Resident Evil: Afterlife

So I really had low expectations for this movie and saw it simply because it was a new release and was curious to see the new James Cameron Fusion camera system at work. I knew there had been lots of movies in this franchise ( four, I’ve now verified) and I vaguely only remembered seeing the first one. I was quite surprised when this movie actually turned out to be pretty badass and those cameras are very impressive. It earned the top spot this past weekend and has already made over $68 million worldwide with a budget of only $60 million. It’s also the 7^th biggest opener for the month of September ever.

 

The plot follows the main character Alice, Mila Jovovich, in a world where the zombie virus has taken over and there are virtually no survivors left. She works against the evil Umbrella corporation and tries to find the infamous ‘ Arcadia ’ which is promised to be a virus free haven for the remaining human survivors of the world. She teams up with Wentworth Miller and Ali Larter along the way.

 

Apparently the plot incorporates several aspects from not only the video games but also the previous movies, although I would have no clue otherwise. The premise of the movie is explained somewhat and it was easy to follow without seeing the previous movies. Not everything was crystal clear but it didn’t defer from the overall plot of the movie. There were tons of horror cliché’s in the movie but it was still exciting with different plot changes, characters, and location changes. The plot was pretty much what I was expecting from the action/horror genre. A lot of the character’s choices and motivations are not that believable but afterall it is a zombie movie. This is also a movie where nobody ever seems to run out of ammo and can survive terrible falls and crashes with ease, hence the numerous cliché’s found in this movie.

 

What made this movie good was the cinematography and the action sequences. That Cameron camera is simply beautiful. The opening sequence was extraordinarily beautiful with the multiple angles of slow motion rain dropping down onto a single girl. There were lots of other shots like this in movie that looked like they had to be CGI but were obviously live action. This is also the first live action movie to be shot in 3D based off a video game. Honestly, I think the 3D took away from the beautiful cinematography. There was a fight sequence with Mila Jovovich, Ali Larter, and the Axeman which was one of the best fight sequences I’ve seen in quite some time. It was Rumble In the Bronx good – or even Matrix good. That was probably my favorite part of the movie. The score was also completely in keeping with the movie and made a lot of the sequences feel cooler than they actually were.

 

The performances were fine and exactly what one would expect from an action/horror movie. The leads were very pleasing on the eyes and believable for the most part. The characters were obviously very stereotypical and static but again this wasn’t a character study.

 

Overall, I was actually very surprised by this movie. The only reason to see it is for the awesome sequences. The plot and characters don’t add anything but don’t really take anything away. It had a lot of jumpy moments and some gross effects, but it wasn’t anything over the top. I didn’t find it very scary, apart from the one part of the movie where I literally batted at the screen because a 3D zombie popped out at me. Honestly, I would have really liked to have seen this in 2D to see just how awesome the cinematography really was and yes I understand that the Fusion system is a 3D system, but still. I’d only like to see a sequel if it employed the same cinematography approach as this one. “Five years ago, a virus escaped and everybody died. Trouble was . . . they didn’t stay dead.” – Resident Evil: Afterlife.