Review by: Mila Pantovich

“Resident Evil: Afterlife”

Director/Writer: Paul W.S. Anderson

Genre: Action/Science Fiction

Rating: R

Runtime: 97 min.

“Resident Evil: Afterlife” is the fourth film in the “Resident Evil” series, based off of the popular video game franchise. With three films preceding it, one would assume that the story has been finely tuned and perfected with years of experience. However, what the audience gets instead is a film completely lacking in story, credible dialogue, believable characters, or any sense of depth beyond the well-done 3D animation. With characters speaking in stilted military commands and a story that grows tedious and repetitive, the film seems to only be a 3D platform for returning writer and director, Paul W.S. Anderson.

The film follows Alice (Milla Jovovich) in her continued, and nearly pointless, struggle to take down the Umbrella Corporation. Alice spends the beginning of the film in search of Claire (Ali Larter) and the rest of the survivors that she was separated from at the end of the previous film.  The group had gone in search of the elusive Arcadia, a place of promised refuge from the dangerous T-virus that turns people into zombie-like monsters. Upon finding Claire, Alice joins a group of people who are trapped in the middle of Los Angeles, surrounded by the infected masses, with no way of escape. Within this group of stock characters is an ex-sports star (Boris Kodjoe), an arrogant Hollywood producer (Kim Coates) and his timid intern (Norman Yeung), and Chris (Wentworth Miller), a man with familial connections to Claire that come across forced and entirely of convenience. Together, they discover the reality of Arcadia, while Alice is unknowingly pulled into yet another evil plan, orchestrated by the film’s lifeless evildoer Albert Wesker (Shawn Roberts), of the Umbrella Corporation.

Like the past “Resident Evil” films, the plot suffers greatly to the importance of the special effects used to give the fight scenes more impact. The director Paul W.S. Anderson makes good use of the James Cameron and Vince Pace 3D Fusion Camera System that was created for “Avatar,” giving “Resident Evil: Afterlife” a visual depth that allow the viewers to feel a part of the action onscreen, thus being the only aspect keeping them from giving up on the film entirely. The use of 3D attempts to distract the viewers from the complete lack of story progression where nothing is gained in the film and there is little point behind anything the characters experience. Slow motion is used in nearly every scene, quickly becoming an annoyance by dragging on self-important looks shared between characters as they shoot paths through the infected zombies closing in. The film can be broken into segments of fight scenes that fail to connect with one another, quickly killing characters off-screen, while moving along at a hurried pace towards the intended climax. However, with the credits rolling 20 minutes too soon, the end comes without warning and fails to satisfy, leaving the audience without any sort of resolution to the 97 minutes they just endured.

When it comes to actual story, there seems to be nothing left to squeeze from the tired “Resident Evil” franchise and yet, the promise of a fifth installment ends the film as a looming threat. There is no doubt that another sequel is in the works, preparing to throw Alice in the middle another battle with an unreachable end to the franchise. Ultimately, the “Afterlife” that the title promises is completely joyless and without refuge – for the characters and the audience.

Review by: Mila Pantovich