The “Resident Evil” series is one of my favorite guilty pleasures series. You know that there isn’t any plot to them, but you’re hooked to it nonetheless. “Resident Evil: Retribution” marks the fifth film in this seemingly never ending series.
This time around, Alice (Milla Jovowich) wakes up in a Umbrella research facility, after being captured by them. She wakes up to find that her friends from the last film have disappeared. Now trapped in the facility, she must make her way through the simulated cities to escape. If matters weren’t any worse for her, some of her old friends have become enemies through brainwashing or have become one of Umbrella’s clones. Alice must battle and escape the research facility, before time runs out.
Director Paul W.S. Anderson does a very good with the way that he handles the action scenes in this film. He carefully takes his time to make sure the sequences are done right. The scenes felt more intense than the previous two films. It felt like, the film had a rollercoaster type feel to it. What also makes the action sequences good was that it builds up intensity to the story. Going into this film, I was expecting the action to start to die down considering that this is the fifth film in the series. Was I every wrong? Anderson does a very job making some very good intense sequences. It keeps your interest and you’re having fun watching it. The acting in this film for the most part was okay. Anderson does a very good job directing his wife Milla Jovovich and most of the cast here. He does a good job making sure that they’re interested in the material and bring intensity to the film’s action scenes. The only problem that I had with the performances was that they felt video game like in the way that they deliver the dialogue. It could have been done better, but it didn’t affect my enjoyment that much.
The screenplay written by Anderson does a very good job with creating some very good action sequences. I liked how, he manages to put some thought into the scenes. By doing that, the action feels more intense. This was by far, the most action packed film out of the bunch. The other thing that I liked about it, I got the sense that their almost ready to wrap up the whole series. With this being the fifth film in the series, I was happy to see that Anderson and the producers are starting to think about wrapping this whole series up. If there was one problem with the screenplay, I thought he didn’t spend time developing Ada Wong and Leon Kennedy. It felt like they placed there to please the fans of the video games. Either Anderson didn’t care about doing that or he already assumes that you also watched the two CGI films that are based on the video game.
Blu-Ray Extras:
There are two audio commentary tracks to start off this loaded disc. The first track features director Paul W.S. Anderson with actress Milla Jovovich and actor Boris Kodjoe. This wasn’t the best of tracks that I’ve had listened too. It felt like it didn’t give you enough information on the way the actors approached the film. They do go into some stories about the film’s production, but for the most part it felt like they were having too much of a good time with all the crazy stories that happened during filming. It hurt the track somewhat.
The other commentary track features Anderson and producer Jeremy Bolt. Unlike the first track, this track was very good. I liked how there was more emphasis on what happen during production and how some of the scenes were created. A very interesting track and worth a listen for those who are fans of the film.
After the commentary tracks, there are six featurettes. “Drop (Un) Dead: The Creatures of Retribution” is the first featurette. This featurettes goes into the creatures that are seen in the film. It shows the process of how they were created through make-up and special effects. Overall, this was a good featurette.
Next on the disc is Maestro of Evil: Directing “Resident Evil: Retribution”. A very good featurette focuses on Paul W.S. Anderson and how he approaches the film.
The third featurette is “Evolving Alice”. This goes into the main character in the film’s franchise and how the character has evolved. It was a very good look into the character. Both Jovowich and Anderson talk about how the character has evolved from the first film to this entry in the franchise.
Next, it’s “Resident Evil: Reunion” This featurette focuses on the characters that are returning for this installment. Overall, this was a nice featurette.
The next featurette is “Code: Mika”. This pretty much focuses on J-Pop girl Mika, who is popular in Japan for her singing. It pretty much focuses on her appearance in the film. It doesn’t go into her as a person, which would have been nice as I had no clue about her.
The sixth featurette is “Design and Build: The World of Resident Evil: Retribution. A nice featurette that goes into the creation of some of the background was created.
The featurettes wrap up with “Resident Stuntman”. This goes into how the stunts were created for this film. This was a very informational featurette that explains about how the filmmakers handled that aspect.
After that, the disc wraps up with outtakes, deleted and extended scenes and Project Alice: The Interactive Database.
Final Summary:
Fans of the previous “Resident Evil” films will enjoy this film, as its filled with good action sequel and non-stop action. “Resident Evil: Retribution” is by far the best of the series, even though it’s not say much.
Review Rating: Three and a Half Stars
Extras: Four Stars
0 comments
Post a Comment