Holy bazingas. Who would have thought that such an esteemed film critic as yours truly would ever strongly recommend a “Resident Evil” movie? Well, it’s happening — “Resident Evil: Afterlife,” the fourth film in the franchise, is an absolute blast. Yes, the Earth is still round and Terrelle Pryor still can’t read “Green Eggs & Ham,” but there now exists a video-game movie that totally does not suck. With stunning action choreography, the intense charisma of Mila Jovovich and incredible use of 3-D, “Resident Evil: Afterlife” is tons and tons of fun.
“Resident Evil: Afterlife”
Screen Gems
At Quality 16 and Rave
Agreed, part of this love for “Afterlife” definitely stems from the low expectations coming in. The first three movies were all fairly mediocre, watchable only because of an intriguing storyline and handfuls of entertaining action sequences. Plus, there’s a negative correlation between the number of movies in a franchise and the quality of each successive film. So pseudo-statistically, the fourth “Resident Evil” looked like it was going to be a blah-fest.
Seriously, it’s not. But this is still a bit of a precarious review. The handy-dandy star rating and forthcoming gushing really only apply for those familiar with both the “Resident Evil” films and video games. The film doesn’t bother with exposition — without watching the previous three films, “Afterlife” won’t make a lick of sense.
The opening sequence, in which Jovovich (naturally clothed in skin-tight leather) slices through hundreds of dudes in a corporate hideout whilst performing crazy-cool acrobatics, is a great example of this. It looks superb and offers some tremendous stunts, but would be epically confusing for anyone who hasn’t seen the previous film, subtitled “Extinction.” Even though “Afterlife” soon changes gears to post-apocalyptic Los Angeles and becomes a more straightforward “get from point A to point B before zombies murder us” tale, viewing the first three films is an advised prerequisite.
Those who have played through the video game “Resident Evil 5” would appreciate “Afterlife” the most, as the film is chock-full of winks and nods to fans of the game. Surprise characters from the “Resident Evil” canon pop up in this film alongside an intense throwdown with the undead, axe-wielding Executioner and a climactic fight against the annoyingly shifty super-badass Albert Wesker (Shawn Roberts, “Edge of Darkness”).
And man, do these battles look gorgeous, especially because of the 3-D. As it proudly proclaims, “Afterlife” was shot using the 3-D cameras created by James Cameron. So unlike the post-converted 3-D trash that hit screens earlier this year (see: “Clash of the Titans”), 3-D in this film is used to create an enveloping experience, much like in “Avatar.” Nuclear explosions and slobbering zombie attacks have never felt more up close and personal.
The film’s story isn’t particularly arresting, but it doesn’t have to be — the action carries the film. Many people are sure to be frustrated by the unbelievably excessive use of slo-mo, but think of it as the director’s attempt to let the audience appreciate how damn beautiful everything looks. “Resident Evil: Afterlife” is a solid enough cinematic experience to make renting the first three and plowing through them worthwhile, just to prepare to watch the newest one in theaters. You’ve all seen “Inception” four times by now, so it’s OK to turn off your brain and watch zombies get slaughtered for 90 minutes. In 3-D!