Guilty Pleasures - Resident Evil: Apocalypse
By Shalimar Sahota
September 2, 2010
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Written by – Paul W.S. Anderson
Starring – Milla Jovovich (Alice), Sienna Guillory (Jill Valentine), Oded Fehr (Carlos Olivera), Thomas Kretschmann (Major Cain), Sandrine Holt (Terri Moralas), Jared Harris (Dr. Charles Ashford), Sophie Vavasseur (Angela Ashford), Mike Epps (L.J.)
Length – 94 minutes
Cert – 15 / R
There are movies out there considered so bad that confessing to liking them just a little bit could result in you losing friends, family members, or even your job. So we quietly leave our secrets bottled up. Now however is the time to reveal all and defend our guilty pleasures.
When it comes to the Resident Evil films, any one of them in the franchise would be deserving of being a guilty pleasure. Being a huge fan of the games, I do actually own the whole trilogy, but the general consensus (critical and fan reviews) appears to put Apocalypse as the black mutated sheep of the bunch. The odd thing about this is that Apocalypse happens to be the only film in the franchise where the storyline adheres to that of the games, taking place during the timeline of the second and third Resident Evil games.
Picking up almost immediately after the first film (which left off with a fantastic closing shot), Alice (Jovovich) is awakened at an empty hospital in Raccoon City. Stepping outside, the streets are a deserted wreck. Realizing the worst, she grabs supplies and weapons. After the Umbrella Corporation reopens their underground facility, The Hive, the result is an outbreak of the T-Virus. With the majority of civilians turning into zombies, the city is placed under quarantine. Alice joins a small group of survivors, including S.T.A.R.S. member Jill Valentine (Guillory), Umbrella soldier Carlos Olivera (Fehr), budding reporter Terri (Holt) and the profane L.J. (Epps). Escaping the city means locating Angela Ashford (Vavasseur), the daughter of Umbrella scientist Dr. Charles Ashford (Harris). Once found, he’ll send a helicopter to evacuate them. However, their task is made more difficult after Umbrella dispatches their latest bio-weapon, the huge one-eyed, machine gun wielding and rocket firing Nemesis.
After directing the first film, Paul W.S. Anderson abandoned the duty for the sequel, since he was busy ruining Aliens vs. Predator, but stayed on as writer and producer. In came Alexander Witt. Often working as a second unit director on action blockbusters, Apocalypse was the first and only film he directed, where he shows an interest in destroying as much glass as possible. A lot of the action numbingly dull, though an encounter in a church with three Licker creatures has its mix of thrills and suspense. Alice’s shootout with the Nemesis conveys the frantic pace when meeting him in the game, but is also, faithfully, too short. Her eventual third act fight with the Nemesis is shockingly bad. Shot mostly in close up with some dangerously choppy editing, this was likely done to try and hide how there’s no way anyone can realistically fight in that Nemesis costume.
The focus on Milla Jovovich’s Alice as the lead is an anomaly for the film franchise since she does not exist in any of the games (or not yet, anyway). There isn’t really much of a performance from her here, or anyone for that matter. This movie instead has actors indulging in crazy action set pieces, which is why Alice motorcycles her way through the stained glass window of a church, runs down the side of a skyscraper building (though how she gets to the roof in the first place is unknown), and towards the end she fights with one hand, while using the other to protect her already ruined modesty. Also, say what you want about tobacco use on screen. Alice at least uses her cigarette to burn mutant dogs; therefore, it’s okay.
Amazingly, Sienna Guillory has Jill Valentine from the games nailed, right down to her swagger. It would have been a real plus having her explain how she happens to know so much. Oded Fehr as Carlos Olivera is your typical badass hero, played with a little more flair than expected. This means completely disregarding his own safety when jumping out of a helicopter, shooting zombies with 100% accuracy, and delivering tacky dialogue such as, “We’re expendable assets, and we’ve just been expended.” Mike Epps is the obvious comic relief, and uses the f-word in almost every sentence.
It has to be said that when a film manages to convey the likeness of a certain book, historical account, TV series or even a sporting event, it is praised. More often then not, whenever a reviewer describes a film as like a videogame it is often in a derogatory sense. This is because videogames are immoral and anyone who plays them will go straight to hell. I can only hope that Scott Pilgrim vs The World has changed all that.
In a move that’s as bold as it is crazy, Apocalypse attempts to abandon conventional film logic and incorporate videogame rules instead. It isn’t just the story and look that’s been ported over, but also what one experiences when playing the games. Be it a countdown before escaping from a big explosion, running out of ammunition (“We’re gonna need more ammo, I’m out.”) or being told on how to dispose of a zombie (“I told you, shoot for the head.”). In an absolutely audacious move, one character sacrifices their life for someone else, only to miraculously regain life before the end credits; virtually an extra life, or using a "continue" if you will. It’s just a shame that the emotional response isn’t replicated. For a film based on an acclaimed survival horror series, this is completely devoid of any scares. The irony here is that the Resident Evil games were also inspired by George Romero’s zombie films.
Fans of the games may gain a sense of pleasure in spotting numerous references, with scenes lifted straight from the opening cut scenes of Resident Evil 3 and Code Veronica games. There are the company logos, mention of the Arklay Mountains, and Jill throwing a set of matches from Grady’s Inn. The Nemesis itself also looks authentic.
The film opened to #1 in the US, largely fueled by a fanboy rush, and eventually accumulated a worldwide gross of $129 million. This is a straightforward, by the numbers, dumb-fun, action-flick, with some moments that fall into the "so bad it’s good category," mostly any scene involving Mike Epps or the Nemesis. The final ten minutes before the credits is where it gets very unusual, ending with a gloomy cliffhanger. That it’s spawned into a franchise with a fourth film on the way is something I don’t think anyone would have predicted. With Paul W.S. Anderson back as director, one can only hope he’s been smoking the mixed herb this time.