Review of Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) by Thomas D — 23 Jan 2017

No matter the genre, a second film in the franchise is always expected to up the ante. Whether that entails expanding the scope and scale or just developing your characters to a new point of awakening is up to each film individually. Resident Evil Apocalypse adds nothing new to what the first film already established. In fact, besides a slight setting change and some new faces, this is the exact same movie.

It's unfortunate that Milla Jovovich got so tied up with the Resident Evil films for all those years. She's a talented actress, and quite good in the movies, but she's never given much to do besides wear inappropriate clothing (especially in an apocalypse) and throw some punches. Alice's character arc is the same as the first film. She initially finds herself estranged to her surroundings, she finds companions, punches are thrown, guns are shot, bad people try to take her and shake her world to the core, and then she revolts. It's quite laughable.

For whatever weaknesses the first film had, at least it felt original and grounded with reality. 'Apocalypse' has a ton of action and new set pieces, both of which may wow the casual filmgoer, but those sequences are constantly tied down by fast and lazy editing. A lot of films in the mid-2000's fell victim to jump cut fight scenes where you don't actually know who's punching who, you just get caught up in the excitement. With 'Apocalypse', not only do you not know who's punching who, you honestly don't care where the punches are landing anyway. It's not that I overtly disliked any of the new characters we were introduced to, such as Jill Valentine, Carlos Olivera, Angie Ashford, L.J., or Terri. But I found nothing unique or interesting about them, especially compared to the original gang in the first film.

Sure, Jovovich is always entertaining to watch as Alice, but with nothing new added since the last outing, I can't possibly give the film a positive review.

+Jovovich keeps it watchable.

-Lazy editing.

-Rehashed plot.

-Nothing unique about the new team.

4.4/10.