Alice is back. And from the last installment told you that she was going to be bringing a group of friends. Alice for those who don't know from the very first movie has been the subject of the Umbrella corporation and has been wanting to bring this underground company down for all the movies. This time Alice is once again trying to bring the company down but is going to bring a few friends with her. In the last installment, Alice found a survival guide which would lead her and her team of survivors to Alaska where they would find refuge. However, that is not the case. What she finds is a baron land that is not inhabited by anyone, except her old allie Claire Redfield (Ali Larter) who has no memory as to what has happened to the rest of her crew . From there they journey back to America down the east coast trying to find any form of survivors. What they encounter is LA filled with the undead, but come across a bunch of people trying to get to Arcadia which is located in the ocean off the coast of LA including Claire's brother Chris Redfield (Wentworth Miller). But this is not going to be easy with most of the population infected with the virus and with the umbrella corporation headed by the evil Albert Wesker hot on their tails. With guns and weapons a plenty, the gang is going to make this one action packed adventure to get to there refuge on Acardia.
Paul W.S Anderson is back again writing and directing this fourth installment of the series. Paul directed the first one, but has stayed on as producer of both the sequels. This time he is going to bring something new to the table. Not only is he back directing, but has the created the entire movie in 3D using the same technology as James Cameron did for Avatar and he pulls it off nicely. He brings it back to what he originally created though with a few scares, action galore, gore, and awesome heart pumping action scenes. The first fifteen minutes of this movie is heart pounding action and needs to be seen on the big screen. Not once do you want to go to the bathroom as the action comes hard and fast with the 3D used to great effect to let the viewer feel each bullet and action moves this kick-ass chick can delve out.
Milla is back to great form as Alice as usual. She has made this character her own and is definitely going to be remembered for her role in this franchise. She literally kicks-ass with her bad ass moves and take charge attitude. We witness though her relentless quest for peace and see the desperation in her eyes to make it there. Ali Larter gives Milla a run for her money in the tough girl role. She takes charge and alone with the nice addition of her brother (Wentworth Miller) are two characters that I welcomed with open arms to this film.
But now here is what I had a problem with, and don't get me wrong I liked this movie, I just didn't love it as much as I wanted too. Firstly, with such a great opening sequence it was going to be hard to keep the adrenaline pumping for this to continue. And this is exactly what happened. There is a great lull in the time Alice leaves Tokyo to the time she finds the remaining survivors and as my friend pointed out, they wish they could have hurried to the boat. It sorted seemed like Anderson used up all his clever action pieces in the first fifteen minutes. Don't get me wrong there are some cool action scenes in the film, but none pop like the first one. Some things are not explained as in how zombies evolved, what the things were that have transformed citizens into slaves and how many of the survivors actually escaped the disease. These kinda irritated me as a simple one line could have cleared all this up.
I have to admit this movie did not hold up as well as I would have liked. As a lover of number one and three (I didn't care for number two at all, in my mind it doesn't exist it was so sloppy) this easily fails in comparison. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed it, but something was missing that existed in the other two. It might be that it has become to futuristic now or maybe it was the 3D which destroyed the mood of the piece, but as an action film it held its own well, but as a zombie action resident evil franchise it just didn't at all. Paul W.S Anderson has done a great job of directing his pet project, and Milla keeps the flame alive as Alice, but with the news that a fifth one is now in the works, maybe it is time to have a look at the first installment and see why so many people still find this one the best out of the whole quadrilogy. For any fan of the franchise, I say yes you need to see this one to compare and enjoy the gang once again back together kicking zombie butt. But as a newbie who may be unfamiliar with the franchise I say start at number one and enjoy what made this series so enjoyable and a guilty pleasure. Resident Evil:Afterlife 7/10
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