Movie Title: Resident Evil: The Final Chapter
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action, Horror
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Writer: Paul W.S. Anderson
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Ruby Rose, Eoin Macken, William Levy, Iain Glen, Shawn Roberts, Fraser James, Rola, Ever Gabo Anderson, Lee Joon-gi, Mark Simpson
Review: The T-virus unleashed by the evil Umbrella Corp. has spread to every corner of the globe, infesting the planet with zombies, demons and monsters. Alice (Milla Jovovich), a former Umbrella employee turned rogue warrior, joins her friends on a last-chance mission to storm the company's headquarters located deep underneath what used to be Raccoon City. But the Red Queen (Ever Gabo Anderson) knows that Alice is coming, and the final battle will determine if the rest of mankind lives or dies.
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter as it's name suggests, is the final installment in the Resident Evil franchise. Falling into a category of films that are derived from the video games that preceded them, this category tends to be a treasure trove of mediocrity. Resident Evil: The Final Chapter fits that assessment perfectly as it's not particularly bad, but it certainly isn't a good movie either. Full disclosure, I'm not too keen on the zombie genre. You won't find me enjoying an episode of The Walking Dead, and unless you add some kind of comedic element like Edgar Wright's cult classic, Shaun of the Dead, then I mostly find them boring and redundant. The film's star, Milla Jovovich holds up as our action hero, Alice. She's the brightest spot in a rather dark movie littered with B-list actors and bad CGI. The action scenes are somewhat entertaining, but eventually reach a point where they are rather exhausting to watch. Due in large part to poor editing and a plot littered with inconsistencies, this movie comes off as very clunky. If you're a fan of the Resident Evil video games, then you'll be happy to know there are some nice homages to the games sprinkled throughout, but I felt that wasn't enough to keep me entertained. This film's runtime is under 2 hours, but it felt longer, which is never a good sign.
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter is a mildly entertaining action flick that does no more than pass the time. Aside from Jovovich and some outrageous action sequences that might pique your interest, it's an editing disaster that illicits sensory overload to the point where you just get tired and yearn for it to end. As the name suggests, there's hope for us all that this is indeed the final chapter. Many assert that Resident Evil was a nice debut film in 2002, but that the sequels got progressively worse. Being that this is the sixth film in the franchise, I urge you to proceed with extreme caution. And that has nothing to do with flesh-eating, undead monsters!
Fun Fact: Ever Gabo Anderson, who plays Young Alicia/Red Queen, is the daughter of Milla Jovovich and Paul W.S. Anderson, the film's writer/director.