Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) Review

https://youtu.be/nzF3yoF7N_E?is=pnpR3bWB_-AxhYtW

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

When it came to the 21st century, Hollywood started banking on anything relevant to any audience out there. Once Paul WS Anderson had average success with adapting Capcom’s Resident Evil, it was enough to keep the ball rolling. Was it worth it? Not sure.


PLOT


2004’s Apocalypse takes place following the events of the first film. Former Umbrella employee turned whistleblower Alice has separated from her partner by the evil corporation after the T-Virus outbreak causing the Hive facility to turn everyone into zombie mutants. When the corporation investigate the Hive themselves, it would unintentionally cause it to spread throughout Raccoon City and would quarantine it as a result. In the midst of the outbreak, genetic researcher Charles Ashford discovers his daughter Angela to go missing following a car accident as Major Timothy Cain seals exits that force residents to remain in the city. STARS operative Jill Valentine regroups with her partner Sergeant Payton Wells (Razaaq Adoti) to push the monsters back while other Umbrella soldiers, Carlos Oliviera & Nicholai Ginovaef (Zack Ward) do the same with remaining police forces after being abandoned by Cain. Jill & Wells would be accompanied by reporter Terri Morales (Sandrine Holt) as their sole civilian and just when they get overrun by more monsters, they get saved by Alice. Charles contacts the survivors via CCTV and offers them a chance to evacuate and avoid the wrath of an upcoming nuclear warhead by Umbrella that’ll end the outbreak, only if they can find Angela. As Alice makes haste with her new group, they get ambushed by a mutated super-soldier code named Nemesis who had just slain other STARS operatives. When Jill has to kill Wells due to getting bit from a zombie much earlier, Alice lures Nemesis away. Just when Jill & Morales then meet Carlos & Nicholai along with a stranded civilian named LJ as they find Angela, Morales & Nicholai get killed as well by the monsters. By the time Alice returns, the child explains her father created the virus to treat her genetic condition and is treated the anti virus to avoid turning. Around the time Carlos is given some to avoid turning as well, Charles contacts Alice via payphone of the extraction point where a helicopter awaits. The group makes it and Charles is present with Cain who reveals to Alice she’s been enhanced by the virus. As he kills Charles and compels her to face Nemesis, she does subdue him only to deduce the super-soldier is Matt who became mutated from more of Umbrella’s experiments upon their separation. When Matt tries to turn on Cain, he dies protecting Alice. Her group then kicks the Major off the helicopter and leave him to die before the warhead reaches the city. Upon detonation does debris reach the helicopter and Alice takes a metal pole to the chest, protecting Angela. Alice wakes up again and this time uncovers psionic abilities when leaving another Umbrella facility with the group she escaped Raccoon City with, only for the film to end with Doctor Alexander Isaac’s revealing her escape is part of the plan.


THOUGHTS


Anderson was ready to get this sequel going due to being tasked to still produce the script he wrote, but could not have the time to direct again due to helming Alien vs Predator around the same time. Duties went to experienced second unit director Alexander Witt and from there, the result does feel the same if we’re talking about standard sci fi action. Apart from the impressive set pieces done for all things Umbrella, this one’s biggest strength goes to shooting on location which made Raccon City felt immersive in terms of its isolated narrative. The editing is solid for each chase and shootout, but I was more stunned with the costumes. Specially, Jill and Nemesis look pulled right from the games and that’s just too impressive to ignore. Even though this version of Nemesis is Matt from the first movie which makes him a tragic figure, Matthew G Taylor was excellent in showing off a force to be reckoned with. The VFX on the Lickers are improved by a little bit, but it’s still quite outdated which sucks because I know they’re trying. With that being said, I think one still has its own level of watchability because it maintains the preceding lesson to keep up the perseverance when it comes to facing evil such as the ongoing corporate greed in this case. That is what makes it easier to still enjoy Milla Jovovich as Alice because her mindset doesn’t change. When she focus on saving herself, she continues to try protecting others because it’s the right thing to do, hence nearly dying for Angela. She definitely doesn’t know her leaving full of powers was part of Umbrella’s plan, nor did she ever ask for it since it was all against her will, but she sure puts it to good use as shown in Extinction. With no official human villains the first time, that changes here with this chapter because Thomas Kretschmann he was cold as hell as Cain for trapping the city, thus got a quick comeuppance once the chance was there for the protagonists to take. I mean if you’re killing the guy who made the virus and anti virus, you’re screwing the world over. Iain Glen is only present as Isaacs for the last minute, but it’s enough to establish he’s his own mastermind that Alice will have a hard time overcoming. Luckily, she found a new batch of allies. It definitely was a surprise to see Jared Harris portray Charles as a loving father who thought ethically compared to his superiors, which motive made him feel doomed from the start. Knowing how much good there was left in him, he sure passed it on to his daughter as the young Sophie Vavasseur shows her off to be scared yet mature to power through the horrors around her. She knows she’s the inspiration behind it all, but she doesn’t let that define her which is a mindset we should also live by. I also thought Sienna Guillroy was pretty cool as Jill who just owned it being on par to Alice when it came to resilience. She was like Rain but without the attitude. Her and Angela not being part of Extinction is a shame because it did seem like they would’ve been beneficial in Alice’s quest to overthrow Umbrella. While I did think Mike Epps was hilarious as LJ, Obed Fehr was more interesting as Carlos because he drops the cunningness he learned from Umbrella to be compassionate like the others he chooses to associate with. At least he comes back in the next one because it has to feel like hell for Alice everytime she has to meet new allies. This movie is another one I deem average because there’s still so much going on storywise that I think could’ve been done differently. Like for instance, it’s very hard to believe Umbrella pulled off a perimeter in 13 hours because the city is clearly a packed city which should take more than a day if you ask me. Wells also could’ve whispered to Jill where he was hiding rather than pull her from behind. I don’t think he would’ve blown his cover if he done that. There’s even a continuity error between takes during the cemetery scene where Alice goes from pants to shorts and it’s weird. It’s even odd how the school is so quiet when there were zombies everywhere. And at this point, when does the actual military get involved? I understand Umbrella is trying to obscure their involvement with the warhead, but the government has to be a little bit concerned of what’s going on. If you can ignore these things however, then you’re still set another standard good time you want out of sci fi adventures like this one, Resident Evil: Apocalypse. Whether or not you’re a gamer that enjoyed the first one, I hope you dig this too.