUNK could have worked really well in this and he could have been part of the Umbrella team.



You can make it Kaplan!

Overall while it may not be perfect I think this film is a great start to the Resident Evil film series even though I know it hasn't appealed to every fan because of how original the plot is compared to the games. Maybe the could have made it more gory and gave the film a better overall antagonist and final fight but I enjoyed it immensely. It is as a lot of some cool gunfights and fist fights against the zombies and the laser scene is just so memorable. This film also worked  thanks to the great cast, action and story that I found to be just as good as the games and I like that they have a great set up to the squeal at the end that obviously looks based on Resident Evil 3.

"Just when I thought I'd got out you pull me right back in"

SCORE: 7/10

The great screenshots of the episodes where provided by the great site Screencapped. You can look for yourself from the link below;

 

 





http://screencapped.net/