Monday 10 January 2011

DVD REVIEW: Resident Evil: Afterlife - Milla Jovovich, Wentworth Miller, Dir: Paul WS Anderson

Release Date: 10/01/11

SYNOPSIS:

Experience a new dimension in action horror as director Paul W.S. Anderson uses the 3D technology pioneered by James Cameron and Vincent Pace to take movie lovers on a nightmare thrill-ride. It's been five years since the zombie virus swept across the globe, and Alice (Milla Jovovich) is still traveling tirelessly in search of survivors. When the Umbrella Corporation ratchets up the stakes, an old friend turns up to lend Alice a helping hand. Rumor has it that some survivors have found sanctuary in Los Angeles, but when Alice and friends show up they find the city overrun with zombies, and quickly realize they've stumbled into a diabolical trap. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi


REVIEW:

As a huge fan of all things Resident Evil I was a little disappointed with the third film and hoped that they’d really pick things up for this, the fourth. Alas my hopes were dashed as the title started out being ridiculous and ended up keeping the silly outline that felt flat whilst appearing to be nothing we haven’t seen before

Within the film there were nods to Dawn of the Dead as well as the Walking Dead (also with a tip of the hat to a certain villain in Silent Hill) and when backed with what felt like type casting for Wentworth Miller (he starts off in a prison cell) really left me feeling like I didn’t know what the hell the franchise was trying to achieve. Effects wise they seemed to borrow heavily from the Matrix, which whilst cutting edge for its time is now feeling a little more than dated and over used.

Finally back that up with lacklustre plot with the characters just seeking to go from A-B without any real depth or reasoning and you were left with a film that followed a basic set of numbers without achieving anything. I really hope that if a fifth instalment is made that they get someone in to script it that knows what they’re doing or perhaps even open it for fans to writer as I personally felt that they could have done a better job.

2 comments:

Courtney Rene said...

Althought the first and second installments for this franchise were entertaining, after the 3rd I didn't even bother with looking into the 4th. I am glad to see that my instints were correct. Thanks for the great review. I wont even bother adding this movie to my list.

On a side note, I can't wait for The Walking Dead to season up....

ctny

Jessica Peter said...

That's what I was thinking this one might have been, which is why I haven't yet gotten around to watching it. I will, eventually...

(Although I definitely liked Milla's kick-ass outfit in RE3 - it's the basis for my heroine's outfit in my post-apocalyptic novel!)