Movie: Resident Evil: Retribution (also: Resident Evil 5)
Genres: Horror, Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi
Runtime: about 96 minutes
Format: 2D and 3D
Rated: R
Studio: Constantin Film
Country: USA
Language: English
Official Website: http://www.residentevil-movie.com/site/
Director: Paul W. S. Anderson
Producers: Paul W. S. Anderson, Jeremy Bolt, Don Carmody, Samuel Hadida, Robert Kulzer
Writer: Paul W. S. Anderson
Cast: Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Kevin Durand, Sienna Guillory, Shawn Roberts, Aryana Engineer, Colin Salmon, Johann Urb, Boris Kodjoe, Li Bingbing.
Release Date: September 14, 2012
Find it: At your local Cinema
Scores:
Hey everybody, let's play "name that quote," shall we? Can you name which character said this particular line and which of the Resident Evil movies is it from?
Genres: Horror, Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi
Runtime: about 96 minutes
Format: 2D and 3D
Rated: R
Studio: Constantin Film
Country: USA
Language: English
Official Website: http://www.residentevil-movie.com/site/
Director: Paul W. S. Anderson
Producers: Paul W. S. Anderson, Jeremy Bolt, Don Carmody, Samuel Hadida, Robert Kulzer
Writer: Paul W. S. Anderson
Cast: Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Kevin Durand, Sienna Guillory, Shawn Roberts, Aryana Engineer, Colin Salmon, Johann Urb, Boris Kodjoe, Li Bingbing.
Release Date: September 14, 2012
Find it: At your local Cinema
Scores:
Metacritic: 39/100 (critics); 5.6/10 (users)My Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Rotten Tomatoes: 27% (critics); 56% (users)
Hey everybody, let's play "name that quote," shall we? Can you name which character said this particular line and which of the Resident Evil movies is it from?
"You are all going to die down here!"Well, if you said "The Red Queen, Resident Evil 1," you are CORRECT!! Congratulations! You are either a fan of the movie franchise or well acquainted with your pop culture.
If your answer was "The Red Queen, Resident Evil: Retribution (or RE: 5)," you are most certainly CORRECT as well. Congratulations! You have officially been tortured at the movie theater.
Okay, let's make something clear from the get go, I am a fan of this franchise, both the game and the movie franchises. I had high expectations when walking into the cinema; I was disappointed as I walked out of it.
So what is this next installment about? To be honest, I'm not entirely sure, the lack of an actual plot on the movie is baffling. I mean, these are not Oscar worthy films, but they usually have a solid story line that is well complemented by the ass-kicking and the gory parts of the movie. Yet, in Retribution, the action and the special effects overpower so much the screen time that the barely-there plot the movie has gets completely overshadow.
Back to the previous question, what's this film about? Well, the movie picks up right where RE: Afterlife ended. In Retribution, Alice is held captive by the evil Umbrella Corporation in their top underground facility. A strike team has been sent to rescue her, as Alice is humanity's last chance to stand against extinction. But remeber, this is the prime underground testing facility for Umbrella, in here everything goes.
The Good
The Special Effects, those where unbelievable. The movie's beginning sequence was, to put it in one word, breathtaking. The movie begins with a with a ending battle in the Afterlife movie. But here, it starts in a slow motion, backwards montage that fills you with anticipation. This scene sets the bar way to high for the film: I only wish they had stayed at that level throughout.
Another great thing, the fighting choreography. This is Resident Evil, there will always be lots of fighting and lots of blood and Retribution is no exception to the rule. The fighting scenes are beautiful and in every one of them you have the "Yes!" moment when the bad guy finally dies.
The music, this isn't news. Resident Evil has always had great music that heightens the tone of all it's scenes. I want the soundtrack!
The Bad
This is a re-hash of previous Resident Evils. I wonder how that meeting went, did someone suddenly said: "Hey! I have an idea, let's use all the main key elements of the previous movies to make this film!" while every other face around the table nodded in agreement? Don't believe me? Are you a fan as well? If you are, buckle up and highlight the space below to read the spoiler (unless you want to see it for your self, if you do let me make a suggestion, don't pay for the 3D price).
SPOILER ALERT
The Red Queen is back. Because apparently, frying her holographic ass in the very first film wasn't enough to curb her homicidal tendencies, she is now back to make sure that no one escapes from the underground facility (sounds familiar yet?).
As if reviving the Red Queen wasn't enough, we get a "world view," again... Remember when in RE: Extinction, the intro to the movie started in Japan and a girl in heels attacking an unsuspected passerby? Then later on, the group of survivors made it into Las Vegas and we got a view of the Strip and all of it's iconic casinos. Well, now Alice fights a clone version of the Japanese girl and all her Japanese zombie friends in a recreation of the Japan scenario. As the movie progresses, Alice moves from the Japan environment, to New York, to Suburbia, and Moscow.
Alice is cloned, again, now this time, her body is one of the "basic models" used to populate the various environments.
END OF SPOILER
Alice is both Wonder Woman and an Idiot at the same time in this film. She spends almost all of the movie doing fight sequences that are beyond impressive, yet in the final battle she's not capable of recognizing the little robot attached to Jill Valentine's chest until the very last second. It's absurd considering she took an identical one from Clare Redfield at the beginning of RE: Afterlife.
The acting, oh my! The acting looked awkward and stiff. Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez and Sienna Guillory being the few exceptions. Oded Ferh didn't had enough screen time which is a shame because he is a great actor. And the little girl that played Alice's fake daughter, Aryana Engineer, was also pretty good.
The dialog was, how do I say this, BAD. It was predictable, it was one cliche after the other. What the hell happened?
That pretty much sums up my reaction at the end of the movie. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED? I was stunted and I wasn't the only one. A guy actually yelled "that movie sucked" at the top of his lungs when the credits started rolling. I only hope they make a 6th movie, if for nothing else than to vindicate themselves and the story line.
In my honest opinion, this movie is not worth watching on the theater. Wait until it comes out on DVD, and then rent it. Unless you are collecting them, I wouldn't even buy it when it comes out.
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My son loves these movies. I watch them from behind a pillow or purse depending on where I am. He'd go even if the rating was zero.
ReplyDeleteHe's got it bad.
LOL I think that's why I went, I love this movies, which is why I was so disappointed at the lack of plot; they have done better!
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