Movie Review: Resident Evil Afterlife – 3D

By Michael Vass | September 11, 2010

The first and most important thing that this review can say about this film is that you should NEVER see it in 3D. It’s just a gimmick by movie studios and theaters to grab and extra $4 (45% extra) from your pocket. The collective 5 minutes of scenes where it really adds to the film is not worth the extra cash.

Seperate of my dislike of movie studios stealing money from me for no benefit, Resident Evil: Afterlife is exactly the film you expect it to be. It has a decent plot, that feels at times exactly like playing the video games. It has generous helpings of gunplay and explosions. It also has a couple of decent fight scenes. Plus there are some special effects that work very well.

The film starts off with a quick intro scene that recaps generally how the world got to the point in which the film exists. By the end of the opening credits, if you somehow did not know of the T-virus you will be up to date. From there we go along to where the 3rd film finished off.

Alice (Milla Jovovich) is pissed off, and intent on making good her threat to take out the chairman of Umbrella Corp, Albert Wesker (Shawn Roberts). From the last film we know he is located in Japan, of course in a Hive underground. But not just any old Hive, this one is a mini-city sized castle-like expanse. Though we see it digitally it looks impressive.

Like all the movies we only get to see a portion of the Hive complex. But that glimpse exudes high-tech gadgets, and a sense of clinical minimalism. With a huge army to keep the place secure. That is until Alice gets there.

That is the Alice clones. Without giving away more some of the most fun scenes of the film take place in the first 15 minutes. Also half of all the cool 3D moments of the film take place in this sequence.

The film never quite matches the exuberance and pace of the start, something that can’t be missed as you watch the film. But the pace and scenes that we do get are a cut above most of the fare moviegoers have had to deal with all summer. In regard to the series itself, this film is tied to the 2nd film in terms of quality and feel. Both are behind the first film in all respects except special effects.

Speaking of the special effects, there are plenty of them. Lots of CGI explosions (the Japan effect was the best), new zombie effects straight out of the RE5 video game – though no explaination is even attempted as to why different zombie types suddenly exist. There is of course the new T-virus dogs, seen in trailers. Very cool. And there are other CGI effects, but thankfully most of the rest as smaller and less frequent.

The soundtrack is good in that it never overwhelms the audience. Again in a cue from the video games there are several scenes where the soundtrack is as telltale clue to the action about to happen on the screen. Beyond that there is nothing to get overly excited about.

The look of the film is another matter though. 3D or not, it is obvious that the start of the movie is far different than the rest of the film. The scenery, the colors, the crispness of photography drops substantially once Japan is gone. It may well have been done on purpose, to match the desperate tone of the majority of the film, but the difference just hits harshly. I found it to be a distraction at times.

On the plus side, there are several scenes that capture the shadowy, dark, unknown-situation-around-the-corner feel that the video games embody. It’s that feeling that lead to the conversion to a film in the first place and it was not forgotten in this film.

The plot on the other hand goes in a few different directions. The initial idea behind the film was obviously not the concept that was envisioned for the rest of the film. The biggest plothole seems to involve Alice. What we are told by Wesker early on seems to be invalidated almost directly after his statement is made. Several times through the film Alice displays actions that completely counter the premise of the end of the Japan sequence.

Yes this is an action/sci fi/horror film. Plot is not the most essential item in a sci-fi/horror type of movie. But one of the things that makes the Resident Evil series work so well (excluding the 3rd in the series) is that the plot doesn’t have gapping holes. Still the storyline holds up mostly, until the end again. Like the end of the 2nd film the end is useless except to fortell that a 5th film in the series should be expected.

Hint
Keep an eye out to the lower left quarter of the screen in the climax scene at the end of film to see how the sequel has been built in.
Hint end

Alice is not the only character to have plot flaws. The return of Claire Redfield (Ali Larter) is choppy at best. The introduction of her brother Chris (Wentworth Miller) is little better. And the return of K-Mart is useless.

Excusing these plot gaps, the film moves along well enough. The Executioner boss (seen in trailers) is compelling. Though it would be better if any type of explaination as to the creation and purpose of the boss had been made. But enough of that.

Overall fans of the series will enjoy this film. Alice is as interesting and take charge as ever. Miscellaneous characters die off in interesting and sudden ways that are not repeatative. Major support characters do what would be expected. The ultimate boss fight is a bit of a letdown, but by then it’s somewhat expected.

OH! there is a bonus.

After the credits start off, about 45 seconds into them a cut scene occurs. It is even further proof of a sequel, the 5th in the series, is planned. Without details being given, the one thing that can be said is this must have been an after thought. The scene plays out completely out of touch with the rest of the film. It’s just so campy and over the top. In fact, it looked as if it was footage taken from the floor of the GI Joe movie. Yes it was that bad. To bad it features Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory).

Final suggestion. Wait and buy the DVD. Compared to the cost of seeing the film in 3D, you will break even. In fact if you buy anything at the movie theater you will be ahead buying the DVD instead. You won’t be missing anything not seeing it in 3D. Plus, after watching the film you will want to revisit the opening fights more than remeber the end.

Rating: 9.0/10 (1 vote cast)