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Saturday, September 15, 2012

MOVIE REVIEW: RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION

IN THEATERS ON DVD

RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION




Awakening in a top-secret Umbrella facility as the T-virus threatens to wipe out the last remnants of humanity, Alice (Milla Jovovich) ventures on a quest to uncover the truth about her mysterious past and seek out the source of the apocalyptic plague. The deeper Alice ventures into the complex, the more she begins to learn about her origins. Later, after escaping to the outside world, she embarks on an epic adventure that takes her to the farthest corners of the globe as she fights the forces of darkness alongside allies both old and new. Sienna Guillory, Michelle Rodriguez, and Kevin Durand co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Paul W.S. Anderson

Cast: Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Colin Salmon, Michelle Rodriguez, Kevin Durand.

Release Date: Sep 14, 2012

Rated R for sequences of Strong Violence

Runtime: 1 hr. 35 min.

Genres: Action/Adventure

Review:

There’s a scene near the end of Resident Evil: Retribution, the 5th installment in the series, where Sienna Guillory’s brainwashed Jill is pummeling Milla Jovovich’s Alice. The film as a whole kind of feels like during its mostly plot less and scant runtime. We don’t get a sniff of the plot for this film until about 15 minutes into the film. In those 15 minutes we get one of the better action sequences (an action sequence picking up from the end of the last film shown in reverse), a recap of the previous 4 films done fairly easily in 5 minutes which is a testament to depth of storytelling and a Dawn of the Dead remake like sequence. In essence it’s just a series of vignettes that don’t seem to have any sort of connection. Once the plot and sexy cat suit & dress budget comes into play we get fairly quick exposition that provides the thinnest of a plot to work with, after that it’s a series of action set up after another. I will admit that some of the action sequences are shot with an almost teenage glee, particularly those involving Jovovich which shouldn’t be a surprise since her husband once again directs her. Anderson suffers from the same “I love my wife soo much that I want all hero shots of her” syndrome that Len Wiseman contracted in the Underworld series. This can lead to some laughably bad sequences which look cool for a bit but are ultimately over stay their welcome and come off as silly. The returning cast members are pretty much wasted as their characters aren’t expanded much if at all. The new cast members deliver some lines with an impressive lack of passion or effort. Probably because they all know Anderson doesn’t care about them and just wanted to get to another scene with Jovovich in a cat suit doing wire work fight moves.

D

10 comments:

  1. sigh...i had a bad feeling about this one. i like the franchise but i think it ran its course a few movies ago.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's well past it's expiration date unfortunately.

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  2. whoa, really? that bad? I admit, I'm a huge Milla-fan and for campy reasons, I love the RE-franchise AND Anderson films in general. I'm sure I'll have a blast in theater, although it may be just another stupid Alice-battles-zombies flick :-)

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    Replies
    1. It works as an action reel but as a movie it just have much going it, not expecting a huge deep story but at least give me somthing you know.

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  3. Jeez - they are on five already!

    I saw the first Resident Evil and quite liked it but after that they, along with the Underworld franchise have completely passed me by!

    Getting a D rating though shows it must be bad

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    Replies
    1. I liked the first 3, they were servicable fluff but they at least had a story, these last 2 haven't brought much in that department.

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  4. It's a shame it's not that good. I didn't start watching the series yet, but have it in (hahhaa) queue. LOL. Will get around to it sometime this lifetime. Good review.

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    Replies
    1. First couple of ones are watchable but last 2 have just been painfully bad.

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  5. Call me crazy, but I have loved all of these films. They are completely enjoyable and I love having such a strong female lead like Milla. And Michelle is always incredible no matter what she does. As long as they keep making these, I'll be going to see them. LOL

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    Replies
    1. First 3 I really liked and I always enjoy Milla as the strong lead but these last 2 just didn't work for me. That being said, I'll be there when the next one comes out.

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