Stars Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Aryana Engineer, Li Bing Bing, Boris Kodjoe, Johann Urb, Kevin Durand with Michelle Rodriguez, Oded Fehr, Colin Salmon and Shawn Roberts Directed by Paul WS Anderson The Resident Evil movie franchise finally descends to its video gaming roots. Watching the movie felt a lot like watching a bunch of cut scenes sewn together while someone else had his hands on the controller as the action sequences played out. Part of it has to do with the scope and function of the plot within the movie, very much reminiscent of the second movie, Resident Evil: Apocalypse. The saving grace comes more from the production value and the technical aspects, but that's not going to matter to most viewers. The movie opens, like with the previous instalment, with a bravura slo-mo sequence as the main titles play through, a remarkable 3D presentation right there. Then we get a recap of everything that's gone before, 4 movies and 15 years that's more of a primer, really. Not that it helps with what follows since Anderson is treating this franchise of his as his own opus, never mind the new casual viewer who wants to see what the fuss is all about. He utilises almost everything that's come before, going so far as to revive the Red Queen (from the first movie, complete with archived special effects) as the main baddie, bringing Jill Valentine (a returning Sienna Guillory from RE: Apocalypse, she also had a cameo at the end of RE: Afterlife) as a nemesis for Alice (Milla Jovovich), and taking the idea of clones (seen in RE: Extinction and RE: Afterlife) to the next level as an excuse to bring back some characters that had been killed off before. What started out as a horror survivalist story has officially entered the realm of sci-fi thriller. ALthough, what we have here is very much a rehash of the first and second movie, just with different characters. While newcomers to the movie franchise, fans of the games will finally get Ada Wong (Li Bing Bing), Barry Burton (Kevin Durand and Leon S Kenndey (Johann Urb) putting in appearances in the flesh. I don't play the games, so I don't know the first two characters, but Urb does look a lot like the Leon Kennedy that appeared in the CG Animated feature, Resident Evil: Degeneration. Incidentally, one of those freaky creatures from that animated feature also appears here (I think - sure looks like it. It's been a while). On a technical aspect, the 3D isn't as flashy as it was in the RE: Afterlife, but there are a few effective scenes, the opening bit being a highlight. The scale of the show is rather epic with various city locations being used (New York, Tokyo, Moscow - and the end credits do suggest location shooting), even if it's still one location within the story itself. And, while the gunfights tend to be a bit of a bore now (just how long can you keep firing seemingly unlimited bullets at the undead) as is Alice running/fighting in slow motion, some of the fight sequences are impressive, especially the final showdown being a major highlight for fight fans. Director Anderson had done something similar in his last movie (The Three Musketeers) in keeping to one fight sequence for extended takes rather than using multiple cuts. That's always much appreciated especially since it shows off the fight choreography very nicely. By the end of the movie tho, it all falls into some very predictable areas and the customary ending (all the Resident Evil movies end with some sense of a cliffhanger) might suggest that it's all a set-up for the endgame. In reflection, it does feel like every two movies is one chapter, so this and the next might actually be the final chapter of the entire movie saga. The stage is set and the possibility of every single one of the characters who have appeared so far is primed for one final reappearance (Claire and Chris Redfield as well as K-Mart are missing here and we don't know what their fate is at this time), thanks to the clones. Who actually returns remains to be seen. Really, if you've come this far, are you going to stop now? In all, this is a transitory movie, more for a showcase of action scenes and trying out some new effects or techniques. It probably should be mentioned that the teasers and the trailers do not reflect what goes on in the movie. Only a small portion is true, but a lot of what has appeared and suggested in the teasers and trailers so far don't really appear in the movie itself. Still, as with most of Anderson's other movies, this is very much a B-Movie with an A-Grade sheen added to it. Strong technical aspects won't turn away the complaints of predictability and some dull action scenes. But really, would you care?
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