Alice (Milla Jovovich) heads to Tokyo with intentions on invading the Umbrella corporations chief headquarters headed by Albert Wesker (Shawn Roberts). The confrontation comes to a quick end, and Alice is next seen heading to Alaska to meet up with Claire Redfield (Ali Larter) and her surviving convoy. After meeting up with Claire, the two fly to California and soon find themselves hold up in a prison complex with other survivors, and the undead are in groups of thousands waiting outside trying desperately to get in. -summary
The Resident Evil franchise could never really be accused of originality or very strong plots. Hell, they can't even be accused of being imaginative or creative. But if anyone said they weren't action packed, that would be a straight lie. Resident Evil: Afterlife goes out of its way to be an action packed extravaganza just like its predecessors. The thing is, someone needs to let these folks know that a good story and plot never really hurt a movie, quite the opposite, it actually helps the movie into being a better one.
Returning to the director's chair for the fourth film in the franchise, Paul W.S. Anderson serves up an action fest, that was clearly meant to exercise the 3-D effects. This is a serious case of style over substance so bad to the point, where the movie actually contains some plot holes here and there, and the action scenes are only meant to push one paper thin to the next. Resident Evil: Afterlife feels very much like the Matrix, with an abundance of slow motion and bullet dancing. The close ups can be pretty cool at times, and the special effects are very nice. I think the 3-D effects fit this movie like a glove, and it clearly boasts the best action scenes in the franchise. There's a good amount of gore with bullets blowing holes through heads, and even a head being completely blown off. Outside of some weak death scenes by zombie hands here and there, I can't really say anything negative about the action. I also enjoyed the return of the the Crimson Head zombies, with a sick feature to them where their mouths enlarge to ensnare their victims. For the most part, I believe action junkies will be happy here.
The plot follows Alice, Claire, and their new friends as they plan to leave the prison, and make off for a ship called the Arcadia. It's said that this place is a safe haven from the virus, and there's plenty of food and shelter, in other words, there's some type of hope for these people. Now, unlike the action, I have nothing but negative things to say about the plot. It's pretty much lifeless, and I think Anderson took lousy advantage of just about everything. Now first of all, he already expects the viewer to have knowledge of the series, by kicking things off with the Alice clones. The problem here is that he doesn't do a damn thing with them. They're only present for the initial action scene, but there was far more potential with them, and sadly, they just come off as another gimmick. This also goes for the prison setting as it's used only to kill off characters during some very predictable moments. I mean seriously, Anderson telegraphs the films punches like a drunk brawler and nothing comes off as a surprise.
There's also another story segment that should have been left on the cutting room floor. Alice loses her superhuman abilities, and one would figure that her antics would be a little bit more in the realm of realism. No such thing, she's still pulling off superhuman feats, and it just makes one wonder why this was injected into the script in the first place. The characters are nothing more than bodies to push the plot and that's basically it. If it wasn't for Milla's charisma, and being able to look so sexy with everything she does, then this movie would be the very definition of trash. The acting, once again, is nothing to really go crazy about, but at least there was no one who came off annoying to me.
Anderson in a way feels like Michael Bay. He can botch a story with such ease, but deliver with the visual fest. However, someone needs to tell him that it takes more than top notch visuals to make a good movie. But I would be lying if I said that the action and special effects didn't move me at all. If action and visuals are your thing, or if you're a serious fan of Resident Evil, then this movie just might be for you.
Pros:
-Action and special effects
Cons:
-Action and special effects is what it's all about.
