Review of Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010) by Martin D — 08 Aug 2011

Resident Evil: Afterlife is a Canadian-German[4] 2010 3D science-fiction action film written and directed by Paul W. S. Anderson, and starring Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Kim Coates, Shawn Roberts, Spencer Locke, Boris Kodjoe, and Wentworth Miller. It is the fourth installment in a series of film adaptations based loosely on Capcom's survival horror video game series Resident Evil. The film is preceded by Resident Evil (2002), Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) and Resident Evil: Extinction (2007). It is also the first film in the series to be released in 3D.

The film follows Alice searching and rescuing the remaining survivors in Los Angeles after the T-virus outbreak, and team up against Albert Wesker, the head of the Umbrella Corporation. Chris Redfield, a primary character from the video games was featured for the first time in the film franchise. Other characters from the games and films who returned are: Claire Redfield, Albert Wesker, K-Mart, and Jill Valentine.

In May 2005, producers mentioned the possibility of following Resident Evil: Extinction with a sequel titled Afterlife. Extinction was released in 2007 and was a box office success prompting Afterlife to begin development in June 2008, with the script being written by Anderson that December. Elements from the video game Resident Evil 5 were incorporated into the film. Filming took place in Toronto from September to December 2009 using James Cameron's 3D Fusion Camera System.

The film was released in 3D and IMAX 3D theaters on September 10, 2010 and received mostly negative reviews from critics. Although the film grossed $60 million in the United States and Canada on an estimated $60 million budget, it made $236 million in other markets surpassing the previous film's overseas total in the second week of release. Grossing a worldwide total of $296 million, Resident Evil: Afterlife became the highest-grossing entry of the series with the overseas total almost equaling the previous film's overseas total combined.

One year after the events of Resident Evil: Extinction The Alice clones (Milla Jovovich) attempt to kill Albert Wesker (Shawn Roberts) at his base in Tokyo. Wesker escapes and destroys the base, killing all of the clones. Alice is aboard Wesker's aircraft, though he is able to strip her of her powers before the aircraft crashes. Wesker is killed in the crash.

Six months later, Alice travels to North America in an airplane following emergency broadcasts from a safe haven known as "Arcadia" in Alaska. Alice is attacked by Claire Redfield (Ali Larter); after the scuffle, Alice destroys the device controlling Claire placed on her by Umbrella and finds out that Claire has lost all of her memory. The two travel to the ruins of Los Angeles, where they find a group of survivors living in a prison surrounded by zombies. Luther West (Boris Kodjoe), leads the small band: Wendell (Fulvio Cecere), Crystal Waters (Kacey Barnfield), Bennett (Kim Coates) and Kim Yong (Norman Yeung), Angel Ortiz (Sergio Peris-Mencheta), and Chris (Wentworth Miller), who is a prisoner under lock-down in the facility. With their help, Alice lands her plane on the roof of the prison and learns that Arcadia is not a fixed place but actually a cargo tanker traveling along the coast. Alice and the survivors decide to find an alternate means to make it to the Arcadia. Chris reveals that he is the brother of Claire, insists that he is not a prisoner-but actually a soldier fallen victim to a cruel joke-and claims that he knows an alternate route. Alice, seeing as they are out of options, sets Chris free.

Majini zombies tunnel into the prison through the sewers and a giant axe-wielding monster begins the process of breaking down the gate outside. To overcome the problems, Alice, Chris and Crystal go deeper into the prison to retrieve additional guns from the arsenal; Luther and Claire attempt to reinforce the gate to keep the Executioner and other zombies at bay; Bennett, Yong and Angel ready an infantry fighting vehicle for escape.

As Alice and Chris make it to the armory, zombies swarm them. Angel informs Bennett and Yong that the vehicle is defective and it would take a week to fix. Bennett shoots Angel, abandons Yong and escapes with Alice's airplane, and the Executioner breaks down the gate, allowing the zombies outside to enter the facility. Yong is suddenly cut down by the Executioner, whom Alice and Claire then defeat. The two meet back up with Chris at the end of the sewers-but they lose Luther to a zombie who drags him back into the sewers. Alice and the Redfields commandeer a boat and board the Arcadia, finding it functional but seemingly abandoned. The trio begin releasing survivors, among them K-Mart (Spencer Locke). As Alice goes deeper in the ship, she finds Wesker, revived by the T-virus and now with incredible powers, though he is constantly at war with the T-virus for control. In order to pacify it, Wesker regularly ate fresh human DNA. He hopes to gain control of the virus by consuming Alice, the only individual to bond successfully with the T-virus on a cellular level.

Chris and Claire arrive and attack Wesker while Alice battles two dogs and Bennett, who has allied himself with Wesker. Wesker easily overpowers Chris and Claire, but Alice is able to defeat him with help from K-Mart. While leaving, they lock Wesker in the room but he escapes by aircraft. He activates a bomb on the Arcadia in an attempt to destroy the ship but Alice had hidden the bomb aboard his plane which explodes. But unknown to them, a figure parachutes away from the explosion, while Luther emerges from the sewers, battered but alive. Alice resolves to turn the Arcadia into a real safe haven and broadcasts its message for any other survivors. As Claire, Chris, and Alice soon see an approaching Umbrella assault helicopter squadron. In one of the helicopters Jill Valentine (Sienna Guillory), who went missing after Resident Evil: Apocalypse, is dictating the attack but is wearing the same mind control device used on Claire.