Director: Paul W.S. Anderson.
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Iain Glen, Ali Larter, Shawn Roberts, Eoin Macken, Ruby Rose, Ever Anderson.
Paul W.S. Anderson returns to direct the what I believe is the sixth instalment of the Resident Evil franchise, meaning he's now directed four out of the six movies. The only real video game-to-film franchise to be fairly successful, ranking in only a billion dollars, the first Resident Evil being released back in 2002. Now I haven't seen all the films and to be honest I can't remember which ones I have seen. I know I've definitely seen the first one and maybe the following two?
There's a quick recap covering the previous plots so you get a rough gist of what has gone on before, but the pace of the film doesn't let up and feels incredibly rushed, hashed together, sprinting through so fast there's no time for new character development meaning you feel absolutely nothing for characters quickly thrown into the fray who are actually nothing more than zombie-fodder.
It opens in a bleak, almost sepia-toned, post-apocalyptic America which reminded of The Book of Eli and The Walking Dead. A completely war torn, zombie ravaged landscape of desolate rumble and ruin. Now the plot appears to be turned on it's head in attempt to be smart, something these types of films are trying to adopt possibly from their TV show cousins. Chucking in betrayals, twists and unlikely alliances.
The zombies take a back seat in this film, just being nothing more than hungry pests. It's more focused on Iain Glen's Dr. Isaacs and it seems to dig up a few other past characters for the reunion. For a part of the film it gets a little nostalgic, returning to the hive for some silly reason that should bring this all to its final conclusion.
The film seems to pick certain elements previously used and manages to squeeze them all together, especially the hive, with familiar traps and beasts getting cameo parts making the latter part of the film feel more like a vicious Crystal Maze. I never knew Ruby Rose was such a massive fan!
Milla Jovovich is no surprise and kicks ass almost effortlessly. The action is actually very good, well choreographed and capture. The action sequences being fairly entertaining, but it doesn't make up for the really poor script and plot line. I mistaken thought Lulu Wilson from Ouija: Origin of Evil played the Red Queen, replacing the previous Megan Charpentier having out grown the role, but no, it's actually Jovovich and Anderson's own daughter, Ever Anderson, who does an amazing take over.
Something else that is really good about the film was Paul Haslinger's score, suiting the film perfectly creating the right atmosphere and tension, it's actually noticeably good. However, what let's it down, and again like all these sequel films coming out, it's lacks the hardcore soundtrack the first films had, tracks from artists like Skipknot, Nine Inch Nails, Coal Chamber, Junkie XL and Fear Factory whereas this films has one track from the X Ambassadors.
It's entertaining to a degree, but not all the good action in the film can save it from its rushed story and poor plot. It's unfortunately not the concluding part I was hoping for.
Running Time: 5
The Cast: 6
Performance: 6
Direction: 5
Story: 3
Script: 3
Creativity: 5
Soundtrack: 5
Job Description: 5
The Extra Bonus Point: 0
Would I buy the Blu-ray?: Nah.
43% 4/10
