By Robert Mann.
Following up the totally awesome Avatar was never going to be an easy feat for any 3D movie but so far no 2010 movies seem to have even tried to deliver the quality of 3D that was on display in that film. In fact, 2010 has been a rather underwhelming year for 3D all round with the format’s once stellar reputation having been damaged
severely by lousy last minute post production conversion jobs such as Clash of the Titans and The Last Airbender, films that charged a 3D price without offering 3D quality and thus damaged the perception many moviegoers have towards 3D movies. So, understandably, there is a lot resting on Resident Evil: Afterlife, the first film since Avatar to be shot with the revolutionary James Cameron/Vincent Pace Fusion Camera System that was developed specifically for that film. Early word of mouth regarding the 3D in this film has been stellar so it’s a given even without actually seeing the film that the 3D on display here is amazing but this isn’t just a film made for the sake of 3D, rather one that was planned even before the current 3D revolution in cinema. The success of the last three Resident Evil movies, which grossed increasing amounts at the international box office, all but assured that this fourth movie in the franchise would be made so the real question is, does the film manage to deliver amazing 3D without compromising anything else in its make up?
Five years have passed since the world was devastated by a plague that turned the population into flesh-craving zombies. After taking on the Umbrella Corporation’s powerful forces at their base in Tokyo along with her army of clones and seemingly putting an end to the Corporation and its sinister leader Wesker (Shawn Roberts) once and for all, Alice (Milla Jovovich) continues her quest to find survivors. She heads to Alaska, an alleged safe haven for survivors, but finds only one – her old ally Claire Redfield (Ali Larter), who has clearly had something done to her and has no memory of what has happened or even who she is. Realising that something is definitely amiss, they follow a new promise of salvation, one that leads them to Los Angeles. However, when they arrive the city is overrun with the undead and the only survivors – former sports star Luther West (Boris Kodjoe), supposed murderer Chris Redfield (Wentworth Miller), who turns out to be Claire’s brother, Bennett (Kim Coates), a former movie producer who only cares for himself, Kim Young (Normal Yeung), Bennett’s loyal intern, former wannabe actress Crystal (Kacey Barnfield), Angel (Sergio Peris-Mencheta) and Wendell (Fulvio Cecere) – have holed up in an abandoned prison. To make matters worse it appears that they’ve unwittingly walked into the deadliest of traps. With the Umbrella Corp holed up underground, Alice and her comrades have the fight of all fights on their hands, taking their struggle for survival to new pulse-quickening levels.
With Resident Evil: Afterlife, writer/producer/director Paul W.S. Anderson (returning to the director’s chair for the first time since the first film back in 2002) has effectively rebooted the franchise while also expanding on and basing the film in the universe that he has already created with the past films in the series. Not only has he given the film a brand new look and style (something with each of the movies thus far have done to some extent but is even more evident in this latest sequel) and upped the scale and scope massively, making this a very different film to its predecessors in more ways than one, he has also provided both resolution to the huge cliffhanger from the end of Resident Evil: Extinction and a sort of reset for the storyline and main character at the same time. Opening in Tokyo, the film picks up right where the last one left off with the superhuman Alice and her army of clones taking on the army of the Umbrella Corporation at their underground base there. Once her mission is (seemingly) completed, however, a deus ex machina sees a newly depowered Alice going it alone without her clones to back her up, thus changing the direction of the franchise in quite a substantial way. In fact, changing direction is a key thing that this film does with this film being truly unlike any of the other chapters in the franchise and arguably being the best chapter in the series, provided you see it in 3D of course. You see, while the film was not going to happen one way or another anyway and thus was not specifically made for the sake of making a Resident Evil film in 3D, the film has very much been designed with 3D in mind and for this reason the action sequences just won’t have the same impact if you’re seeing the 2D version of the film (assuming there even is one).
Aided by visual effects that are quite amazing, particularly given the relatively low production budget for the film, the 3D here truly is worth the extra cost of a 3D cinema ticket and, while it pretty much does the opposite of what James Cameron intended for 3D by not just focusing on creating depth inwards (which the film does actually do and do very well – the sight of a virtually destroyed Los Angeles in 3D is truly awe-inspiring) but also embracing the old fashioned gimmicky approach to 3D with stuff flying towards the screen left right and centre, this is a film that he may well be proud of nonetheless, the 3D effects truly being sensational and offering an experience that so far only Avatar can really rival. The action sequences truly are amazing with the added extra dimension, particularly the opening shootout sequence involving Alice and her clones, which is perhaps one of the most exciting things you will see on the big screen this year, and it really feels as if you aren’t simply watching the action but are actually there in the midst of it. The application of 3D doesn’t just work excellently in the action but also in other aspects as well with the horror (of which there is a stronger vein running through the film than in the previous movies, even though action still takes precedence) aspect gaining a new level of terror, particularly in a sequence where a giant hammer is thrown towards the screen, a sequence that will make you flinch in your seat, and a whole host of scary monsters – it’s not just zombies this time – being unleashed towards the screen.
The 3D is also excellent in more simple ways with water being used brilliantly in a number of sequences – in the opening Tokyo sequence it almost feels like it is raining in the cinema – and a simple zoom in from a shot of Earth from space to the world beneath almost creating the impression that we are actually falling down to Earth from space. Of course, with so much emphasis placed on 3D you may well expect other aspects of the film to suffer but fortunately this isn’t really the case, not to too great an extent at least. The music is fantastic with a great soundtrack by Tomandandy really giving the action an extra oomph and, while the plot does indeed take a backseat to the 3D and action (which isn’t entirely untrue of the other films either), it is still competent and there certainly enough of it to ensure that this is more than just a series of action sequences randomly linked together. Obviously originality also isn’t something that this film has going for it. Much like the films that have preceded it, the film plunders ideas from/pays homage to (take your pick) a whole host of other sci-fi and horror movies, among them The Matrix, Dawn of the Dead and Alien Resurrection. But the film is never disrespectful of its clear inspirations and the film is so well done that you won’t mind it borrowing ideas.
On the acting front, obviously there are no Oscar worthy performances here but that isn’t to say there aren’t some decent performances on show. Milla Jovovich and Ali Larter (whose character plays a far more prominent role this time around, really getting in on the action) are superb tough, kick-ass heroines, both handling the action well and doing decently on the acting front. Replacing Jason O’Mara from Extinction, Shawn Roberts is supremely menacing as the villainous Wesker (who is the main baddie this time). And everyone else is at least decent, even if it is clear that some of them are basically filling in obvious stereotypic roles, particularly Kim Coates who fills the role of obligatory annoying character. Fans will likely be disappointed, however, by the fact that Sienna Guillory’s return as Jill Valentine (last seen in the second film, Resident Evil: Apocalypse) is little more than a cameo appearance during the closing credits that sets the stage for the next film, this one ending with yet another cliffhanger, leaving the door wide open for the inevitable fifth film in the series, which looks to go off in a very different direction once again. Resident Evil: Afterlife (when seen in 3D) is easily the best film in the series and far from coming across as gimmicky, like you might expect given the approach taken towards the 3D here, it really is an extremely immersive piece of entertainment. The film allows you to experience “a new dimension of evil” and this dimension rules. Simply put, this film is (un)dead good fun and you will definitely leave the cinema excited about the prospect of the fifth movie hinted at by the ending.
