Resident Evil 3D
I’ll begin by stating that I am a huge Resident Evil/just about anything zombiesque fan, but after thinking that the more recent additions were becoming increasingly weak, I was a little wary of how this one was going to go. I wanted it to be amazing but didn’t want to set my expectations unreasonably high. Despite my doubts, I couldn’t help but be excited though because the story line takes off a few years after Extinction left us and we get to see how Claire and the rest made it. I was pleasantly surprised - it came out of the gate with a pretty good intro and kept up pace to the VERY end while staying true to what we’ve come to hope/expect from the Resident Evil movies.
Milla was as awesome as Alice as she ever was. Even if the movie was a complete bust, I could watch her run around in skin tight weapon bedazzled clothes all day. Ali Larter (Claire) also did a bang-up job with her return as the secondary heroine. There were more than a few gratuitous slo-mo shots of her stretching in that water soaked wife beater that were much appreciated. The evil Umbrella Corporation guy Albert Wesker was played by a different actor than was used in Extinction (hardly noticeable since they did a good job making the two look pretty similar). This character became a bit more developed; Alice didn’t lie when she told him that she and her ‘new’ friends were coming for him, and he met them all with some new surprises of his own. Really, who couldn’t like scenes with dozens of Milla Jovoviches running around kicking ass everywhere they go?
As good as it was though, there were a very few weaknesses. And I know that this might sound strange when discussing a Resident Evil movie, but there were some scenes that were utterly unbelievable – so much so that they seemed out of place. This group of movies does a good job making the unbelievable kind of sort of credible, so why go so over the top now? Without spoiling anything, there was one major crash that left me wondering if a character came out of it clean or if they got infected with the T virus at the last minute. It doesn’t seem like they would have survived the crash without being infected at some level, but no mention was given later to suggest that they were…
There were also a bunch more mutated zombies running about than is to be normally expected in this series. We’re used to seeing a very few oddballs in the middle of normal run of the mill looking zombies, but every one of these that “stormed the castle” had disturbing alien-looking mouth mutations that made you suppose that all of the zombies must have developed this by now, only we had no reason to see them in the background zombies that didn’t come in direct contact with the main characters.
I’ve also noticed that it seems as if the multitude of zombie worlds coming out of Hollywood are combining more and more these days. The place that most of the action takes place in this movie is a prison: one of top places of safety during an outbreak discussed in Max Brooks’ The Zombie Survival Guide and an area featured in The Walking Dead comic book/graphic novel series. At this point it doesn’t seem like anyone stole or borrowed any ideas; it’s just basic knowledge to hardcore zombie buffs.
Three Good Things About This Movie
Solid addition to the series. These types of almost-endless movie series seem to peter out the longer they live on, but this one regained any momentum that may have been lost with previous ones. Also, the 3-Dness was an overall complement to the movie, not a distraction.
Milla Jovovich.
Just when you think everything is going ok and the series can end in a nicely tied-up package – NOPE! Hold on to your ass because the ride isn’t over until Alice says it’s over.
Three Bad Things About This Movie
If you’ve seen every trailer, this isn’t a spoiler – you know that there’s an abnormally huge mutant zombie with an enormous battle axe/hammer that will eventually show up and cause some trouble. It does, but it seems so out of place. Other enormous oddities like this were explained in previous Resident Evil movies – this one comes out of the blue and dies there. You know it had to be specially created by the Umbrella Corporation (no other zombie mutants ever carry/use weapons), but just enjoy it for what it is – an abnormally huge force that Alice and her crew must deal with to continue their mission because that’s all you’re going to get.
Like I said, some moments are too unbelievable - even for a Resident Evil movie.
The ending. It sets us up for at least another Resident Evil movie with a new twist that promises to change the main plot up a bit. Plus, there are a few other loose ends that the movie reminds the viewers of that seems to have been done purposefully to help us expect them being revisited in the next sequel. Stay after the immediate set of closing credits or you’ll miss something important!
Check it out while it is in theatres so you won’t miss the 3D effects. If you’re a Resident Evil/zombie/Milla Jovovich fan, I doubt you’ll be disappointed.