2004 (Germany / France / UK / Canada / USA)
Contains Spoilers
Whilst I felt I
should come at the Paul W.S. Anderson's second instalment in the fun popcorn
flick franchise expecting to be both dissatisfied with it as a coherent action
movie and also with its zombie credentials, in truth I was actually looking
forward to just being entertained with more of the same. For some reason the
Resident Evil series whilst being a huge commercial success, has failed to gain
the respect or acknowledgement from zombie film fans; maybe it's that old adage that makes niche and publicly successful mutually exclusive, or maybe I'm just easily
satisfied. I mean the zombie genre if we're honest doesn't necessarily demand
the highest levels of narrative control or strict serious portrayal of its
subject matter, and quite frankly often and successfully plays with this fact.
I've watched and enjoyed many a cult classic that under closer scrutiny fall
apart, so why Resident Evil should be singularly picked apart so mercilessly is
beyond me. I really didn't see much wrong with the first film. It remained true
to its video-game roots as well as forging a new narrative branch of its own,
its portrayal of zombies was authentic, brutal and didn't stray from
established zombie canon, and I felt it satisfied my zombie itch as well as
being a good fun kick-ass action film.
And more of the same
I got. Directly following the events of Resident Evil Alice again played again
Milla Jovovich and again naked to start with, wakes up in a secure Umbrella
hospital in Raccoon City. Pulling out her wires and tubes she stumbles out into
a city ravaged by the escape of the T-virus from the Hive alone and confused.
It's all very apocalyptic, I Am Legend, and very reminiscent of 28 Days Later which was released a couple of years earlier. Slowly regaining her memories
Alice learns that during her incarceration she has been experimented on and now
possesses superhuman strength and agility; hold on I hear you say, isn't that
like the first film and well yes it is but this time she's an even more
kick-ass superhuman than before and is aware of the fact pretty much from the
off.
On the other side of
the city police officer Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory) attempting to help
evacuate the remaining survivors through an Umbrella checkpoint witnesses
firsthand the mega-corporation's callous disregard of law and human rights as
they close it off condemning those left inside to certain death. Seeking refuge
in an abandoned church with Sergeant Peyton Wells (Razaaq Adoti) and news
reporter Terri Morales (Sandrine Holt) we learn that as well as facing zombies
they have to deal with overwhelming supermutants, but fortunately, and with a
dramatic entrance, they have Alice on their side.
Alice and the gang
soon get offered the chance of escape but only if they can locate and rescue
the now isolated and trapped daughter Angela (Sophie Vavasseur) of Dr. Charles
Ashford (Jared Harris) the Umbrella scientist responsible for T-virus, which was
originally intended as a cure for her rare genetic illness. Ashford also
extends the offer to Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr) and his team of Umbrella
soldiers who have also been abandoned in the city after setting down to defend
innocent citizens from the zombie onslaught and the two groups team up against
all that Umbrella head honcho Timothy Cain (Thomas Kretschmann) can throw at
them, which includes the latest subject in the Nemesis project.
With the virus out
of control, the city designated for nuclear destruction and Alice on the loose
Cain sees the perfect opportunity for a live combat experimentation. Taken
straight from the video games Umbrella unleashes Nemesis project; a huge,
hulking, monstrous humanoid born from perverted T-Virus experimentation uses
powerful heavy weaponry and computer controlled guidance on Alice and the gang
and in true video game style this even leads to highly styled, action packed
and rather contrived boss-fight ending to the film.
Yes it's all a bit far-fetched and
unsubstantial, and you feel what narrative there is, is really there just to
drive the many action sequences, but it's all relatively coherent does a good
enough job to hold it all together. Gone is the tight claustrophobic feel of
the first film; now replaced with the large urban sprawl of the city and a
focus on big budget expansive scenes and action. Make no mistake Resident Evil:
Apocalypse isn't a horror film and other than a few scenes in the school that
you feel were put in for something to talk about; the film is unashamedly an
action flick. There's explosions, gun fights, martial arts, helicopters, hordes
of zombies getting shot and a big kick-ass climax and it all flies past at
quite a pace, Anderson obviously reluctant to give anyone a chance to stop and
question what exactly is taking place.
Now I enjoyed the
first film and I can say I enjoyed this as well. It is what it is and pulls it
off with style and aplomb. Jovovich shines in the role once again as the rest
of the cast struggle to impose themselves, but there's no bad performances and her
interactions with them feels genuine enough. There's also the question of
whether it's really a zombie film. Unlike the first film where the main protagonist
was most definitely the zombies throughout, this time the central battle is really Alice
against Nemesis and the zombies take a bit of back-seat; it's more an action film with zombies more than
a zombie film per se. This being said the pandemic
is still very much real and the undead horde still play a very
prominent part; there's gruesome deaths, dramatic expansive sequences in Raccoon City, lots of biting and head shots and they are still the ever present constant. It's still very much a zombie film in my book.
Just because one
rarely sees an entry from the Resident Evil franchise in top zombie film lists
doesn't mean one should ignore them; if you watch them for what you'll find
they're competent, compelling and extremely well put together additions to the
genre. Like it's predecessor Resident Evil: Apocalypse is fresh, fun and a
great action pop-corn zombie flick; just don't think too hard, 7/10.
Steven@WTD.
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