Resident Evil: The Final Chapter - directed by Paul W.S Anderson
Does anyone really believe that this is the 'Final Chapter' in a series that spans six movies and despite pretty much running out of ideas before the credits rolled on the first one just kept on ticking?
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Ruby Rose, Iain Glen, Shawn Roberts, Eoin Macken, Fraser James, William Levy, Rola, Ever Anderson, Joon-Gi Lee, Aubrey Shelton
Screenplay: Paul W.S Anderson
Music Score by: Paul Haslinger
Cinematography: Glen MacPherson
Edited by: Doobie White
Running Time: 106 minutes
Language: English
Rated: R16 - Gory Violence and Profanity
Running Time: 106 minutes
Language: English
Rated: R16 - Gory Violence and Profanity
Does anyone really believe that this is the 'Final Chapter' in a series that spans six movies and despite pretty much running out of ideas before the credits rolled on the first one just kept on ticking?
(More on that later but just quietly the answer is 'no')
I went into "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter" with the same mindset that I always do.
Could be ridiculous, mindless fun... let's give it a whirl.
It was the same thought I had going into "XXX: The Return of Xander Cage" and sadly that didn't turn out too well.
And here we go again... this is a pretty disappointing flick even with those low exepectations.
I found XXX to be plain stupid and it is a word that fits "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter" but in a slightly different way.
XXX was stupid in the way it didn't care for any form of reality.
I didn't expect it to follow the laws of physics or even common sense but some consistency in its own universe would have been nice.
Well, "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter" is consistent in itself - everything feels about as over the top as always.
No, the problem with it is that it clearly struggled to find a reason to exist and opts for the dumbest cop out plot devices I have seen recently.
That character that died last time after a lengthy 'boss battle'?.... oh, he was a clone so the real one is still alive.
The powers that Milla Jovovich's Alice had that made her so formidable?
Kind of doesn't have them any more.
The Red Queen - that other bad guy that has only ever been out and out evil?.... suddenly actually a good guy.
And so it goes until every corner the previous five movies had worked the screenwriter into are band-aided up with as much finesse as a Boy Scout going for his first First Aid badge!
The story such as it is centres on Alice (Milla Jovovich) trying to get back to the ruins of Raccoon City to retrieve an anti-virus that will destroy anyone or anything infected with the T Virus.
Umbrella want to stop her but she is aided by a group lead by old friend Claire Redfield (Ali Larter)
The movie plays out like someone saw "Mad Max: Fury Road" and thought that they could do just as well but with extra zombies.
This is a post-apocalyptic world filled with armoured trucks and motorcycles and it really is just a big long journey with constant action along the way.
It barely stops for breath much like George Miller's modern classic.
All comparisons should end there though.
The film just tumbles along as if it is trying hard to reach feature length.
It copy-pastes its own scenes frequently with a notable culprit being two scenes back to back featuring the Cerberus dogs.
But who cares?
Do we expect good plots and logic from these movies?
I certainly don't and good job too because there ain't none.
What I do hope for however is good action nicely executed.
And the fact that the action scenes in this movie are nearly all bordering on the unwatchable is why it fails as badly as it does.
This is as over-edited a movie as I have ever seen.
Many, many times I was aware that someone had fired a gun and that someone else had died as a result but the events in between were a total mystery to me.
I would love to know how many cuts there are in this film.
Every single action scene is a flourish of micro cut shots that remove any geography or logic from the action.
Several threaten to be rather good such as the gasoline poured from a great height and ignited trap.
But after the promise that the good setup made it too was soon destroyed amidst a flurry of the editors knife.
It's almost as if director Anderson didn't have any faith in the actors, choreography or special effects and chose to hide the weaknesses by making sure no one could see them.
So, anything good here at all?
Milla Jovovich is great as Alice and still looks fantastic kicking zombie butt.... possibly better than ever in my opinion.
Ali Larter gets good screen time as Claire and I liked her a lot (in fairness I always do).
Some of the vehicle designs are nice and the few prosthetic effects that I could make out were decent.
But under a barrage of unnecessary cuts and a story that makes no sense whatsoever the positives are like the few remaining humans left in the Resident Evil world - lost in a sea of ugliness.
The really, really weak 3D doesn't help either.
Anderson has shown that he can use it well - his "The Three Musketeers" is a lot of fun with great visuals and very effective 3D.
If you want to see this movie I suggest going 2D.
And that title - The Final Chapter.... no... no, it is not.
I thought that they were holding true on the promise of the title but it is clear that the door is wide, wide open should this thing make any money.
I very seriously doubt that it will.
RATING: 64 / 100
CONCLUSION: Terrible over-editing, a weak story and a botched finale make this one a poor end to the series (if it actually is)
I went into "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter" with the same mindset that I always do.
Could be ridiculous, mindless fun... let's give it a whirl.
It was the same thought I had going into "XXX: The Return of Xander Cage" and sadly that didn't turn out too well.
And here we go again... this is a pretty disappointing flick even with those low exepectations.
I found XXX to be plain stupid and it is a word that fits "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter" but in a slightly different way.
XXX was stupid in the way it didn't care for any form of reality.
I didn't expect it to follow the laws of physics or even common sense but some consistency in its own universe would have been nice.
Well, "Resident Evil: The Final Chapter" is consistent in itself - everything feels about as over the top as always.
No, the problem with it is that it clearly struggled to find a reason to exist and opts for the dumbest cop out plot devices I have seen recently.
That character that died last time after a lengthy 'boss battle'?.... oh, he was a clone so the real one is still alive.
The powers that Milla Jovovich's Alice had that made her so formidable?
Kind of doesn't have them any more.
The Red Queen - that other bad guy that has only ever been out and out evil?.... suddenly actually a good guy.
And so it goes until every corner the previous five movies had worked the screenwriter into are band-aided up with as much finesse as a Boy Scout going for his first First Aid badge!
 |
| It's Resident Evil meets Mad Max: Fury Road.... at least it wishes it was |
Umbrella want to stop her but she is aided by a group lead by old friend Claire Redfield (Ali Larter)
The movie plays out like someone saw "Mad Max: Fury Road" and thought that they could do just as well but with extra zombies.
This is a post-apocalyptic world filled with armoured trucks and motorcycles and it really is just a big long journey with constant action along the way.
It barely stops for breath much like George Miller's modern classic.
All comparisons should end there though.
The film just tumbles along as if it is trying hard to reach feature length.
It copy-pastes its own scenes frequently with a notable culprit being two scenes back to back featuring the Cerberus dogs.
But who cares?
Do we expect good plots and logic from these movies?
I certainly don't and good job too because there ain't none.
What I do hope for however is good action nicely executed.
And the fact that the action scenes in this movie are nearly all bordering on the unwatchable is why it fails as badly as it does.
This is as over-edited a movie as I have ever seen.
Many, many times I was aware that someone had fired a gun and that someone else had died as a result but the events in between were a total mystery to me.
I would love to know how many cuts there are in this film.
Every single action scene is a flourish of micro cut shots that remove any geography or logic from the action.
Several threaten to be rather good such as the gasoline poured from a great height and ignited trap.
But after the promise that the good setup made it too was soon destroyed amidst a flurry of the editors knife.
It's almost as if director Anderson didn't have any faith in the actors, choreography or special effects and chose to hide the weaknesses by making sure no one could see them.
 |
| Ali Larter, MIlla Jovovich and Ruby Rose but still time for a boardroom meeting or two |
Milla Jovovich is great as Alice and still looks fantastic kicking zombie butt.... possibly better than ever in my opinion.
Ali Larter gets good screen time as Claire and I liked her a lot (in fairness I always do).
Some of the vehicle designs are nice and the few prosthetic effects that I could make out were decent.
But under a barrage of unnecessary cuts and a story that makes no sense whatsoever the positives are like the few remaining humans left in the Resident Evil world - lost in a sea of ugliness.
The really, really weak 3D doesn't help either.
Anderson has shown that he can use it well - his "The Three Musketeers" is a lot of fun with great visuals and very effective 3D.
If you want to see this movie I suggest going 2D.
And that title - The Final Chapter.... no... no, it is not.
I thought that they were holding true on the promise of the title but it is clear that the door is wide, wide open should this thing make any money.
I very seriously doubt that it will.
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